“I am a Muslim”
Kill me & call it
“Collateral Damage”
Imprison me & call it
“Security Measure”
Exile my people en mass & call it
“New Middle East”
Rob my resources, Invade my land, alter my leadership & call it
“Democracy”
Kill me & call it
“Collateral Damage”
Imprison me & call it
“Security Measure”
Exile my people en mass & call it
“New Middle East”
Rob my resources, Invade my land, alter my leadership & call it
“Democracy”
[Source: Edge of Space]
[Via: you.presscue]
We know the party line. We’ve been hearing it for decades.
As always, Monsieur, your imitation of a mindless American xenophobe is superb. (Pay no attention to him, my friends–he’s a Parisian provocateur with a flair for mimicry.)
J.
Why call me a xenophobe? This post is about Islamic xenophobia, isn’t it?
Do you know what xenophobia means, Janissary? Read this definition, and then read that sign again and see if you can figure it out, buddy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenophobia
Xenophobia is a fear or contempt of that which is foreign or unknown, especially of strangers or foreign peoples.[1] It comes from the Greek words ξένος (xenos), meaning “foreigner,” “stranger,” and φόβος (phobos), meaning “fear.” The term is typically used to describe fear or dislike of foreigners or in general of people different from one’s self.
It is kinda cute for you to accuse somebody like me, who voluntarily lives in the most diverse city on the planet, of xenophobia though 😀
Craig, there’s no doubt that you “voluntarily” live in the most diverse city on the planet. But the fact that you’ve been “hearing this party line for decades” does show that this diversity is not respected and is not welcomed by many people who reside this city.
So for people that live in other less diverse cities of the world, but are “voluntarily” accepting the many immigration ads bombarding their media, calling for them to lead better lives and live the “American Dream” only to be shocked with the fact that their presence is not welcome there by so many who are already “voluntarily” living there; then yes they’ll keep boring you with this “party line” until they reach the point where they no longer need to.
Sorry for that!
Eman, Arabs are very welcome here. As are Iranians – we have the largest Iranian population outside of Iran right here in LA, and that’s not an exaggeration, it’s a fact.
Do you agree with that protester’s sign? Do you think that’s the reality? Or do you think it’s a politically motivated “statement”? Or do you think the man really believes non-Muslims want to do all those things to him just because he’s Muslim? Or do you believe something else?
then yes they’ll keep boring you with this “party line” until they reach the point where they no longer need to.
Well, somebody who had the opinions this gentleman has would probably NOT be well received here. So, he should stay home, wherever home is. Especially if he thinks we are going to throw him in prison as soon as he arrives. Why would he even say that? Don’t you think he’s just trying to defame the West? Specifically English speaking countries, since his sign is in English?
Sorry for that!
Sorry for what? You didn’t say anything offensive 🙂
By the way, Eman, my comment about “voluntarily” living where I live was directed to Janissary’s claim that I was xenophobic. If that were true, I’d be living in Missouri or something. Well, maybe not there because Missouri sucks, but someplace with a population that was ~100% people like me. That’s all I meant, no more and no less.
“…Missouri sucks, but someplace with a population that was ~100% people like me”
hmm, a place with approximately 100% people like Craig – it would definitely suck!
hmm, a place with approximately 100% people like Craig – it would definitely suck!
It would damn sure suck, for you! 😛
But you wouldn’t have to worry about that, would you? Because you wouldn’t be there.
I support Graig’s point of view and I see that that guy with the caption is exaggerating. He is only provoking hatered and difference. The American people are as ordinary as muslims or any other population in the world. the problem is not between cultures or nations; the problem is made by politics . The guy should say I am a human being before being a muslim and he is deprived of his rights not because he is a muslim but because he has something to be deprived of like any other human being on this globe.
Craig, you’ve asked:”do you think the man really believes non-Muslims want to do all those things to him just because he’s Muslim? Or do you believe something else?”
Of course I’m not living in the caves Craig 🙂 I strongly believe that all what the person holding the sign has in mind is politics, and by killing he means wars waged on Arab and Muslim countries, wars that are causing more damage than construction and liberty…
I’m aware of the fact that many Americans welcome Arabs. I have many Arab friends who live in the US happily, and I also have many American friends whom I respect and cherish. But I’m also aware of the fact that many -maybe not the majority- but a huge number of Americans are either uncomfortable with Arabs -Muslims in particular- or do hate them for all the terrorism related to Islam which is brought to them by some idiots who call them selves Muslims. No one can blame them for hating those whom they think are the cause of their siuffering, but we can at least make the picture clear and try to show wehere Islam really stands and that terrorism is not something our religion calls for or supports, hoping the hatred based on the suffering caused by terrorism brought by those idiots would vanish.
