Islamophobia in the US

[Happy Face 29]

 

Find that pretty shocking like.

 

When the Westboro baptist church have one of their protests it's a few mentally unstable cultists spouting hate. This is a much bigger gathering of Fox propagandised hate filled people.....and it's the inncoent black man that gets moved on by the law when people satrt abusing him.

Edited August 23, 2010 by Happy Face

[acrossthepond 699]

Give it 30 years and nobody will even care about us. It'll be Sinophobia. Instead of anyone with brown skin it'll be anyone with epicanthic folds.

 

I'll wait.

[Sonatine 9926]

Charlie Brooker wrote a good piece about this.

 

'Ground Zero mosque'? The reality is less provocative

 

Millions of Americans are furious about the 'Ground Zero mosque'. But it doesn't exist

 

 

 

Things seem awfully heated in America right now; so heated you could probably toast a marshmallow by jabbing it on a stick and holding it toward the Atlantic. Millions are hopping mad over the news that a bunch of triumphalist Muslim extremists are about to build a "victory mosque" slap bang in the middle of Ground Zero.

 

The planned "ultra-mosque" will be a staggering 5,600ft tall – more than five times higher than the tallest building on Earth – and will be capped with an immense dome of highly-polished solid gold, carefully positioned to bounce sunlight directly toward the pavement, where it will blind pedestrians and fry small dogs. The main structure will be delimited by 600 minarets, each shaped like an upraised middle finger, and housing a powerful amplifier: when synchronised, their combined sonic might will be capable of relaying the muezzin's call to prayer at such deafening volume, it will be clearly audible in the Afghan mountains, where thousands of terrorists are poised to celebrate by running around with scarves over their faces, firing AK-47s into the sky and yelling whatever the foreign word for "victory" is.

 

I'm exaggerating. But I'm only exaggerating a tad more than some of the professional exaggerators who initially raised objections to the "Ground Zero mosque". They keep calling it the "Ground Zero mosque", incidentally, because it's a catchy title that paints a powerful image – specifically, the image of a mosque at Ground Zero.

 

When I heard about it – in passing, in a soundbite – I figured it was a US example of the sort of inanely confrontational fantasy scheme Anjem Choudary might issue a press release about if he fancied winding up the tabloids for the 900th time this year. I was wrong. The "Ground Zero mosque" is a genuine proposal, but it's slightly less provocative than its critics' nickname makes it sound. For one thing, it's not at Ground Zero. Also, it isn't a mosque.

 

Wait, it gets duller. It's not being built by extremists either. Cordoba House, as it's known, is a proposed Islamic cultural centre, which, in addition to a prayer room, will include a basketball court, restaurant, and swimming pool. Its aim is to improve inter-faith relations. It'll probably also have comfy chairs and people who smile at you when you walk in, the monsters.

 

To get to the Cordoba Centre from Ground Zero, you'd have to walk in the opposite direction for two blocks, before turning a corner and walking a bit more. The journey should take roughly two minutes, or possibly slightly longer if you're heading an angry mob who can't hear your directions over the sound of their own enraged bellowing.

 

Perhaps spatial reality functions differently on the other side of the Atlantic, but here in London, something that is "two minutes' walk and round a corner" from something else isn't actually "in" the same place at all. I once had a poo in a pub about two minutes' walk from Buckingham Palace. I was not subsequently arrested and charged with crapping directly onto the Queen's pillow. That's how "distance" works in Britain. It's also how distance works in America, of course, but some people are currently pretending it doesn't, for daft political ends.

 

New York being a densely populated city, there are lots of other buildings and businesses within two blocks of Ground Zero, including a McDonald's and a Burger King, neither of which has yet been accused of serving milkshakes and fries on hallowed ground. Regardless, for the opponents of Cordoba House, two blocks is too close, period. Frustratingly, they haven't produced a map pinpointing precisely how close is OK.

 

That's literally all I'd ask them in an interview. I'd stand there pointing at a map of the city. Would it be offensive here? What about here? Or how about way over there? And when they finally picked a suitable spot, I'd ask them to draw it on the map, sketching out roughly how big it should be, and how many windows it's allowed to have. Then I'd hand them a colour swatch and ask them to decide on a colour for the lobby carpet. And the conversation would continue in this vein until everyone in the room was in tears. Myself included.

