The darker side of Facebook

I've only recently joined Facebook, the wildly popular social networking site that started out just being for college students. It's mostly just been a fun way to reconnect with some old rabbinical school classmates and other friends.

But apparently people use it for other reasons, including the spread of hate. Today, a friend asked me to sign a petition demanding Facebook shut down the "F**k Islam" group on the site (and, no, the real group name does not include the asterisks).

I am just appalled that anyone would form such a group and give it such a name. Sure, you can hold opinions criticizing a faith tradition. You can even talk about those opinions on a place like Facebook -- that's what we call free speech. But, if we really do all want to "get along", we have to express our opinions in ways that are respectful, especially when we are dealing with things that others consider most Holy. This goes way too far. It's disgusting and it has to stop.

I really hope this sort of thing is not what Facebook is really all about -- because if it is I'm most definitely not staying around.