The Year in Sanity: “Dude, you have no Quran”
Honoring the shirtless skateboarder who put a would-be flaming pastor in his place
By Laura DeurmyerTopics: The Year in Sanity, News
Sometimes, I don’t give my fellow West Texans enough credit. Sure, there are many people here who are unthinking followers of hurtful, hateful right-wing dogma. However, West Texas is also home to a hilariously effective foiling of an attempt to carry out the vile Quran-burning set off by Florida preacher Terry Jones.
With the simple declaration “Dude, you have no Quran,” Jacob Isom stopped a radical “Christian” group from burning the Muslim holy book in an Amarillo Texas Park.
Simple, direct common-sense action. Non-violent, casual, calm. Problem solved.
Good ol’ West Texas common sense. It’s still around. It’s shirtless, sporting an inexplicable braid and now shamelessly marketing “Dude you have no Quran” merchandise, but for a least a few minutes, Jacob Isom embodied sanity in West Texas.
Laura Deurmyer is a blogger at Open Salon. More Laura Deurmyer.
Related Stories
More Related Stories
-
51 killed in massive Oklahoma tornado
-
Don't cry climate-change wolf
-
Record tornado devastates Oklahoma
-
Limbaugh: No one willing to impeach the first black president
-
Tornado reduces Oklahoma City suburb to rubble
-
AP: Toll at least 37 dead in Okla. tornado
-
Entire Midwest on tornado warning
-
Oregon senator proposes appeal to Monsanto Protection Act
-
Supreme Court to rule on prayer at government meetings
-
Beltway scandal machine breaks, knows nothing about America
-
Gitmo hunger striker launches Twitter campaign
-
"Hero" cop, honored by Obama, accused of double rape
-
Father of gay high school student arrested for dating classmate speaks out
-
Pentagon adviser pushed Anthrax drug, which his firm produced
-
Conservatives A-OK with closeted Boy Scouts
-
The new geography of poverty
-
Promotion for NYPD cop who cost city $1.5m in settlements
-
Obama to all-male university graduates: Be the best husband to "your boyfriend or partner"
-
The truth in Kanye's anti-prison rap
-
GOP attorney general candidate tried to force women to report miscarriages to police
-
Chinese hackers resume attacks against U.S.
Featured Slide Shows
The week in 10 pics
close X- Share on Twitter
- Share on Facebook
- Thumbnails
- Fullscreen
- 1 of 11
- Previous
- Next
-
Lisa Montgomery embraces her nephew Thursday after a tornado tore apart her home in Cleburne, Texas. The twister killed six people and destroyed entire swaths of the North Texas town.
Credit: AP/LM Otero -
Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia Tuesday. His client was convicted of killing three babies in his clinic, and will serve multiple life sentences.
Credit: AP/Matt Rourke -
A photo taken Monday captures Vice President Joe Biden's response to a Milwaukee second-grader's innovative proposal to end America's epidemic of gun violence. This guy!
Credit: AP/Jenny Aicher -
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., flanked by a grouper-eyed Michele Bachmann, addresses the IRS' admission that it targeted Tea Party groups in advance of the 2012 election. In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, the Kentucky senator slammed the president for his faux outrage.
Credit: AP/Molly Riley -
Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill Friday. Miller testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the extra scrutiny the agency gave conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite -
Attorney General Eric Holder pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Holder is under fire, among other things, for the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press.
Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster -
O.J. Simpson sits during an evidentiary hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. Simpson, who is currently serving a nine-to-33-year sentence in state prison for armed robbery and kidnapping, is using a writ of habeas corpus to seek a new trial.
Credit: AP/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Jeff Scheid -
Major Tom to ground control: On Sunday astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first music video from space, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
Credit: AP/NASA/Chris Hadfield -
When it rains it pours. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inexplicably inspiring an #umbrellagate Twitter meme.
Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin -
A smoke plume rises high above a road block at the intersection of County A and Ross Road east of Solon Springs, Wis., Tuesday. No injuries were reported, but the the wildfire caused evacuations across northwestern Wisconsin.
Credit: AP/The Duluth News-Tribune/Clint Austin -
Recent Slide Shows
- Share on Twitter
- Share on Facebook
- Thumbnails
- Fullscreen
- 1 of 11
- Previous
- Next
Related Videos
In honor of the Rally to Restore Sanity, we're celebrating great acts of clear thinking -- and need your help! Who do you think deserves to be honored for their sane behavior this year? You have three ways to let us know your idea:
1). Blog about it
on Open Salon (be sure to tag it: theyearinsanity).
2). Email us your idea at TheYearInSanity at salon dot com.
3). Post your idea in the Comments section on this post.
We'll be spotlighting the best suggestions up until Oct. 30, when we will list our Top 10 honorees.
Most Read
-
Revenge, ego and the corruption of Wikipedia
Andrew Leonard
-
Horrifying new trend: Posting rapes to Facebook
Mary Elizabeth Williams
-
"Jodorowsky's Dune": The sci-fi classic that never was
Andrew O'Hehir
-
We're living in an Ayn Rand economy
Paul Buchheit, AlterNet
-
My open relationship went awry
David Farley
-
Obstruction will ruin GOP
Jonathan Bernstein
-
Will you marry me -- once you're done peeing?
Tracy Clark-Flory
-
GOP attorney general candidate tried to force women to report miscarriages to police
Katie Mcdonough
-
Jaron Lanier: The Internet destroyed the middle class
Scott Timberg
-
Penn Jillette's secrets of "Celebrity Apprentice": Donald Trump is a whackjob!
Penn Jillette
Popular on Reddit
links from salon.com

861 points862 points863 points | 177 comments

35 points36 points37 points | 7 comments



Comments
40 Comments