When all of the media frenzy began about this "minister" in Florida who was planning to burn the Quran on the anniversary of September 11, I made a conscious decision not to talk, post or tweet about it. I had no intention of giving this twisted, little freak and his ridiculous rants any of my time. However, after hearing and reading so many thoughts on this man, I feel compelled to share my perspective on this phenomenon. The reason for my (now broken) silence isn't because I don't find the idea of burning holy scripture outrageous and disgusting.
It's because I call bullshit.
I didn't believe that this "man of God" had the balls do something like burn the Quran. Quite frankly it doesn't shock me at all that in the 11th hour this "holy man" decided to change his mind. Maybe it's the jaded, conspiracy theorist in me that believes that everything these days is an orchestrated publicity stunt - though I must point out that I have rarely been proven wrong. I think this guy (sorry, I haven't taken the time to learn his name) saw an opportunity to sucker punch his way into fame.
The sad-but-true situation we find ourselves in today is that any regular person can induce their own 15 minutes of fame by making sure the media and/or some blogger get tipped off to whatever nonsense they have planned. Remember the boy in the runaway hot air balloon? The government got involved. What about Shirley Sherrod and Andrew Breitbart? The woman LOST HER JOB, but now the world knows both their names. Or more recently, the Mike Wise Washington Post hoax. He showed how fast misinformation can spread - and got suspended for a month in the process.
The point I'm making is that the digital world in which we live is amazing. We have the ability to connect to almost every person on the planet. The price we must pay for this is being a little more savvy about the information that is thrown in our faces. Know when you're being played. Hate is a very polarizing force. It invokes deep emotions. Unfortunately too many nefarious, untalented individuals have figured out how to use it for their financial gain. Would Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck be as rich and "successful" as they are now if they didn't spew a never-ending stream of weird/extreme/prejudiced hate speech? Not likely. I don't know if any of these people actually believe their own garbage. Not that I think deep down, they're nice, good or honest people. I just think they've realized that there is more money is starting sh*t than there is in fixing sh*t. But I digress.
This Florida minister situation reminds me of when the Klu Klux Klan would make appearances on Geraldo or Donahue. You get a few guys in white sheets talking crazy, saying that the Klan is on the rise. Then stories start popping up in the news about race wars an neo-Natzis, and every one would be in an uproar. And the reality was that there was no organized movement. It was just a bunch of slack-jawed idiots running around in sheets, talking trash about things that they're too cowardly, stupid or lazy to make happen. But we all fell for it. We gave it energy and life by repeating the story and getting angry.
That's what's happening here. With all the reports of this Quran burning nonsense, this no-name minister is now famous. He went from nobody to internationally-know somebody in ONE WEEK. And though all he did was talk about what he was going to do, he is going to make money off of this little stunt. Count on it. Even Donald Trump is going to make money off the Mosque at Ground Zero; and hopefully a little lingering publicity for the new season of his TV show. I think this is what it was really all about - money and fame. We've been bamboozled. Led astray. Run amuck.
Sadly, I feel certain that this trash talk will create a ripple effect of retribution. People are pissed, and those on the fringe of common sense and good judgment will do stupid things. The possibility of violence and vandalism is high. So in the future, let's not give our time, energy and emotions to ignorant people saying ridiculous things. Let's not allow someone become famous for letting his mouth write a check his ass can't cash. We're smarter than that. At least we should be.
Peace
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