Time to show tolerance
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In a previous post, David Cunningham and Christian Grauss have brought up the issues of hate crimes being committed against Muslims in Canada and Australia. Living in the same county (Arlington, Virginia) where Pentagon is, I also see a rise of hate crimes against ordinary Muslims around here. Just in one day after the terror incident, there has been 210 hate crime related incidence recorded. This includes physical assaults, threats, and vandalism of properties owned by Muslims. There have been reports of such hate crimes in other parts of the country as can be found from this MSNBC report. This only reminds the hate crimes committed towards Jews in Nazi Germany. But I agree with David. These crimes are committed by a very small number of individuals and are overreactions of the tragedy. The mainstream American public is certainly not with them. I applaud the efforts by President Bush and other national leaders such as NY mayor Julianni, attorney general John Ashcroft and congressman David Bonnier asking fellow Americans to show tolerance towards American Muslims. I also thank Chris for his recent decision to moderate this board to filter out inflammatory messages (despite his heavy workload). I don’t know what drives this kind of hate crimes against peace loving Muslims here. Like other Americans, Muslims here too are deeply shocked by the heinous atrocities committed by the terrorists in NY, DC and PA. There are a number of Muslims who also lost their lives in the WTC sites. All of the national Muslim organizations have condemned the attacks and come forward to support blood drives, encouraged to donate money and asked Muslims to participate in interfaith prayer services. Even if it is found that extremist group such as the one led by Bin Laden was behind this, no true Muslim can support such barbaric crime. Yes, it is true that there has been extreme unbalance in US policy in Middle East, yes it is true that there are thousands of children dying in Iraq everyday due to American led attack and subsequent sanctions, but in no way that can be justified to kill innocent American lives. These erroneous US policies were the result of some interest groups, who may be only a few in numbers, but are extremely powerful in US administration and American media. I am sure, if the American public were exposed to balanced media coverage, these policies would have changed and life in the modern world would be a lot
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In a previous post, David Cunningham and Christian Grauss have brought up the issues of hate crimes being committed against Muslims in Canada and Australia. Living in the same county (Arlington, Virginia) where Pentagon is, I also see a rise of hate crimes against ordinary Muslims around here. Just in one day after the terror incident, there has been 210 hate crime related incidence recorded. This includes physical assaults, threats, and vandalism of properties owned by Muslims. There have been reports of such hate crimes in other parts of the country as can be found from this MSNBC report. This only reminds the hate crimes committed towards Jews in Nazi Germany. But I agree with David. These crimes are committed by a very small number of individuals and are overreactions of the tragedy. The mainstream American public is certainly not with them. I applaud the efforts by President Bush and other national leaders such as NY mayor Julianni, attorney general John Ashcroft and congressman David Bonnier asking fellow Americans to show tolerance towards American Muslims. I also thank Chris for his recent decision to moderate this board to filter out inflammatory messages (despite his heavy workload). I don’t know what drives this kind of hate crimes against peace loving Muslims here. Like other Americans, Muslims here too are deeply shocked by the heinous atrocities committed by the terrorists in NY, DC and PA. There are a number of Muslims who also lost their lives in the WTC sites. All of the national Muslim organizations have condemned the attacks and come forward to support blood drives, encouraged to donate money and asked Muslims to participate in interfaith prayer services. Even if it is found that extremist group such as the one led by Bin Laden was behind this, no true Muslim can support such barbaric crime. Yes, it is true that there has been extreme unbalance in US policy in Middle East, yes it is true that there are thousands of children dying in Iraq everyday due to American led attack and subsequent sanctions, but in no way that can be justified to kill innocent American lives. These erroneous US policies were the result of some interest groups, who may be only a few in numbers, but are extremely powerful in US administration and American media. I am sure, if the American public were exposed to balanced media coverage, these policies would have changed and life in the modern world would be a lot
As a blonde haired blue eyed male I am, for whatever reason, in a group that is not often discriminated against. I got lucky. For the rest of my fellow countrymen, some aren't so lucky. It angers me and breaks my heart that there are those in the free world who would target and victimize innocent people because of thier skin color, national origins, religion, etc. Isn't this exactly what the terrorists have done to the US? That such barbaric ignorance can exist in the world is appalling to me. I've known many people of arab descent. I've had girlfriends of arab descent(just had to watch out for their fathers;)). They were wonderful caring people who wanted nothing else than to live in peace with their fellow man. I've never been a violent person. I hate violence, although I have occasionally had to pull out a raging can of whoop-ass to protect innocent people. I just hope that the small minded white trash idiots running around with fists full of stupidity come to their senses before more good people are hurt. And if they dont, may they and their families step in front of busses so that the world is free of them. Anyways, that's my morning rant. Peace. Josh josh@that-guy.net
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In a previous post, David Cunningham and Christian Grauss have brought up the issues of hate crimes being committed against Muslims in Canada and Australia. Living in the same county (Arlington, Virginia) where Pentagon is, I also see a rise of hate crimes against ordinary Muslims around here. Just in one day after the terror incident, there has been 210 hate crime related incidence recorded. This includes physical assaults, threats, and vandalism of properties owned by Muslims. There have been reports of such hate crimes in other parts of the country as can be found from this MSNBC report. This only reminds the hate crimes committed towards Jews in Nazi Germany. But I agree with David. These crimes are committed by a very small number of individuals and are overreactions of the tragedy. The mainstream American public is certainly not with them. I applaud the efforts by President Bush and other national leaders such as NY mayor Julianni, attorney general John Ashcroft and congressman David Bonnier asking fellow Americans to show tolerance towards American Muslims. I also thank Chris for his recent decision to moderate this board to filter out inflammatory messages (despite his heavy workload). I don’t know what drives this kind of hate crimes against peace loving Muslims here. Like other Americans, Muslims here too are deeply shocked by the heinous atrocities committed by the terrorists in NY, DC and PA. There are a number of Muslims who also lost their lives in the WTC sites. All of the national Muslim organizations have condemned the attacks and come forward to support blood drives, encouraged to donate money and asked Muslims to participate in interfaith prayer services. Even if it is found that extremist group such as the one led by Bin Laden was behind this, no true Muslim can support such barbaric crime. Yes, it is true that there has been extreme unbalance in US policy in Middle East, yes it is true that there are thousands of children dying in Iraq everyday due to American led attack and subsequent sanctions, but in no way that can be justified to kill innocent American lives. These erroneous US policies were the result of some interest groups, who may be only a few in numbers, but are extremely powerful in US administration and American media. I am sure, if the American public were exposed to balanced media coverage, these policies would have changed and life in the modern world would be a lot
DAMN STRAIGHT. I was actually talking this morning to my neighbor who is from either North Africa or the Middle East about our neighbor who is from Pakistan. Last night when I got home, I didn't see their kid around nor did the house look busy like it normally does. I actually found myself a bit worried about them given that they 'look' Arabian. Luckily, they are fine. :) Tim Smith Descartes Systems Sciences, Inc.