 

That hasn't happened. Instead, 70% of Americans are opposed to the "Ground Zero mosque", doubtless in many cases because they've been led to believe it literally is a mosque at Ground Zero. And if not . . . well, it must be something significant. Otherwise why would all these pundits be so angry about it? And why would anyone in the media listen to them with a straight face?

 

According to a recent poll, one in five Americans believes Barack Obama is a Muslim, even though he isn't. A quarter of those who believe he's a Muslim also claimed he talks about his faith too much. Americans aren't dumb. Clearly these particular Americans have either gone insane or been seriously misled. Where are they getting their information?

 

Sixty per cent said they learned it from the media. Which means it's time for the media to give up.

 

Seriously, broadcasters, journalists: just give up now. Because either you're making things worse, or no one's paying attention anyway. May as well knock back a few Jagermeisters, unplug the autocue, and just sit there dumbly repeating whichever reality-warping meme the far right wants to go viral this week. What's that? Obama is Gargamel and he's killing all the Smurfs? Sod it. Whatever. Roll titles.

[Happy Face 29]

Give it 30 years and nobody will even care about us. It'll be Sinophobia. Instead of anyone with brown skin it'll be anyone with epicanthic folds.

 

I'll wait.

 

It has lasting effects though.

 

70 years ago it was the jews.....and look at the chip they've got on their shoulder nowadays.

[Dr Gloom 19720]

i blame the jews

[Park Life 70]

Wankers.

[ChezGiven 0]

i blame the jews

 

Wankers.

 

[spongebob toonpants 3581]

 

Jaw dropping and depressing in equal measure

[Dr Gloom 19720]

i'm going to play devil's advocate.

 

let's forget the media hype regarding this story for a minute.

 

isn't the idea of a mosque being built there a teeny tiny bit insensitive?

 

just seems to be fanning the flames for exactly this kind of over-reaction in the right wing american media.

[Park Life 70]

i'm going to play devil's advocate.

 

let's forget the media hype regarding this story for a minute.

 

isn't the idea of a mosque being built there a teeny tiny bit insensitive?

 

just seems to be fanning the flames for exactly this kind of over-reaction in the right wing american media.

 

It's part of the breeding hate of Muslims and bringing into the minds of the common Joe, which is the de facto plan of Zog.

[JawD 31]

i blame the jews

 

Wankers.

 

 

[Happy Face 29]

i'm going to play devil's advocate.

 

let's forget the media hype regarding this story for a minute.

 

isn't the idea of a mosque being built there a teeny tiny bit insensitive?

 

just seems to be fanning the flames for exactly this kind of over-reaction in the right wing american media.

 

That's a red herring. It's not on ground zero.

 

There's people protesting mosques getting built across the US. If California is too close to ground zero then it's the protesters who are beiong over sensitive.

 

Would it be insensitive to built a catholioc church in Birmingham?

[LeazesMag 0]

i'm going to play devil's advocate.

 

let's forget the media hype regarding this story for a minute.

 

isn't the idea of a mosque being built there a teeny tiny bit insensitive?

 

just seems to be fanning the flames for exactly this kind of over-reaction in the right wing american media.

 

insensitive ?

 

It's a fucking disgrace.

[spongebob toonpants 3581]

i'm going to play devil's advocate.

 

let's forget the media hype regarding this story for a minute.

 

isn't the idea of a mosque being built there a teeny tiny bit insensitive?

 

just seems to be fanning the flames for exactly this kind of over-reaction in the right wing american media.

 

 

You've got a point.

And anotherthing them uppitty Negroes should have walked rather than upset the white folk on the buses back in the sixties, would have saved a whole lot of overeaction.

[Guest alex]

That Brooker piece is excellent but it's as depressing as it is funny.

[Kevin S. Assilleekunt 1]

Find that pretty shocking like.

 

When the Westboro baptist church have one of their protests it's a few mentally unstable cultists spouting hate. This is a much bigger gathering of Fox propagandised hate filled people.....and it's the inncoent black man that gets moved on by the law when people satrt abusing him.

 

You find that pretty shocking eh. A few delinquents have a go at a black man and he walks off. I've got a tip for you mate, avoid Bambi; you'll go through a couple boxes of Kleenex watching that by the sounds of it. Have a lie down with your comfort blanket until you feel you're ready to face the world again.

[Park Life 70]

Find that pretty shocking like.

