We live in a world where we have to make the sad statement that attacking someone for their beliefs, when those beliefs aren’t being used against you or anyone else, is never acceptable.
Now, don’t read into that what I haven’t said. I am not saying that you should not defend yourself when attacked by someone else because of their beliefs or because of your beliefs. What I am saying is that it is not acceptable to attack someone else for their beliefs if that other person is not harming anyone else.
It’s a pretty simple concept. Leave other people alone to live their lives if they aren’t harming anyone else.
Let me give you an example: Personally, I believe that living in communes is bad for the people involved. It’s a bad idea, in my opinion, for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that they tend to run out of money to buy food and pay utilities.
But if another adult wants to voluntarily live in a commune and they aren’t trying to force me to pay for it or participate, then, I’m not going to try to force them to stop.
I’ll just wait until they come to their senses and realize that it doesn’t work.
Where am I going with all of this?
Valid question. What is going on is that a recent attack was made against a group of people who are rarely targeted by people in the U.S. for violence, and that makes the target unexpected and unusual. And it shouldn’t have happened. Anna Ashcraft, Alix Martichoux, and Jeremy Tanner write,
Three people were killed in a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, the county’s largest mosque. Two suspects in the shooting were found dead, police confirmed.
Now, I’m not Muslim, nor am I inclined to convert to Islam. That doesn’t mean that I think that it’s allowable to attack Muslims for being Muslim.
It’s not allowable just like it’s not allowable to attack a member of any other group simply for being a part of that group.
This basic lack of ability to allow people to live in mutual peace is a principle that is taught far too infrequently these days.
