The Smedley D. Butler Brigade of Veterans for Peace, an anti-war veterans group, recently held a rally outside a mosque in response to “bigotry” in the US presidential race:

Supporters of Veterans for Peace carried white and black flags featuring the group’s logo, a white dove set against a combat helmet, and displayed signs reading “Muslims are not our enemy.”

Boston Police Commissioner William Evans also spoke and made the somewhat unusual statement that

“We’re all Muslims deep down. We all yearn for peace.”

That seems to recall sentiment after the Charlie Hebdo shooting in Paris, when social media warriors started saying Je suis Charlie — a noble attempt at solidarity that ignored who “Charlie” really was.

It’s a fine thing to defend someone’s right to do or say something — but that doesn’t mean you have to agree with it or claim to be “one of them.” In fact, there is absolutely nothing wrong to being strongly against someone’s speech, conduct, or ideology, while still defending their right to say, do, or believe it.

The concept that one needs to be that which is opposed or victimized may be poetic and inspire an emotional response, but it is not necessarily wise nor rational.

Religious freedom is important for all in the United States, but we are not “all Muslims deep down.”

It is also notably ironic that veterans and law enforcement will rally to say “we’re all Muslims” in the face of words by political candidates, while they won’t rally to say “we’re all Christians” when government actions run entrepeneurs out of business for acting in accordance with their Christian beliefs.

If a Muslim baker refused to provide a wedding cake for a homosexual ceremony and was fined out of business by the government, would these US vets and police still be “all Muslims deep down?”

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