 

When the Westboro baptist church have one of their protests it's a few mentally unstable cultists spouting hate. This is a much bigger gathering of Fox propagandised hate filled people.....and it's the inncoent black man that gets moved on by the law when people satrt abusing him.

 

You find that pretty shocking eh. A few delinquents have a go at a black man and he walks off. I've got a tip for you mate, avoid Bambi; you'll go through a couple boxes of Kleenex watching that by the sounds of it. Have a lie down with your comfort blanket until you feel you're ready to face the world again.

 

Camfort blanket.

[NJS 3956]

My general anti-religion view aside, I wouldn't blame the Muslims if they gave up - they were /are trying to build a centre to build inter-faith relations and that's the reaction.

 

As HF said, they are reacting all over the country to Mosques - so much for freedom of religion.

[Guest alex]

i'm going to play devil's advocate.

 

let's forget the media hype regarding this story for a minute.

 

isn't the idea of a mosque being built there a teeny tiny bit insensitive?

 

just seems to be fanning the flames for exactly this kind of over-reaction in the right wing american media.

 

insensitive ?

 

It's a fucking disgrace.

It's not at the actual site though.

[LeazesMag 0]

My general anti-religion view aside, I wouldn't blame the Muslims if they gave up - they were /are trying to build a centre to build inter-faith relations and that's the reaction.

 

As HF said, they are reacting all over the country to Mosques - so much for freedom of religion.

 

it would be better if they did give up.

 

As for "shocking", remember PC Keith Blakelock ? I hope all you lot hurled your mass protest and voices of reason towards Winston Silcott, Mark Braithwaite and Engin Raghip and told them what you thought of the error of their ways and touched their guilty complex and human side.

[Guest alex]

My general anti-religion view aside, I wouldn't blame the Muslims if they gave up - they were /are trying to build a centre to build inter-faith relations and that's the reaction.

 

As HF said, they are reacting all over the country to Mosques - so much for freedom of religion.

 

it would be better if they did give up.

 

As for "shocking", remember PC Keith Blakelock ? I hope all you lot hurled your mass protest and voices of reason towards Winston Silcott, Mark Braithwaite and Engin Raghip and told them what you thought of the error of their ways and touched their guilty complex and human side.

How is that relevant btw?

[Kevin S. Assilleekunt 1]

My general anti-religion view aside, I wouldn't blame the Muslims if they gave up - they were /are trying to build a centre to build inter-faith relations and that's the reaction.

 

As HF said, they are reacting all over the country to Mosques - so much for freedom of religion.

 

Do you care to cite examples of this sort of behaviour en masse across the states? What I'm insinuating is I doubt you'll find evidence that the majority of a populace numbering over 300 million are taking part in this sort of rabid nonsense, and if a relatively small protest like this breaks your heart in such a manner what do you propose? So much for freedom of speech...

[ChezGiven 0]

My general anti-religion view aside, I wouldn't blame the Muslims if they gave up - they were /are trying to build a centre to build inter-faith relations and that's the reaction.

 

As HF said, they are reacting all over the country to Mosques - so much for freedom of religion.

 

Do you care to cite examples of this sort of behaviour en masse across the states? What I'm insinuating is I doubt you'll find evidence that the majority of a populace numbering over 300 million are taking part in this sort of rabid nonsense, and if a relatively small protest like this breaks your heart in such a manner what do you propose? So much for freedom of speech...

 

The GOP otherwise known as the Republican party. Is that 'en masse' enough for you?

[Dr Gloom 19720]

i'm going to play devil's advocate.

 

let's forget the media hype regarding this story for a minute.

 

isn't the idea of a mosque being built there a teeny tiny bit insensitive?

 

just seems to be fanning the flames for exactly this kind of over-reaction in the right wing american media.

 

insensitive ?

 

It's a fucking disgrace.

It's not at the actual site though.

 

it's close enough to cause mass hysteria.

[NJS 3956]

My general anti-religion view aside, I wouldn't blame the Muslims if they gave up - they were /are trying to build a centre to build inter-faith relations and that's the reaction.

 

As HF said, they are reacting all over the country to Mosques - so much for freedom of religion.

 

it would be better if they did give up.

 

As for "shocking", remember PC Keith Blakelock ? I hope all you lot hurled your mass protest and voices of reason towards Winston Silcott, Mark Braithwaite and Engin Raghip and told them what you thought of the error of their ways and touched their guilty complex and human side.

 

Fitted up and acquitted.