This should be obvious. As Anna Williams points out below , the only person who holds the blame for today’s shooting, whatever its motivation, is the shooter himself. No idea or cause, however noble, is immune from excess. John Brown killed in the name of freedom. George Tiller’s murderer killed him, with unequalled perversity, in the name of life. And it seems increasingly likely that the FRC shooter shot a man in the name of tolerance.
My post earlier today (which has been misread by some as blaming same-sex marriage advocates for today’s events) makes a similarly equalizing point. One cannot tolerate one thing without being intolerant of another. One cannot promote one vision of the social good without working against another.
This should give pause to the most glib progressives, who want to paint their opponents as having a monopoly on intolerance. As Josh Barro said on Twitter, “We should tolerate some things and not others. The question is what to put in what box.” Josh gets this, and good for him. But I’m afraid many others who favor same-sex marriage just don’t.
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