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defrogI’ve tried to avoid commenting on the Mosque At/Near Ground Zero (M@/NGZ) meme, because honestly, it’s an issue so utterly stupid that it barely warrants a response.
But it seems like ever since NYC decided it was okay, everyone ELSE has gone into freakout mode and thinks Gov Paterson has declared New York State to be officially under Sharia law, and that soon we will all be forced to be terrorists under Presidente Hussein who, as more and more Americans will tell you, is OBVIOUSLY one of them because otherwise why would he go on TV and order the mosque to be built and then pretend he didn’t?
Which is insane, of course. And to rephrase an old Wm Burroughs quote, I am not paid to argue with the mentally ill. Which is why I’ve been avoiding this post. Because honestly, what else can I say about it at this stage?
All the rational arguments in favor of M@/NGZ have been made and laid bare for everyone to see again and again. They’re easy to find, they all add up and they all make sense. The thing is, it doesn’t really matter.
Here’s why:
The people leading the anti-M@/NGZ meme don’t care about the Muslims inside the WTC on 9/11, or that there are already mosques in the neighborhood, or that it’s really more of a community center, or whatever. None of that matters to them.
We know this because everything they’ve said in the media and chain emails about M@/NGZ boils down to the same basic emotional bullet points – Islam caused 9/11. Islam will be the source of the next 9/11. Islam does not belong in Certain Places. Islam is not part of America. Islam is dangerous to Americans. Islam is The Enemy.
There’s not even much of a distinction between regular Islam and radical Islam anymore. The entry-level assumption seems to be that any mosque or Muslim gathering place is a radical Islamic terrorist training camp waiting to happen.
Anyway.
Ignorance and Fear. That’s what this is all about – people who are afeared of things they know nothing about and don’t WANT to know. 9/11 was just TOO SCARY – they cannot face that again and they will do anything to avoid it. And if only we had cracked down on the Islams earlier, 9/11 would never have happened, so let’s not make that mistake again. Do not trouble us with history or actual risk statistics or who’s entitled to constitutional rights – we are AFRAID. We are not interested in being rational, we are interested in NOT BEING KILLED BY THE ISLAMS.
That may not be the exact script playing in their subconscious. But the spirit is there. And it amounts to the same thing.
Ignorance and fear of the Islams.
Or, if you like, we can just call it what it really is:
Prejudice and bigotry.
Yes.
I won’t go as far as say it’s racism, if only to recognize that for a lot of people, the issue is Islam itself, not so much a specific race of people that practice it. Yes, a lot of Muslims are Strange Brown People, and that’s the current public face of Islam on TV, and so plenty of people are afraid of (and thus hate) the Strange Brown People. But I don’t think that warrants a blanket racism label on everyone who opposes M@/NGZ. I’m sure someone can make a good case for doing so. But it’s such an overused and misused label that I choose to use it carefully.
“Prejudice”, on the other hand, most certainly applies, as does “bigotry” in the hardline cases.
And sadly – if you believe opinion polls – they currently apply to over two-thirds of the American population.
If that’s the way Americans want it – if they'd rather justify prejudice in exchange for perceived safety – that's their lookout. And I'm always willing to hear any reasonable argument defending that position, with the following ground rule:
If you oppose M@/NGZ, you do not get to qualify that with “It’s not that I have a problem with Islam, but ...”
Well, yes. You fucking well do. And if you can’t admit even that much, then we’re done here.
The end.
Freedom isn’t free,
This is dF
But it seems like ever since NYC decided it was okay, everyone ELSE has gone into freakout mode and thinks Gov Paterson has declared New York State to be officially under Sharia law, and that soon we will all be forced to be terrorists under Presidente Hussein who, as more and more Americans will tell you, is OBVIOUSLY one of them because otherwise why would he go on TV and order the mosque to be built and then pretend he didn’t?
Which is insane, of course. And to rephrase an old Wm Burroughs quote, I am not paid to argue with the mentally ill. Which is why I’ve been avoiding this post. Because honestly, what else can I say about it at this stage?
All the rational arguments in favor of M@/NGZ have been made and laid bare for everyone to see again and again. They’re easy to find, they all add up and they all make sense. The thing is, it doesn’t really matter.
Here’s why:
The people leading the anti-M@/NGZ meme don’t care about the Muslims inside the WTC on 9/11, or that there are already mosques in the neighborhood, or that it’s really more of a community center, or whatever. None of that matters to them.
We know this because everything they’ve said in the media and chain emails about M@/NGZ boils down to the same basic emotional bullet points – Islam caused 9/11. Islam will be the source of the next 9/11. Islam does not belong in Certain Places. Islam is not part of America. Islam is dangerous to Americans. Islam is The Enemy.
There’s not even much of a distinction between regular Islam and radical Islam anymore. The entry-level assumption seems to be that any mosque or Muslim gathering place is a radical Islamic terrorist training camp waiting to happen.
Anyway.
Ignorance and Fear. That’s what this is all about – people who are afeared of things they know nothing about and don’t WANT to know. 9/11 was just TOO SCARY – they cannot face that again and they will do anything to avoid it. And if only we had cracked down on the Islams earlier, 9/11 would never have happened, so let’s not make that mistake again. Do not trouble us with history or actual risk statistics or who’s entitled to constitutional rights – we are AFRAID. We are not interested in being rational, we are interested in NOT BEING KILLED BY THE ISLAMS.
That may not be the exact script playing in their subconscious. But the spirit is there. And it amounts to the same thing.
Ignorance and fear of the Islams.
Or, if you like, we can just call it what it really is:
Prejudice and bigotry.
Yes.
I won’t go as far as say it’s racism, if only to recognize that for a lot of people, the issue is Islam itself, not so much a specific race of people that practice it. Yes, a lot of Muslims are Strange Brown People, and that’s the current public face of Islam on TV, and so plenty of people are afraid of (and thus hate) the Strange Brown People. But I don’t think that warrants a blanket racism label on everyone who opposes M@/NGZ. I’m sure someone can make a good case for doing so. But it’s such an overused and misused label that I choose to use it carefully.
“Prejudice”, on the other hand, most certainly applies, as does “bigotry” in the hardline cases.
And sadly – if you believe opinion polls – they currently apply to over two-thirds of the American population.
If that’s the way Americans want it – if they'd rather justify prejudice in exchange for perceived safety – that's their lookout. And I'm always willing to hear any reasonable argument defending that position, with the following ground rule:
If you oppose M@/NGZ, you do not get to qualify that with “It’s not that I have a problem with Islam, but ...”
Well, yes. You fucking well do. And if you can’t admit even that much, then we’re done here.
The end.
Freedom isn’t free,
This is dF
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no subject
on 2010-08-20 01:51 am (UTC)no subject
on 2010-08-20 01:30 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2010-08-20 01:56 am (UTC)Well said.
no subject
on 2010-08-20 01:21 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2010-08-20 02:30 am (UTC)Now these people are posting all of this insane hate-mongering and I'm just biting my lip and choosing not to get involved because there's just no point in arguing with stupid.
It's a lose-lose position.. it irks me to let their stupidity fester, and at the same time I know that no good could come from my opening my mouth about it. Thanks for your post, I wholeheartedly agree with you.
no subject
on 2010-08-20 01:26 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2010-08-20 04:36 am (UTC)As if you didn't already know that.
no subject
on 2010-08-20 01:27 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2010-08-20 11:03 am (UTC)no subject
on 2010-08-20 01:29 pm (UTC)Although looking at the UK dithering over burquas and photographers, maybe you'll hardly notice the difference.