this post was submitted on 25 Sep 2023
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What I'm getting at is not the victim's view of it, but the perpetrator's intent. If you can prove that harmful intent, then there would be a crime. Granted, that would be incredibly easy to subvert and get around, and kind of rightly so - it can only be a relatively low level of non-physical harm.
But it is still harm, in the form of causing emotional distress. People aren't burning Qurans because they feel oppressed by Qurans or what they represent, they're not disposing of possessions they no longer want, they're doing it to upset Muslims. Burning a dictionary isn't the same, a better example would be throwing food down a disposal in front of a starving child.
That is a ridiculous comparison. The copy of the book they are burning represents no real unfulfilled need for the believer like the food does for the starving child.
It's not a perfect example, but I'm not sure there really is one. However it's a much better example than burning a dictionary.
The fact is, there are few similar symbols that a non-religious person would hold precious in the same way a religious person would theirs, so examples are not going to get this right. That doesn't mean that a religious person's sentiment should be disregarded entirely, not when the whole intent is to use that to cause them harm.
Why should society attach any value to a persons imaginary friend?
Society isn't. However society should have some respect for citizens and what they hold value to.
Respect is not laughing in someones face when they talk about their imaginary friend - no more.
though i disagree with their sentiment, i sort get their example. it is not about practical need, but more of the object's perceived value. the qran is valuable to its believer as much as food is to the starving. that was not a ridiculous comparison.
Anyoe who values a book as much as not starving to death is objectively an idiot.
and that is where conflict comes from. some value an imaginary god while others do not. it is idiotic to you, but not to them. again, i was not defending the idea, just the other commenter's example.
There are good reasons not to go by perceived anything when it comes to offense though. Offending people is very much not something that can be avoided for everyone simultaneously, unlike needs and desires in the real world like food, water,... which are much more predictable and much less incompatible.