I just Read the Popes Speech, Oh the shame

[Plane]

     The Pope did not direct his speech twards Muslims nor was he in a forum where many Muslims could be expected to be listening, the theme of his speech was not Islam or thge violence of Islam .

     But someone translated the most choice snippet of the speech into Arabic , someone who saw a use for the contraversy , perhaps someone who was peruseing everything that the Pope has ever said looking for something usefull in riot generation.

     Remember the Danish Cartoons?  They were not sent to Egypt or Packistan untill they were months old and were spotted by someone who thought that they should be sent .

         I don't think that the Pope was out of line or was picking a fight , he seemed to be discussing the nature of his religion frankly with Doctors and students of religion, the blame for rthe violence might ought to rest on the guys that want it.

          Is it really a reasonable alternative for us to remain totally PC in all speech eschewing all offence on all occasions ?
          Even when it is the truth that is objectionable?


         I bet that If I wanted to prove anyone was anti semitic or anti Islamic I could find some quote that I could carve out of its context and present in part to make the "proof" all I would need was someone who spoke a lot and plenty of time to parce his speeches.

[_JS]

This is not about being politically correct. That has nothing to do with it.

This is about personal responsibility Professor, and Pope Benedict XVI needs to realize that he has a responsibility to discourage violence and promote peace. This is the same man who opposed the Iraq War and questioned the justifiability of all modern warfare. I know this is not the outcome he wanted, but that responsibility lies with him. As I said earlier, it doesn't mean that the individuals who fired the shots are no longer culpable - they most certainly are. Yet, that does not mean that the Pope is free of his own responsibility.

You all want to make this about causing offense or being PC. It isn't. This is about igniting the tinderbox. You aren't an "emasculated" leader because you don't travel to Belfast and threaten the RIRA. That makes you an intelligent leader.

I agree with Domer that your celebration of violence as irony (which it is not) only lends more credence to the radical side of Islam. Moreover, the argument celebrates violence and death of individuals as a means to an end.

[domer]

Damning "political correctness" is the last refuge, apparently, of libertarian-leaning scoundrels. The issue is not anyone's right to do as he feels, an irresponsible quest, but everyone's right to do what needs to be done. This latter concept ("what needs to be done") is a composite of personal drives and surrounding social and political context that forms those drives. The great poet said, "No man is an island." He was right. All social and political norms and mores, the very stuff of our human intercourse, would be ruined by a free-for-all of offensive verbiage tethered to nothing but anj individual's whims. Social cohesion and order, the fundamentals of civilization, require more. If it is beyond you to approach your public comments as a person-to-person conversation with a host of discrete individuals, where insult and injury would matter according to conventional norms, then view it as a political exercise: a communication with a purpose. That concerns not only the freedom to think and speak, but also th responsibility to effectuate your purpose, and defend that purpose. That's free speech unfettered by small-minded backwaters like the idea of political correctness presented as impulse run rampant.

[Plane]

     Should President Bush ever be criticised ?

      His followers are nuts you know.

      If you can criticise President Bush in harsh tones with confidence that the result will not be riots and killing then you are by inference giveing the people who support president Bush credit for some couth.

      If you cannot give some such credit to some other such group are you by implying something negative about the civility of that Group?

      Do you remember the "Cheese Eating Surrender Monkeys" of France and the renameing of French fries ?  As I recall the French laughed it off and returned the verbage with tipical Gaullic brio.

       I think that there are some Muslims who are mature and calm , how many are childish in your estimation?

[sirs]

[_JS]

Plane,

It is a violent situation and you know it. The Holy Father knew it as well.

Should he make a speech in Belfast condemning Protestantism or quoting a centuries old Catholic ruler who did? By your logic, there is no reason why he should not.

I wonder what prevents him from doing so? If he apologized after making such a speech, would you, Sirs, or the Professor question his character?

[Xavier_Onassis]

The Pope has a RIGHT to say anything.

But because he is the Pope, he should take into account that what he says could result in riots, murders and other unseemly consequences.

[Plane]

     The Pope said something to a group of Catholic educators.

      No one is claiming that he was addressing the Muslim world.

      The Pope used a quote he thought apt to his theme , no one is claiming that the Pope composed the offensive remark himself , but why is the theme of his speech inconsequential in comparison to the quote?

        I beleive that it is within the responsibility of the Popes job to speak his thoughts to other Catholics and to speak as he thinks true .

        Who dug this obscure speech out of the ocean of speeches being spoiken in the world , who excised the quote and empasised it above the theme of the speech?
   

     It is someones job to stir up discord  , whoever this is , he seems very competant.