Case in point – Freddy Gray dies in police custody. After Baltimore endured a week or so of protest followed by days of rioting (in which no deaths were reported, but over 200 businesses and millions of dollars of property was destroyed), the City Attorney charged six police officers with various crimes. Justice will work its course. Perhaps they will be found guilty, but that is not what is before us here. Whether the police are culpable or not – by what reasoning can people, no matter how upset they are over Mr. Gray’s death, cause so much destruction?
The second example of overreaction is, sad to say, way too common: the attack by radical jihadists on a “draw Muhammad” event in Texas. Some assert the venue was a "free speech" event; others that it was "anti-Islam" and an unnecessary provocation. Some Muslims believe there is a prohibition against such images, and they enforce said prohibition by killing those who produce or distribute such images. Dozens of people have been murdered or died violent deaths at the hands of jihadis, despite the fact that the Koran does not call for the death of those who depict Muhammad. The radicals, as radicals everywhere tend to do, have misread or misinterpreted the text.
Regardless, the point is, even if images of Muhammad are offensive, or intended to be offensive, by what standard is it acceptable to kill people who draw them? This is every bit as bad as if a Christian murders an abortionist, and our response should be the same - violence is an overreaction, and our people, our society and our governments should never do anything that in any way excuses or justifies such behavior. The "Draw Muhammad" event could have been picketed or protested or countered by an alternative event; and there are legal channels for handling suspicions of police brutality. Let's not have "provocation" be an excuse for murder, nor police brutality an excuse for riots and property damage.