A killer cartoon of Muhammad

You probably heard about the Muhammad cartoon contest in Garland, TX. Two gunmen were shot dead by police outside the event after they wounded a security guard. Although the gunmen were the terrorists it was the organizer of the event, Pamela Geller, who took the brunt of the criticism. Geller is the founder of the American Freedom Defense Initiative. Her group sponsored the Muhammad Art Exhibit and Contest.

Comments on the story in the Washington Post were downright chilling. “Something needs to be done about this woman,” one reader wrote. “She is a bonafide, unhinged nutcase who is inciting violence and hatred.” Interesting. Not one word about the gunmen who came to kill people at the event.

See, this is the problem. People blame those who exercise free speech instead of those who try to kill it. Remember Rev. Terry Jones? He’s the Florida pastor who threatened to burn Korans in protest of radical Islam. Halfway around the world, people were killing because of it. Did the politically correct chastise the killers? No. They condemned Jones. Then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, “It’s regrettable that a pastor in Gainesville, Florida with a church of no more than fifty people can make this outrageous and distressful, disgraceful plan and get, you know, the world’s attention.” The reason he got so much attention is because there are so many people who believe if you insult Islam or Muhammad you should die. That’s the problem, not Rev. Jones.

Let me draw some parallels here. There are plenty of people who desecrate the flag. That may be an offensive thing to do but they have that right. In fact, the Supreme Court has affirmed that right. What if someone started going around shooting flag-burners because it offended them? Would these same folks who are jumping all over Geller be telling us the flag-burners were inciting violence and hatred? No. They would be criticizing the killers, and justifiably so.

What’s scary is how many people on the Post site were siding with the terrorists and attacking Pamela Geller. Admittedly, Geller takes an in-your-face approach to the issue. I understand that may rub some people the wrong way but free speech is free speech. The founders spelled out our right to free speech not to protect speech we agree with but to protect speech we find disagreeable.

Heck, after Hillary and others concocted the story about the video about Muhammad sparking the attack in Benghazi, Sen. Chuck Schumer wanted to have Rev. Jones arrested! Jones had nothing to do with the attack, nor did any Muhammad video, as it turns out. The problem is too many people are selective when it comes to protecting free speech. The ACLU has defended the KKK in court over just this issue. If something as repugnant as the Klan is protected then, to be sure, so is a cartoon of Muhammad. Flag burning is OK but drawing a cartoon of Muhammad is not? When did we get this turned upside down?

Let me state this clearly because this is important. If you believe that anyone who insults Islam should die you should not be allowed to set foot in the United States. Your views are incompatible with the American way of life.

By the way, Jesus is fair game with these folks. I wonder if Christians starting killing anyone who insulted Christianity these folks in the Post would come to their defense. Not likely.

The irony is the liberals are the first ones the Islamic extremists will kill if we ever give them that chance.

Phil Valentine is the host of the award-winning, nationally syndicated talk radio show, The Phil Valentine Show.