Ian WhiteAnti-Muslim America
January 2nd 2011 17:39
Category: No Category
Katie Couric raised an interesting point:
"I also think sort of the chasm between, or, the bigotry expressed against Muslims in this country has been one of the most disturbing stories to surface this year. Of course, a lot of noise was made about the Islamic Center, mosque, down near the World Trade Center, but I think there wasn't enough sort of careful analysis and evaluation of where this bigotry toward 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide, and how this seething hatred many people feel for all Muslims, which I think is so misdirected, and so wrong--and so disappointing. The Cosby Show' did so much to change attitudes about African-Americans in this country, and I think sometimes people are afraid of what they don't understand."
It intrigued me because this pointed out how easily influenced American's are by the media, but also how historically this land has always been prejudiced. Intolerance has been a staple of this culture ever since the Pilgrims felt the Native Americans were in the way of their vision of a paler society. If you look closely, the anti-Muslim sentiment here started when the Muslim population in America was tiny. The faith didn't hit the national stage until Malcolm X joined the Nation of Islam to build up the crippled black community and fight white supremacy. The religion was a mystery to most of the people, and even to Elijah Muhammad in way, as he practiced a different version than what you'd hear elsewhere, which Malcolm X later discovered. But people only knew what they were taught, and since the media and schools were largely racist, they didn't learn much.
Now anti-Muslim rhetoric has reached those levels again thanks to 9/11 and a propaganda campaign to equate terrorism with Islam. We've been led to believe that extremism reflects the bulk of their following, a notion certainly not used for Christianity. The interesting thing though is that the extremists that blow up Americans, and the extremists that preached that all white people were devils, were birthed by similar circumstances. While Malcolm X underwent his transformation due to the denial of human rights by a racist America, a lot of the anti-American –Muslim extremists beliefs were cultivated by decades of American imperialism. For instance, the Taliban wouldn't even exist if they hadn't been armed and trained by American forces to battle the Russians. Plus I'm pretty sure invading a country under false pretenses and bombing civilians won't win hearts and minds either.
It all comes down to media responsibility, but also a culture shift. The majority of progressive thinking has been coming from the under 30 crowd. Too many of the older generations are conditioned for ignorance and hatred from the century plus of grooming. I'm sure a hip sitcom with Muslims could sooth some of the issues, but you can't cure a disease by treating the symptoms. That approach makes the pharmaceutical companies rich, but it doesn't help sick people. It'll take more than a television show when there is entire network dedicated to its counter view.
"I also think sort of the chasm between, or, the bigotry expressed against Muslims in this country has been one of the most disturbing stories to surface this year. Of course, a lot of noise was made about the Islamic Center, mosque, down near the World Trade Center, but I think there wasn't enough sort of careful analysis and evaluation of where this bigotry toward 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide, and how this seething hatred many people feel for all Muslims, which I think is so misdirected, and so wrong--and so disappointing. The Cosby Show' did so much to change attitudes about African-Americans in this country, and I think sometimes people are afraid of what they don't understand."
It intrigued me because this pointed out how easily influenced American's are by the media, but also how historically this land has always been prejudiced. Intolerance has been a staple of this culture ever since the Pilgrims felt the Native Americans were in the way of their vision of a paler society. If you look closely, the anti-Muslim sentiment here started when the Muslim population in America was tiny. The faith didn't hit the national stage until Malcolm X joined the Nation of Islam to build up the crippled black community and fight white supremacy. The religion was a mystery to most of the people, and even to Elijah Muhammad in way, as he practiced a different version than what you'd hear elsewhere, which Malcolm X later discovered. But people only knew what they were taught, and since the media and schools were largely racist, they didn't learn much.
Now anti-Muslim rhetoric has reached those levels again thanks to 9/11 and a propaganda campaign to equate terrorism with Islam. We've been led to believe that extremism reflects the bulk of their following, a notion certainly not used for Christianity. The interesting thing though is that the extremists that blow up Americans, and the extremists that preached that all white people were devils, were birthed by similar circumstances. While Malcolm X underwent his transformation due to the denial of human rights by a racist America, a lot of the anti-American –Muslim extremists beliefs were cultivated by decades of American imperialism. For instance, the Taliban wouldn't even exist if they hadn't been armed and trained by American forces to battle the Russians. Plus I'm pretty sure invading a country under false pretenses and bombing civilians won't win hearts and minds either.
It all comes down to media responsibility, but also a culture shift. The majority of progressive thinking has been coming from the under 30 crowd. Too many of the older generations are conditioned for ignorance and hatred from the century plus of grooming. I'm sure a hip sitcom with Muslims could sooth some of the issues, but you can't cure a disease by treating the symptoms. That approach makes the pharmaceutical companies rich, but it doesn't help sick people. It'll take more than a television show when there is entire network dedicated to its counter view.
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Comment by nightlydvdreview
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Why? Because a Church of innocent people in the Philippines last week while praying at mass was bombed. Because people who claim we should be more tolerant of their religious beliefs, are not sensitive to our national tragedies. I agree, and defend, that the muslims in New York have EVERY RIGHT to build a mosque near ground zero. However, why was that particular spot chosen? When another suitable location was offerred, why was it not taken? In my opinion, due to the fear that the radical sect/s of Islam have promoted, it would have been classier (especially if they would have been very public about it) if they said, "To show America that we are with them, and we do not wish to offend, and to promote more understanding, we choose not to place a mosque at ground zero."
As I said, I agree that they have every RIGHT to be there, but just because someone has the right to do something, doesn't mean they should.
Last point I will make is this:
The terrorists have won. They have achieved their objective. They have succeeded in making us afraid, but our fear has no direction, so it is chaos. We have extremely tight security, some would even call it invasive, security at airports where even senators, congressmen, and military personnel are subject to full body x-rays and pat downs, but the cargo is not secure. There has been recent talk of doing the same thing with the train system in the US, but the largest actual security risk (our borders from Mexico and Canada) have little to no security.
When drug cartels control a town to the point that the police quit their jobs because they fear for their lives and the lives of their families, and that town borders the United States, that country becomes a security risk.
It's just like if you live next door to a crack house and you have a few sticks standing up between your yard and theirs, it will stop nothing, and you might find yourself with a visitor in the middle of the night.