Good athletes are great assholes. Come game time we are faster than you, stronger than you, cooler than you...your misfortune is our gain, and we don’t feel guilty. We are assholes of necessity. Being an asshole establishes pecking order. In fact, the better your opponent the bigger the asshole they become. Ever wonder why so many people hate the Yankees? Of my 26 years I have spent all of them as a man, and 18 in competitive sports including 8 in a football uniform and 6 on a rugby pitch. I hit the gym daily, routinely lifting more weight than a normal person would deem necessary. I might have a Master’s in Anthropology, but I have a bona fide PhD in asshole...
I say that to say this: You, ‘Dove World Outreach Center’, are an asshole.
Why would anyone burn the Koran? According to 'Pastor' Wayne Sapp of the ‘Dove World Outreach Center’ on Hardball last night:
"What we’re doing here is exposing an element of Islam that is known to everybody..."
Translation: Pastor Wayne says that the ‘Dove World Outreach Center’ is aware that radical Muslims are easily provoked and prone to violence. He implies that burning the Koran will further provoke Muslims, and cause them to expose themselves (we assume by becoming radically violent). He wants them to become enraged and kill more ‘westerners’ so the ‘Dove World Outreach Center’ can say 'I told you they were violent'. Now, since the USA has already spent billions fighting "terror" (read radical Islam), one would think that burning the holy book of all Muslims to expose "Radical Muslims" as "terrorists" would be unnecessary.
But I guess it’s only unnecessary if you’re trying to prevent a religious war...
Burning the Koran is akin to searching out the biggest, meanest ex-con you can find, pouring your coffee over his lady friend’s head, and expecting to get knocked out. It is a no lose situation. If you disrespect the man’s lady and nothing happens, you had some fun at their expense and after all, he’s still an ex-con. If you get knocked out, you destroy his life. Burning the Koran is sort of like that except instead of offending one ex-con you are offending every ex-con, their families, and their friends and instead of destroying one life, you are trying to destroy the whole community...which makes me think that maybe it’s not like that at all...
Be honest 'Dove World Outreach Center', besides having a completely ridiculous name you are the assholes here. You might be willing to sacrifice some ‘teeth’ to destroy Islam, but they would not be yours to sacrifice. You are assholes, and coming from an athlete that’s saying a lot.
NOTE: While the term asshole may not be sufficient to describe the crazies at the ‘Dove World Outreach Center’, it is also jarringly appropriate.