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I am a former middle and high school science teacher pursuing a doctorate in Science Ed. at George Mason University, with a concentration in cognitive science and the evolution of cognition and learning. Postings on this blog represent my own views, not those of my employer or school. All writing displayed on this page is original work unless otherwise noted, and thus copyrighted.

05 September 2010

The view through your underpants must be great...

Excerpt from a Facebook post and conversation (I'll leave the usage and grammar alone, as it's too easy a target):


Brandy S. i cant believe that they are putting this shit up!!!! its FN RETARDED!!!!!! LETS JUST LET THE BASTARDS WHO BLEW US UP HAVE A PLACE TO WORSHIP WHERE WE GOT BLOWN UP AT!!!! ITS ALMOST LIKE A SHRINE FOR THEM FOR WHAT THEY DID TO US!!!! F THAT BS

I'm flying this flag to oppose the Muslim worship center at Ground Zero.
I am the 420,516th person to fly the flag in opposition of Muslim mosque at Ground Zero. I hope 5 million will join me! No app install required.
4 hours ago via Being Conservative - Fly the Flag · Comment · Like · Fly your Flag
Brandy S. i wonder how long it will take an american to blow up there stupid little shrine!!!!
3 hours ago · Like
April D. That's OBAMA for ya! Obama= One Big Ass Mistake America!
2 hours ago · Like
Brandy S. Hell yea!!!!
2 hours ago · Like
NOTE: In deference to another with the same name as the original poster, I have replaced all surnames with their initial.

    Where to start? There's this funny little clause in the Bill of Rights regarding freedom of religion, and the practice thereof that protects the building of a mosgue, synagogue, church, temple to Cthulu, or whatever other building of worship you want to construct wherever you want to build it. Presuming that no one's contravening any zoning laws (and they appear not to be), there is no legal reason why someone can't build a mosque at/near Ground Zero, nor should there be.
       Frankly, I'm not a fan of Islam (in fact I'm quite the opposite), but lumping every last Muslim in with those who committed the attacks on the World Trade Centers is a bit absurd. There're no outrageous protests against building Xian churches near the Oklahoma Federal Building, despite the fact that Timothy McVeigh and company were (at least nominally) Christian, and there's a very simple reason for that: those who perpetrated the attacks on the WTC spoke a different language, ate different foods, and looked different from the average American. Sorry folks, you're being racist fucktards rather than putting forth any sort of rational argument. The use of multiple exclamation points indicates you're wearing your underpants on your head ( or perhaps a tinfoil hat), and the bizarre reference to Obama just confirms that your brain has been addled by Faux News and the rhetoric of the Tea Party. It's a freakin' shame that so many of those who share my citizenship share those views, because the deluded, drooling masses of neo-con fools will certainly be out in full voting force this November. Wrapping yourself in the flag doesn't make your intolerance and hate any less ugly, nor does it make your attempts at revisionist history and the nostalgia for a nation that never existed isn't fooling anyone with half a brain. Those tactics seem hauntingly familiar though, say circa 1933?
    The call to violence in return for the building of a place of worship is a bit worrisome as well... it's almost like we think we're at war with all Muslims, rather than a select group of terrorists. If you're reasonable, liberal by most standards, or happen to belong to the vast groups of brown people, non-Christians, homosexuals, or anyone else that doesn't quite fit the conservative Christian agenda you might want to consider leaving this benighted nation. Don't take that as a "love it or leave it" comment, I'll be along shortly.

1 comment:

  1. I fully agree with points one and two, and have seen that elsewhere. Moderate Islam as a sect clearly doesn't exist, yet there are plenty of American Muslims that are far more moderate in their outlook than is prescribed by the Koran; one, for example, is a prominent psychologist and married to a Jew. Despite that, you might have noticed I wasn't in fact defending Islam, merely the legal rights of Muslims to build a shrine in the same places that others have that right, and the xenophobia and racism involved in the protests.
    As for your blog, much of that needs to be said, moreso due to the threats commonly issued against kafirs who would speak out against Islam. Something for you to consider on the nature of conservative Christians in this country.

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