Quaid: "ISIS, and those who hold similar values, are a violent pressure group who hold influence over the rights of others. They are using violent coercion to subvert these rights (freedom of expression), in the name of their own ideaology (Islam).
Gathering together and defying the core values the pressure group is using to oppress said rights is the very definition of political protest. While it could be argued that Islamic extremists hold little power over the American regime, they. Certainly hold power over the American populace.
Don't tread on me."
Gonna have to disagree with you there. A political protest is an action taken against a dominant elite. Muslim extremists are not a "dominant elite". They are ALREADY the "bad guys" and trying to hold a "protest" against them is like pissing in the ocean. The constitutionally-protected right to free speech can not and will not change to appease Mulsim extremists.
What's being "protested"? The use of violence to pressure other people to conform to your beliefs? That's already illegal, and anybody who attempts to do so is punished to the full extent of the law (or outright killed, as was the case here).
The "Draw Mohammed" contest was no protest. It was a "fuck you" to Muslims (which, again, is entirely legal). Nothing good came of it, it led to further violence and increased tensions in an already tense conflict, and it possibly provided the extremists with more recruitment material. The contest made things worse, not better.
I agree that several beliefs held by Muslim extremists pretty much guarantee they can't peacefully co-exist with others. I also understand that since they are notoriously unwilling to have their beliefs challenged in any way, we appear to be frustratingly at a loss as to how to address this issue. But it could not be more clear that we can not change their attitudes by going out of our way to antagonize and piss them off. Seriously, even if you could use mental gymnastics to try to qualify the contest as a "political protest", it would still be a complete failure as far as protests are concerned since it only made things worse, which is what being an asshole inevitably does.
