Remember in 2004 when the backlash against gay marriage became a huge election issue galvanizing voters and members of the religious community? That’s nothing compared to what’s happening now.
This controversy over the Islamic center blocks away from Ground Zero has gone into overdrive, which some are hoping will be a huge issue in the fall elections this year.
Never mind that Al Qaeda attacked us and not Muslims in general. Never mind that many Muslims lost their lives during 9-11 due to those awful attacks. Never mind that when Timothy McVeigh blew up the federal building in Oklahoma, no one even thought of blaming Christianity on the whole for his twisted beliefs. Never mind the Islamic center isn’t even going to be located at “Ground Zero.”
Never mind any of that because there is a situation ready made to be exploited. And like in all situations like this, we have so many throwing their worthless two cents into the controversy, from a failed half termed governor (Sarah Palin) trying to be the “voice of America” when no one really asked her, to an insane Congressman (Louis Gohmert) spinning tangents about “terror babies.”
Not to mention that there is a lot of fertile, scared, and ignorant minds to be exploited. New York is not the only place where people are fearing the Islamic community. In Tennessee, some residents not only oppose the building of mosques, but were also hinting about digging up the graves and tracking the “community activities” of other Muslims.
It’s sad really and it makes me wonder if the terrorists who attacked on 9-11 did in fact win.
We have been constantly told that they hate us because of our “freedom.” But that’s not totally true.
Some of them hate us because they think we are hypocrites; that we give big talk about freedom and equality, but with the drop of a hat we abandon both concepts. That one minute, we are waving flags and singing the praises of living in a diverse community and the next, braining people over the heads with flag poles while justifying a fear of those who are different with the least shred of shame.
Someone tell me, what exactly do you call this controversy other than exactly what those terrorists believe?
Osama Bin Laden is in a cave somewhere laughing himself silly.
Islam is radically homophobic, that's a fact. The LGBT community has no business defending our enemies. The Republicans and the Muslims are a perfect match for each other, they share the same values of misogyny and homophobia and I for one am delighted to see them fighting each other.
ReplyDeleteWell I'm not. Scapegoating people for political game is wrong no matter who it is. We - the lgbt community - should know that already.
ReplyDeletePolitics is not a game of niceness and politeness. Both Republicans and the Muslim clerical establishment are enemies of LGBT rights. WE have no business standing up for either of these bigoted groups. Let them fight each other while we progress by slipping thru the middle.
ReplyDeletePolitics is the way it is because people won't do what's right. We have been victims of that. We should know better.
ReplyDeleteThe Muslim clerical establishment?
ReplyDeleteUh, the thing about Islam these days is that the Shiites don't believe in a central authority. Radical Sunnis of the Al Qaeda variety wish to reestablish a caliphate, but until then there's no such thing as a clerical establishment.
Islam more fractured than Protestantism.
The whole issue is something that goes further than just Islam and one mosque in New York. The right-wing Republicans obviously have no respect for non-Christian religious minorities (as a Buddhist, this is something I am painfully aware of). Anyone who thinks that the Republicans will be satisfied with merely picking on Muslims is simply being naive in my opinion. If they can oppress one group, none of us are safe.
ReplyDeleteOh come on now, we all know Osama is living in a Penthouse suite at the Marriot in Washington on George W. Bush's dime.
ReplyDelete:D
Also hon, it may be a waste of time defending your defense. As I learned with my piece here,
ReplyDeletehttp://trinityofhedon.blogspot.com/2010/08/bigotry-is-bigotry-no-matter-source-or.html
Some people who should bloody well know bigotry when they see it will adamantly defend their own bigotry for the most tertiary of reasons. As evidenced by my being told I'm undermining any good I've done on my blog by defending Christianity itself from blind blanket bigotry when those who ABUSE Christianity to hurt us should be the focus.
By defending Muslims, some of the more bitter, narrow-minded and borderline hateful folks in our community are GOING to chastise you for inadvertantly reminding them that they are in some ways no better than NOM.