Thomas Wictor

Today a protest called “Freedom of Speech Rally Round II” is being held in Phoenix, Arizona, as I write this post. The protest is taking place in front of the Islamic Community Center. This is where two jihadists worshiped before they were killed by police on May 3, 2015, as they attacked the Muhammad Art Exhibit and Contest 2015, in Garland, Texas. Too many people refuse to understand what’s happening here. Mohammed cartoons aren’t the problem.

A civil society cannot allow a small group of people to murder those who create offensive art. Our government has done a horrible job of trying to keep the peace between Muslims and non-Muslims. As a result, citizens are taking matters into their own hands.

The protestors in Phoenix are armed. They’re wise to bring weapons. People all over the world are murdered when they do or even say things that Islamists find offensive. The protestors in Phoenix are adopting the rules of the game that Islamists have created. In Muslim countries people are hacked to death with machetes for promoting secularism. This can’t continue.

All Muslims—from Islamists to people who are Muslim in name only—must accept that non-Muslims are under no obligation to follow the tenets of Islam. I perfectly understand that cartoons of Mohammed are offensive. It’s completely legitimate and reasonable for Muslims to be offended by art that mocks their prophet.

But non-Muslims are not required to obey the prohibition against drawing cartoons of Mohammed.

On Twitter today, a supporter of the Islamic State wrote, “How many times do you stupid kuffar [nonbelievers] have to be told that if you draw these cartoons, we’ll kill you?”

My answer is, “How many Islamists will have to die in a hail of bullets before Muslims stop demanding that nonbelievers obey the rules of Islam?”

In Garland, Texas, the two jihadists wore body armor. Even so, they managed to take no more than a few steps before they were shot dead by a traffic officer armed with a .45-caliber pistol and four SWAT members who had assault rifles.

I don’t want gun battles over art. It’s crazy. But the craziness emanates from those who commit murder because of cartoons. This tweet is deeply dishonest.

It’s not terrorism because the Islamic Community Center will not be burned, no Muslims will be attacked with machetes, and no threat is being made that Muslims will be murdered if they do or say things that people of another religion find offensive.

Another stupid tweet.

The point of the protest is not to offend. That’s how the protest is being redefined by those who object to it. The protest is to send a furious message to terrorists that non-Muslims will not be frightened into adhering to the restrictions of another religion. Yes, the T-shirts and the Mohammed cartoon contest planned at Freedom of Speech Rally Round II will be offensive to Muslims.

But being offended won’t kill you.

The protesters have had enough of being threatened, so they’re taking the fight to Islamists on Islamists’ own terms. If people threaten murder over art, then armed citizens will defiantly dare them to follow through. This is in the American DNA.

I’m not a fan of mocking any religion. To me it’s like shooting fish in a barrel. Most mockery of religion isn’t even clever. It’s hostile and childish. A shining exception is Monty Python. Even my devoutly Catholic mother loved their mockery.

Here’s the prayer.

Is it mocking religion, or is it mocking sanctimonious, groveling mendicants who have no real faith but simply go through the motions because they’re afraid?

Watching the live feed of Fox News 10 Phoenix, I see that the anchors are upset that the protesters of Freedom of Speech Rally Round II are armed. The anchors don’t say a word about why the protesters are armed: It’s because mocking Islam can get you killed.

One of the anchors said she was “pleasantly surprised” by the people who came out to support the Islamic Community Center. Why would she find that surprising? These are our fellow citizens. They’re not Martians or monsters or sideshow freaks. When I meet a Muslim, I don’t think, “TERRORIST!” The other day I bought a squirt gun to train Lyle Cat to not attack Brother Cat. (I only had to use it once. Now the cats are best friends.)

The twenty-something woman who sold me the squirt gun wore a hijab.

So what? What does her religion have to do with anything? She had a thick accent that I couldn’t place; it sounded Slavic, so my guess is that she’s Chechen or Dagestani. This might make people fall out of their chairs in shock, but she and I had a nice, fun conversation about squirt guns! She asked me if it was for a grandchild, and I told her yes. I wasn’t offended that she thought I’m in my eighties.

Then I bought the squirt gun, and she put it in a bag with a leopard-skin pattern. That led to a brief exchange about what a great, silly bag it was. After that I left. What I’d done was engage in commerce with a fellow American whose company I enjoyed for the short time that I knew her. She has gorgeous light-green eyes and seemed very happy. I hope she has a great life.

The protest in Phoenix is peaceful. Nothing’s happening.

Let’s all be honest and admit that the massive firepower was a factor. Although social media was full of murderous threats today, there was no violence.

Here’s what makes me sick: The two imbeciles commenting.

Journalism is dead. Both of these blockheads admitted that they’re afraid of Islamist violence, but they’re much more outraged at the protest, which they think is somehow illegitimate. Simple question, Kinsey (puke) and John: How many people have been murdered for drawing cartoons of Jesus? How often do Christians murder people for becoming atheists?

I’ll tell you something that I hadn’t planned on revealing: One of the reporters on the beach at Gaza on July 16, 2014, has broken his silence. He said that he can’t serve as an eyewitness because his story is his own private narrative. In addition, there were fifty other people on the beach, all with their own private narratives. Thus—he said—there’s no truth to uncover. I can’t get to the bottom of what happened because each of the fifty private narratives are equally valid. What actually happened depends on who I ask. The events of that day are fluid. They genuinely and in literal reality change with each narrative.

This is why the guy told two different versions of what he saw, and why the video shows a third version. When journalists say there’s no such thing as objective truth, it means they also believe that there’s no such thing as a lie.

In closing, I just want to say that I don’t hate you, Muslims. But you can’t force me to adhere to the restrictions of your religion. I choose to not mock Islam or your prophet, because I respect religious beliefs. On the other hand, despite my distaste, I must support freedom to offend instead of freedom from being offended. It’s a vital principle at stake. Our civilization depends on it.

Killing because of words and art is retrograde. And, to be perfectly frank, you don’t want to make a habit of it in the US. We’re not like other countries.