Rod – I’ve generally thought that Abe Foxman & Co. have behaved inadvisedly and sometimes irresponsibly. By making such a fuss about the Passion stirring anti-Semitism they probably encouraged some fools to act “brave” by blaming Jews when they probably wouldn’t have otherwise. But that doesn’t mean Foxman and Co. were completely wrong on the merits. I’ve always thought this movie would stir up anti-Semitism too. Particularly in foreign countries where this sort of thing sits a lot closer to the surface than it does in America. But then again, my column stirs up anti-Semitism almost everyday — because anti-Semites want to be stirred up — and it’s not like I want that censored either.

I don’t know any more about the events in Denver than what you posted, but it seems to me that if the movie was to blame, saying so is not really so outrageous. I would hope Jewish groups don’t blow it out of proportion because that would again only encourage would-be rebels to prove their “bravery” in the face of “religious political correctness” (and that may be your point).

But I think fans of the movie are going to have to make peace with the fact that while it may be brilliant, moving, uplifting and wonderful for the majority of people who see it, it will have an undersirable effect for some irreducible minority of people too. Just as violent movies are carthartic for the vast majority of people but one in 10,000 people in the audience take away an altogether different lesson and commit terrible acts. Conservatives, let alone Christian conservatives, more than anybody should be willing to admit that even the best things in this life have downsides.