Muslims beat up Rabbi in Brooklyn while shouting praises of Allah

If my answer is yes, there is no apparent reason here. If my answer is no, there is no reason. Either way, there is no reason.

Yes. It's called attempted murder when the victim doesn't die.

Be fair. They didn't have any explosives.

We've avoided religious wars in this country because the country has been big enough for all beliefs. We even saw fit to enshrine freedom of religion into the Constitution in the very first of the Bill of Rights.

They didn't pick a Christian. They picked a Jew. I think it was very targeted.

And wouldn't you denounce that? And wouldn't you say it's one more piece of evidence that gays are often treated unjustly?

It totally would, if lynching and attempted hat theft were in the same ballpark.

Yep. Damn good of us, ain't it? Thing is, though, the freedom of religion extends to all religions, whether it be mainstream like Christianity or Islam, or nutso wackjob like Heaven's Gate. Goes right with another thing that makes this country great is that we punish individuals for their crimes, not the groups they just happen to belong to. And I think a hell of a lot of people forget that.

Well, last I checked, most crosses that people wear are slight smaller and more concealed than yarmulkes, but who knows how grandiose those crosses are getting nowadays! Jesus died for our bling and all.

Oh, I certainly would. But it wouldn't make me go, "Man, all these hicks do is beat on gays and shoot people while hunting, let's glass those fuckers."

In other words, I'm not going to condemn the whole lot of 'em because a few of them are fucking idiots.

Additionally, the point I was sort of hinting at is that there are groups from all walks of life that have some fucking stupid people identifying with them. Hell, Christianity's got Phelps, and I think most people would consider someone unreasonable if they then took him, his ilk, and the many others out there that are like him, then used them to equate Christianity to Nazism.

The guilty actions of the few should not indict the many like-minded innocent.

Religion card!

Seriously though... should motive effect the severity of punishments or the heinousness of the crime?