That is offensive

Today, an exclamation that something has offended you is somehow treated, sadly, as substantive discourse on the merits of the statement made that was allegedly offensive. 


Funnily enough, the same people taking offence at criticism of religion also tend to fall in the group of people (well mostly) who despise liberal US gun laws. In any "debate", it would not be before long before one or more of the following comes up:

Defence 1:
Not all members of a particular religion are terrorists. Most are peaceful.

Riposte: Just like not all gun owners are homocidal nutcases. Most just want to show off their twin-barrelled semi-automatic shotgun to friends to ostensibly compensate for small penis sizes.

Defence 2:
The religion is not evil. People are.

 Riposte:  Likewise, guns are not murderers. People are.

So why are we so eager to defend another's right to vile, potentially harmful (legal disclaimer: not harmful per se, only certain interpretations harmful) supernatural beliefs but are in the same breath immediately dismissive of second amendment rights in the US?   Why the apparent cognitive dissonance? 

To clarify, I am not for gun ownership. I believe it takes no more than a modicum of common sense to see that liberal gun laws are the problem in light of what happened to Australia after Port Arthur.  Only Teabaggers and those willfully blind would choose to ignore the clear evidence available. Don't take it from me, take it from John Howard.

In the same vein, I believe it is high time that society came together to properly examine the role religion has played, plays and will play in terrorist attacks. There is a need to tackle this problem at its root. To bury our heads in the sand and say that religion has no part to play is to display unimaginable callousness and nonchalance to those who have suffered from these attacks. Indeed, imagine putting yourself in the shoes of family or friends of those who had needlessly lost their lives, do you not think it is way more offensive for apologists to provide a blanket immunity to religion and dismissing all criticism of faith as "offensive" or "racist"? It would be appalling, scandalous, downright offensive and also, to state the bleeding obvious, stupid.