Like a Koran on Fire

Remember Derek Fenton, the New Jersey transit worker who burned a few Koran pages in New York on his free time and got canned for it across the river by Christie’s New Jersey Transit? Well there’s a happy ending. Fenton has won back his job, damages and lost wages. The importance of this goes beyond Fenton, warning municipalities against this form of appeasement. Of course New Jersey decisionmakers probably think this brand of appeasement was cheap at the price.

This is what Fenton had to say

“Our government cannot pick and choose whose free speech rights are protected, based on whether or not they approve of the content of our statements or actions,” Fenton said in a statement. “This is the very essence of the First Amendment.”

This is what Christie said at the time

The settlement comes after the governor publicly supported Fenton’s firing. In February, Christie said he didn’t ask for the dismissal but called it appropriate because “that kind of intolerance is … unacceptable.”
“I knew he was going to be fired, and I had no problem with it,” Christie said at the time. “And I still don’t have a problem with it.”

Pick your conservative hero.

Let’s contrast this with the UK where Andrew Ryan, a former British soldier, was sentenced to more than two months in prison for burning a Koran. At a time when British soldiers are being jeered by Muslim thugs in Londonistan, it’s the soldiers who are being sent to jail.

The charge against Andrew Ryan, according to District Judge Gerald Chalk, was “Theatrical Bigotry”, which for some reason was leveled against Andrew Ryan, but not say Caryl Churchill for Seven Jewish Children. What is “Theatrical Bigotry”? It’s offending Muslims in a public place.

While being led away, Ryan asked “What about burning poppies?” referring to a Muslim form of protest that doesn’t get labeled as theatrical bigotry. Neither does the harassment and violence against Jewish owned stores such as Ahava, by Muslim and pro-Muslim protesters.

Following sentencing, Inspector Paul Marshall, of Carlisle CID, said: “Today’s result shows how seriously we take hate crime in the county.
“This incident was highly unusual for Cumbria as we have such low levels of hate crime in the county.
“However, when it does occur we investigate thoroughly so that offenders, and the local community, know that hate crime will simply not be tolerated.”

There’s that phrase again. “We won’t tolerate.” “Intolerable”. So much intolerance in the name of tolerance. Isn’t intolerance in the name of tolerance rather a contradiction in terms.

Andrew Ryan was charged with “religiously aggravated harassment” and given 70 days. But Choudhury, an Islamist who burned poppies, was fined 50 pounds and charged only with a violation of the Public Order Act.

“It’s worth mentioning Choudhury’s paltry fine, because that is certainly what Ryan’s supporters in the English Defence League will do. Why is it that one act of theatrical bigotry merits a fine, and another a 70-day jail sentence? Why does the desecration of a symbol of national mourning merit less punishment than the desecration of a religious text?”

The same reason you can burn and desecrate every other national and religious symbol, but those of Muslims.

Ryan struggled with security guards in court after the sentence was passed. While being handcuffed he shouted: “What about my country? What about burning poppies?”
About 10 people were in court to support Ryan, and as they left the court they shouted “do you call this justice?”

This is Bloomberg, Christie and Lindsay Graham’s justice.

http://www.rightsidenews.com/2011042313342/editorial/rsn-pick-of-the-day/like-a-koran-on-fire.html