The Hate Crimes of Bridget Bardot

A report and comment on religious trends and events being covered by the media.  This week’s item is from USA Today, dateline Paris, France.A French court convicted actress and animal activist Bridget Bardot of inciting discrimination, hatred, or racial violence after she criticized a Muslim practice.Bardot was fined $3000 for a chapter in a book in 1999 in which she wrote, “my country France, my homeland, my land is again invaded by an overpopulation of foreigners, especially the Muslims.In the book Pluto’s Square she criticized the practice of killing sheep during the celebration that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

Tom:

Although this wasn’t even a slap on the wrist for Bridget Bardot, a French national heroine of sorts, she was convicted of inciting discrimination, hatred or racial violence.Dave, well let me add a couple of things to that—

Dave:

I would kind of agree with that Tom.In other words, she’s not talking about theology; she’s not giving a valid objection.People kill sheep all the time.I love leg-of-lamb, so why shouldn’t the Muslims be allowed to kill sheep if they want to?So I couldn’t agree with Bridget Bardot and I think she is kind of inciting people because she says our country is being overrun by foreigners.I’ve experienced a little bit of that myself living in foreign countries.So we’re not talking about facts there.This is prejudice that she’s stirring up.

Tom:

Okay, but now we have a law in which they are deciding what is racial discrimination.What is hatred and what is racial violence.

Dave:

Well she should be entitled to her opinion.

Tom:

That’s absolutely true.Now Dave this is something that’s—we start with Bridget Bardot, but now let’s go to Great Britain.

Dave:

Can I—let me just finish a little further here Tom.See another part of the problem—again I am saying I don’t like what she said.I think it wasn’t wise and I think it is prejudicial against people saying we’re being overrun by foreigners.On the other hand she should be allowed to express her opinion; she shouldn’t be fined for that.Furthermore, why doesn’t the West—if we’re so concerned about protecting the rights of these people in France, why doesn’t France speak out about the lack of rights for their citizens who happen to be in Saudi Arabia?You must be a Muslim to be a citizen of Saudi Arabia.It is the death penalty for a Muslim to convert in Saudi Arabia.Why don’t we talk a little bit about that too you see?So there ought to be two sides to this coin.

Tom:

Yes, but my concern here Dave is that when the courts begin to take over and begin to say what is discrimination, hatred or racial inciting these things—what is inciting these things—well as I said let’s go to Great Britain.Recently an evangelist in Great Britain who condemned homosexuality as an abomination before God was fined £20,000 by the British Independent Television Commission for “prejudiced respect for human dignity” which “violated the code against denigrating the code against religious beliefs.”Now you see this isn’t $3000 and a slap on the wrist.Now we’ve moved up and we have—although this isn’t a court system, this is a code that people have to abide by and who is saying what’s prejudicial and what isn’t?Now let’s bring that to this country.Just recently the Senate passed; well actually they approved expansions of a federal hate crimes law to increase penalties for those who commit crimes because of a victim’s actual or perceived sexual orientation.The big concern here is that we are beginning to legislate with regard to what is inciting racial prejudice, what’s inciting hatred.These all have to do with a kind of intolerance with regard to (as you said) what this woman takes with regard to her opinion about certain people.

Dave:

In the name of tolerance!They are intolerant to the max!In other words, I am not allowed to say that the Bible condemns homosexuality?

Tom:

No, you’re not according to this Commission.

Dave:

So I’m not entitled to my opinion and they can push themselves on society, but I can’t stand up and say wait a minute this isn’t right.They can have their gay pride parades—I don’t know how you can be proud of something that is not natural, something with which, if everybody engaged in it, it would end the human race because they don’t procreate.Something which causes disease, I mean if you know something about the practices of some of these people—and this is human dignity which they are upholding and now if I object I am denigrating human dignity?No!I want some dignity that abstains from this sort of thing.That would be dignity.Furthermore, it is a slap in the face to God.It is the very first command that God gave- “be fruitful and multiply” and these people are saying to God—no we are not going to do that.We are going to have sex with our own sex so we don’t multiply on this earth and that would be the end of the human race.I think I ought to be entitled to say that.The Bible has said it.Now let them disagree, that’s fine, but don’t fine me or them for disagreeing with one another.

Tom:

Right, but that’s where we are going Dave.These are court cases, fines—how far can they go with this?I mean jail terms—

Dave:

So in the name of freedom to these people, they are denying me my freedom.

Tom:

Dave I have an idea of where this is going and it doesn’t really look good.If an evangelist can be fined $70,000 some thousand dollars for just saying what the Bible says, how long will it be before the Bible itself is banned as hate material?