This from one of 1,367 similar stories that grabbed Google's new headlines: "Last week at least 16 people in Afghanistan were killed in violent clashes sparked by the report.", all thanks to the recent Newsweek reporting blunder.
Those of us who love freedom of the press, and I'm included, have to question -- what line was crossed between responsible reporting and that which incites other people toward hate -- hatred enough to kill 16 people?
Would it have been any different if the Newsweek story were true? That is, suppose a copy of the Koran was truly flushed down some toilet in that Guantanamo detention center? I think the result would've been the same because the perception of extreme insult would've been identical.
The sobering fact is that the printed page can incite extremely negative consequences. We, as mostly ex-witnesses, can testify thousands of times over to the deleterious effects the Watchtower has induced because of their shunning orders after one of its members is disfellowshipped or disassociated. Suicides, broken homes, mental breakdowns, and yes -- even homicides. All this, in a relatively free society here in the U.S.
Some 60,000 Witnesses become ex-Witnesses each year. How many of them become such casualties as a result of the Watchtower's legally induced hatred that oozes from their printed pages? I also wonder how this number compares to that 16 in Afghanistan?
I certainly don't pretend to have answers for a solution. Do you?
Oh, by the way -- Newsweek apologized.