Thread: Anti-Arab/Muslim sentiment in the United States

I'm just going to point out that, in regards to Christianity being a religion devoted to pacifism, the Old Testament (although more related to Judaism than Christianity to be fair) encourages violence against rulebreakers, with the most egregious examples in Leviticus. Considering that there are the kind of people who take the Qu'ran literally and use quotations to excuse and encourage their violent tendencies, it's important to note that the same can be found in Christianity using the Bible in its place. I'm relatively certain that this is the point Syme was making earlier.

Atmosfear, you say that there's no basis for comparison with Christianity, but there is. Culturally, North America has vast roots with the religion - look at how frequently the current vice-president refers to his faith, as well as George W. Bush's open stance about his religion. Because the culture here is steeped in the Christianity, regardless of sect (we can use it as a blanket term in this context because the differences dividing the various sects, extremist sects notwithstanding, are irrelevant to the point being made), it does stand as a paralell to Islamic Arab states. Considering that the original post referred to the negative view that America has on Islam in general, it's perfectly fair to make an assessment of America on the same terms as you would Islamic states.

I am sure many other cities have similar fervent folks so I won't link to any particular story, but I was pretty disgusted today to read the comments section of the local newspaper's online articles about the Fort Hood deal. Many comments were about how all (ALL) Muslims should be killed or deported, and that the religion as a whole is to blame. It's pretty sad that we're supposed to be the melting pot here in America but we've become as a whole more outcasting than most other countries in the world. I hope when we have our civil war it is the bigots vs. the libertarians because that will truly be an epic moral battle for the ages.

Originally Posted by jack burden

I swear to god there better be a third side because libertarians are fucking idiots.

To clarify, I was referring to those who believe in liberty and personal freedoms over government controls, not necessarily the political party of the same name... I'm talking about those that believe our country has strayed from its roots vs. those who think we're on the right track.
I think there are plenty of strong feelings in the air but neither side is ready to mobilize and get aggressive. I wouldn't be surprised though if there were a series of polarizing events that became the tipping point and initiated a fight-or-flight response from the general population. This one would be much nastier because it wouldn't be North vs. South (geographic separation) but neighbor vs. neighbor depending basically on if you watch Fox News or read Huff Po. The leaning media will be the driver for all of this of course, because most people are too stupid to keep their TVs turned off and introspect for a moment. (it would start out as left vs. right but as the war waged on it would become the constitutionalists vs. status quo I mentioned above and get a lot more muddy in terms of any party lines)