But signs like the above, are discussing racism and hatred provoked by nothing more than politics, stupid racist selfish politics.
The nightmare many Muslims go through to get a visa to the West, or the treatment a Muslim man gets just because his name reflects his religion or just because he has a beard, or the treatment a woman has because of her headscarf… or when we hear that Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam) is banned entry to the US because he forms a threat just because he’s Muslim… those are things that really hurt us, make us feel different in a humiliating way and turn us into suspects of crimes we never even think of committing. And it’s out of this feeling of pain and suffering that we attack foreign policies and stand up for ourselves.
So in short I don’t think that the sign is exaggerating since it refers to political injustice and the unfair war it brought.
You are great Eman; you are right. The guy in the pic is not exagerating but he is wrong in stressing the fact the he is suffering because of his being Muslim. Their are millions of people who are not Muslim and are tortured. If we want to see the truth, we have to see reality not from a religious point of view or whatever, but from a human point of view. In fact people are made suffering not because of their believes but because the those who cause suffering are so ruthless and inhumane as to not care about others’ rights; they may kill, slaughter, pervade just for the sake of their own selfish and biased interests and bigotries. The Image of Islam is already stained; and what stains it are captions like the one above in the picture.
Dear sister Eman,when somebody who has an interest in power and wants to to get that power without make trouble around him, the first thing he needs to do is to make that desire in power legitimate. The easiest strategy or “trick” is to accuse the other in the disappearance of whom lies the fulfillment of that desire. He needs to annihilate that ‘other’ and at the same time make his desire legitimate. So, the aim of accusation and insult would be directed to the origins, believes, religion, and so on, of that ‘other’. the aim is to make up the difference and slander that difference in order to make that ‘other’ the utmost evil that his divine mission on earth is to eliminate. Take the example of the issue of slavery in the 17th and 18th centuries in Britain and in the American colonies. Do you think that white people then believed really in the inferiority of the African people? No, the color of skin and the different way of life of the Africans was an easy and naive scapegoat for the sake of legitimating their desire to get a free and productive work force. Do you think that the American Civil War was waged because the abolition of slavery had become believed to be unjust and inhumane? No, it was waged because the abolishing of slavery would not satisfy the selfish interests of landowners of that time. The same thing is happening now with the Arabs and many other developing nations; to accuse their culture is to make them the not welcome on earth; Big capitalist have their own filthy interests in what the Arabs have and not only Arabs.
Al Qaeda and the terrorists of the like are the new kind of that blindly rigid puritans who have not found yet their New England. If only life on Mars be discovered to be possible and they will be sent their and all the humanity will get rid of them. They will have the total freedom and pleasure to blow up as much bombs as they like.
AbdelMegid,
I believe we both agree on many things, most importantly the fact that not only Muslims have suffered, or are still suffering, from oppression or discrimination and that there are many other better ways to address one’s problems and suggest solutions.
And I totally agree with you that “when somebody who has an interest in power and wants to to get that power without make trouble around him, the first thing he needs to do is to make that desire in power legitimate.”
And that what’s happening now with Arabs is one form of what colored people and even Jews once went through.
The only thing I seem to somehow disagree with you on is that I still believe the sign is not as exaggerating or as accusing to non-Muslims as you and Craig might think 🙂
Yes there are better ways, yes not only Muslims suffer, yes he could have addressed the matter as a human being rather than limiting it to Muslims, but sometimes you have to speak for yourself as plain and direct as that guy with the sign did.
Let’s just hope that all the stupid politically-provoked problems would be solved soon, or at least be dealt with in a diplomatic, peaceful way that will not differentiate or cause any intolerance towards any race or religion.
Yes my dear sister,
Let us hope all the stupid politically-provoked problems would be solved soon and that there will be a generation more intelligent than the current that might deal with politics more humanely and objectively.
Thank you a lot for your intelligent and insightful opinions.
Eman, I invite you to visit my website, it is my personal virtual gallery of art
http://drawingart.page.tl/
thank you a lot.