SHOOTING CARTOONISTS IN PARIS IS SERIOUS BUSINESS

The french president has called the bloody attack on cartoonists to be "barbaric." Religious extremists are often barbaric, violent and cruel. Like the fundamentalist extremists who recommend stoning homosexuals to death, which was actually just suggested as ok by GOP candidate Scott Esk of Oklahoma. Or christians popping by abortion clinics all over the US with guns, similarly to how these cartoonists were assassinated yesterday in France, to kill abortion providers because their interpretation of christianity was offended by birth control. (I guess these "christians" gunning down abortion docs forgot about THOU SHALT NOT KILL.)

Murdering people for religion is pretty extreme, and doesn't reflect the majority of muslims' or christians' views. I don't know that much about Islam, but I know that the "witches" of Salem have been put to death in this country by christians, a century of depraved slavery was justified here, and women and GLBT folk are still routinely denigrated by organized religion. And these aren't even considered extreme fundamentalists--these are mainstream christians. Who ran against Obama in the last election? Mormon Romney, whose religion features magic underwear, polygamy and spaceships. I have relatives who are Jehovah's witnesses who would refuse their own immediate family members blood for transfusions based on religious objections--even if it's likely the family members would die without the blood.

Religion makes no sense--particularly when used as an impetus for murder. So let's denounce all religious extremism if we're to denounce any of it. Of course, murdering satirists over cartoons makes muslims look like hotheads and clearly some are. But christians have plenty of their own atrocities in the name of religion that date back to the Spanish Inquisition and beyond. Don't just criticize Islam because you've chosen a different set of fairy tales to comfort yourself.