“In offering the first explanation of why he chose the name, Reeve said it was a decision made by his family in an exercise of free speech after teaching his children that in some parts of the world they could be sentenced to death for doing so.” That is absolutely true, and Reeve should not apologize until Hamas-linked CAIR apologizes for opposing anti-terror efforts, defaming freedom fighters, and aiding and abetting the stealth jihad in the United States. “Reeve Explains ‘Muhammad’ as Dog’s Name,” by Jenna Chandler for the San Juan Capistrano Patch, September 20 (thanks to all who sent this in):
Naming his dog Muhammad, and later announcing it during a public meeting, was not meant to be disparaging to Muslims, San Juan Capistrano Councilman Derek Reeve said Tuesday.
In offering the first explanation of why he chose the name, Reeve said it was a decision made by his family in an exercise of free speech after teaching his children that in some parts of the world they could be sentenced to death for doing so.
Reeve mentioned his dogs’ names Sept. 6 (the other is named America), as the council voted on plans for a dog park in the Northwest Open Space.
Dogs are traditionally considered unclean in the Arab world””a perception that caused Councilman Larry Kramer to ask the rest of the council to talk about proper decorum at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting.
“We are in a position of authority. It’s important we choose our words wisely,” Kramer said. “I hope the council will say this kind of speech is not OK.”
Once you start down that road, Kramer, one day someone will say that something you’re saying is a kind of speech that is not OK, and no one will be left to speak up for you.
Kramer asked the council to discuss its standards of conduct and to rewrite its rules on decorum””requests that went unfulfilled.
Reeve, commenting on the 45-minute discussion that ensued with comments from the public, said, “What’s most offensive [to me] is that we’re not talking about anything important. We’re talking about my damned dog.”
Indeed. One would think that the continued treatment by the mainstream media of a group that was an unindicted co-conspirator in a Hamas terror funding case and has had several of its officials convicted of jihad terror-related offenses as a neutral civil rights organization would be much more important.
Some residents agreed. Several who spoke during a public hearing said they preferred to have the council focus on other, more “pressing” issues, such as the city’s infrastructure, high water rates and finances.
Reeve at some points during his explanation got choked up. He said this week had been a difficult one, with a “terrorist organization” reprimanding him for his public declaration of his dog’s name.
Mayor Sam Allevato also had harsh words for Reeve.
“You have to be really careful about what you say” from the dais, Allevato cautioned. “These types of comments are not acceptable” and could lead to what some could consider a hostile work environment for City Hall employees, he said.
In other words: Don’t insult these people, Reeve, because they have been known to murder those who insult them, and other innocent people as well.
Allevato ought to be ashamed of himself for acquiescing to this violent intimidation.
Allevato said a Muslim in the audience during the last City Council meeting was offended by Reeve’s remark. He also said allowing such comments to be made would be a “slippery slope.”…
A “slippery slope” to what? Dogs named Jesus? And who exactly would fly into a rage or kill over that? Allevato’s words, on the other hand, represent a slippery slope toward saying that the if people fly into a violent and irrational rage over something we do, we have to change our behavior, rather than call upon them to grow up and act civilized.
On Friday, the Greater Los Angeles area office of the [Hamas-linked] Council on American-Islamic Relations asked Reeve to apologize for his comment. In a press release, it said he showed “disrespect toward Islam’s revered prophet Muhammad by making [the] derisive public comment.”
One would think that the Muslims in Pakistan and Afghanistan and Indonesia and elsewhere who go on murderous rampages because someone drew a cartoon of Muhammad would be showing more disrespect to Muhammad than someone who named a dog after him, but evidently not in the moral calculus of Hamas-linked CAIR.