Advice. Unasked-For.

You realize, don't you, that you're being Trolled. And not just by this "Sam Bacile" imbecile. There is no "state television" in the United States. That should have been a clue, right there. And this alleged movie has been out since June. Funny how a trailer that went up early in the summer slipped under the radar until the anniversary of the al-Queda attacks on the World Trade Center. Don't tell me that this is the fault of a movie, or a moviemaker. Otherwise, give me a few weeks, and I'll make a movie that will "provoke" you into buying me a new car. People are preying on your fear, insecurity and sense of past and present humiliation, and you dance whenever they play the proper tune. They're being gargantuan Internet Trolls. Scaly hide, beady eyes, cloven feet and all. According to his associates "Sam Bacile" supposed to be "in hiding." Bullshit. He is (or possibly, they are) out there laughing at us, because he's basically demonstrated that with a little deception, an internet connection and a few dishonest people in the right places he can literally Troll thousands, if not millions, of people at once. And if you have access to the Internet, you should already know the first rule of interacting with it. Do. Not. Feed. The. Trolls.

Now this is, were I talking to someone I knew well, where I would tell them that when people understand your sensitivities well enough that they can poke you and you go off and break something that had nothing to do with the issue at hand - you're not in control of your feelings about this topic. Your feelings are in control of you. When innocent people die, when you're out being beaten up by the police in an effort to make a foreign country violate its own laws or when your protests are violent enough that armed militia groups can use them as cover, you've lost control. And that is what Trolling is all about. Using a person's or people's lack of control as a weapon against them. And here, it's working. Because the protests, the violence and the destruction? They're not going to bring about the change that you want. The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States protects free speech. Short of a clear criminal conspiracy or direct incitement, cases of culpable speech are VERY hard to prove. And yes, we meant it to be that way.

And I know, that when it really comes down to it, this isn't about a trailer for a third-rate movie made under false pretenses. It's about decades of foreign policy decisions that have left most of the area feeling marginalized and disrespected. Most of us understand that. We really do. We don't normally pay it much attention, but we get it. You feel that we're there to take what is useful to us and leave behind the rest, and if that means allowing you to suffer under brutal dictatorships and false "democracies," then that's what we'll do. We're well aware of that criticism. People here make it, too.

I understand that you all get to go back to your homes and workplaces and tell your friends and families about the lengths you are willing to go to in the defense of Islam. And I'm sure that they, and Barry Goldwater, would be proud of you. But take it from an old man. You're not going to get what you want. At best, you'll wind up looking violent and easily-provoked. At worst, you'll wind up with a lot of death and destruction in your own countries. Setting fire to restaurants in Lebanon is unlikely to have any effect on the Western companies that own them. After all, they have insurance. And Moslems here in the United States are unlikely to take up the cause - they have a lot to lose.When ethnic minorities here in the United States riot in their own communities and destroy their own neighborhoods, it doesn't do them any good either. If we won't listen to our own when the torches and pitchforks come out, we certainly won't listen to you under those same circumstances. So I can pretty much guarantee you that you'll wind up burning down your own homes and businesses long before you get to the point of getting the American public to arrest and imprison a man for what is really little more than being a grade-A jackass who associates with people who hate Islam. But the next time someone feels the need to demonstrate that they can get a rise out of someone, guess who they're going to target...

So do everyone involved a favor. Let this one go. Stop caring what we think about you. There is no profit in feeling humiliated every time someone in the United States thumbs his nose at you. One of "Sam Bacile's" cronies has gone on the record as having told him that he'll be the next Theo van Gogh, and it's gone to his head. Rather than let out-of-control emotions inflate a common Troll's head to the size of a hot-air balloon, just say "meh" and walk on. Because Trolls are like any other parasite. The more you feed them, the more you end up with.