A Public Plea for Sensibility

Riots in Libya (Mohamed Abd B Ghany/Reuters)

In the wake of the violent protests against the US spread over much of the Muslim world, here is my plea for humanity and sensibility. Some things that all human-kind should embrace or we doom ourselves to extinction by war.

1. Keep your inflammatory remarks and/or insults to yourself.
2. If somebody does insult you or your beliefs, ignore them, don't strike back.
3. There is no, repeat NO, justification for one human to kill another.
4. There is no need for violence.

Several things went wrong (in the recent past and in times long past). Shouldn't we, as human-kind be big enough to look past shortcomings in others and drop our grudges?

Having watched 'Innocence of Islam,' the alleged tipping point for all these protests, I have to say that I was uncomfortable with the terrible light it portrayed Islam's prophet. I think that the author of the video should be embarrassed for creating such a work. It's only purpose was to insult and provoke those who believe in Islam. Shame on you. There are better ways, more peaceful ways, more effective ways to spread your ideas. Just because your freedom of expression is guaranteed by the US constitution, doesn't mean that you should use your right to denigrate others' beliefs.

Then I move on to the violent protesters. Shame on you. The four US citizens you killed in Libya had nothing to do with the video in question. They didn't make it; they didn't promote it; they were most likely as embarrassed of it as I am. Why would you kill innocent bystanders? They were striving for peace and diplomacy and you respond with murder. Then there have are dozens of others killed around the world as the protests spread. I understand your anger. Nobody likes to have the beliefs they hold most dear to be mocked like this in public. But this does not justify violence. Grow a thicker skin and turn the other cheek. Let's face it, there are some hateful people in the world, but that does not mean we need to sink to their level. Rise above and don't give them the reaction they hope for. After so many of the 'extremist Islam' attacks in the world, much of the non-Muslim world links terrorism with Islam. While this may be an unfair association, violent reactions like this only reinforce that stigma.

South Park's Joe Smith

Several years ago, the TV comedy cartoon 'South Park' made fun of the Mormon prophet in what might be considered to be every bit as inflammatory as this video. I watched it myself and was sad that people could be so rude to others. I did not take up arms to protest. I killed no one. In fact, I think the majority of the Mormon believers just decided that they would ignore the video altogether. If not turning the other cheek, ignoring the initial blow. Today, many Mormons have probably forgotten about the South Park cartoon, especially in the wake of the Broadway musical hit 'The Book of Mormon,' which was written by the same people. My point here is that there are other ways to deal with an insult. Peaceful ways.

As a plea from one human to another: let us live in peace; stop the violence.