You make some excellent points, Martini. I mostly agree with you that there is a big difference between having beliefs and acting on them (in particular, in having a religious belief and not just acting on it, but IMPOSING IT on others). However I stick to my point that destroying (and urging others to destroy) art and cultural objects because they represent a different belief system is very wrong. To me it is wrong because while we might technically own these objects (and it could be argued that the Taliban, as the closest thing to a functioning government in Afghanistan at the time, "owned" the Buddha statues and museum contents) we are really also their custodians for future generations. With so much ugliness in the world, beautiful things merit appreciation, and at times protection.
Suppose this guy owned one of the 14 Vermeers and cut out all the human figures from it, and urged others to buy Vermeers and do the same? Granted, we are not likely to run out of Kukri's because of this jerk's website, but that's the essence of how I feel about what he is doing--again, it's a difference of degree.
So much interesting discussion on this thread!
Suppose this guy owned one of the 14 Vermeers and cut out all the human figures from it, and urged others to buy Vermeers and do the same? Granted, we are not likely to run out of Kukri's because of this jerk's website, but that's the essence of how I feel about what he is doing--again, it's a difference of degree.
So much interesting discussion on this thread!