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In a previous post, David Cunningham and Christian Grauss have brought up the issues of hate crimes being committed against Muslims in Canada and Australia. Living in the same county (Arlington, Virginia) where Pentagon is, I also see a rise of hate crimes against ordinary Muslims around here. Just in one day after the terror incident, there has been 210 hate crime related incidence recorded. This includes physical assaults, threats, and vandalism of properties owned by Muslims. There have been reports of such hate crimes in other parts of the country as can be found from this MSNBC report. This only reminds the hate crimes committed towards Jews in Nazi Germany. But I agree with David. These crimes are committed by a very small number of individuals and are overreactions of the tragedy. The mainstream American public is certainly not with them. I applaud the efforts by President Bush and other national leaders such as NY mayor Julianni, attorney general John Ashcroft and congressman David Bonnier asking fellow Americans to show tolerance towards American Muslims. I also thank Chris for his recent decision to moderate this board to filter out inflammatory messages (despite his heavy workload). I don’t know what drives this kind of hate crimes against peace loving Muslims here. Like other Americans, Muslims here too are deeply shocked by the heinous atrocities committed by the terrorists in NY, DC and PA. There are a number of Muslims who also lost their lives in the WTC sites. All of the national Muslim organizations have condemned the attacks and come forward to support blood drives, encouraged to donate money and asked Muslims to participate in interfaith prayer services. Even if it is found that extremist group such as the one led by Bin Laden was behind this, no true Muslim can support such barbaric crime. Yes, it is true that there has been extreme unbalance in US policy in Middle East, yes it is true that there are thousands of children dying in Iraq everyday due to American led attack and subsequent sanctions, but in no way that can be justified to kill innocent American lives. These erroneous US policies were the result of some interest groups, who may be only a few in numbers, but are extremely powerful in US administration and American media. I am sure, if the American public were exposed to balanced media coverage, these policies would have changed and life in the modern world would be a lot
Looks like our country has only progressed very little since the 1940s. Let us not forget the hate crimes against the Japanese Americans who lived in the US at the time. They were branded traitors and loyal to the emperor of Japan, and summarily herded up into concentration camps. And you know what happened when the US allowed them to fight in the war? They walked away the most decorated infantry troop of the war. Let's hope that panic and ignorance doesn't lead down the path to camps again. Jon Sagara Sagara Software
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In a previous post, David Cunningham and Christian Grauss have brought up the issues of hate crimes being committed against Muslims in Canada and Australia. Living in the same county (Arlington, Virginia) where Pentagon is, I also see a rise of hate crimes against ordinary Muslims around here. Just in one day after the terror incident, there has been 210 hate crime related incidence recorded. This includes physical assaults, threats, and vandalism of properties owned by Muslims. There have been reports of such hate crimes in other parts of the country as can be found from this MSNBC report. This only reminds the hate crimes committed towards Jews in Nazi Germany. But I agree with David. These crimes are committed by a very small number of individuals and are overreactions of the tragedy. The mainstream American public is certainly not with them. I applaud the efforts by President Bush and other national leaders such as NY mayor Julianni, attorney general John Ashcroft and congressman David Bonnier asking fellow Americans to show tolerance towards American Muslims. I also thank Chris for his recent decision to moderate this board to filter out inflammatory messages (despite his heavy workload). I don’t know what drives this kind of hate crimes against peace loving Muslims here. Like other Americans, Muslims here too are deeply shocked by the heinous atrocities committed by the terrorists in NY, DC and PA. There are a number of Muslims who also lost their lives in the WTC sites. All of the national Muslim organizations have condemned the attacks and come forward to support blood drives, encouraged to donate money and asked Muslims to participate in interfaith prayer services. Even if it is found that extremist group such as the one led by Bin Laden was behind this, no true Muslim can support such barbaric crime. Yes, it is true that there has been extreme unbalance in US policy in Middle East, yes it is true that there are thousands of children dying in Iraq everyday due to American led attack and subsequent sanctions, but in no way that can be justified to kill innocent American lives. These erroneous US policies were the result of some interest groups, who may be only a few in numbers, but are extremely powerful in US administration and American media. I am sure, if the American public were exposed to balanced media coverage, these policies would have changed and life in the modern world would be a lot
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"Tolerance" is the wrong word, and implies we should turn the other cheek to the people that did this. I think "Time to *be* an American" is a better way to put it.
Couldn't agree more. Tolerance lies in the very foundation that America was built upon. // Fazlul
Get RadVC today! Play RAD in VC++ http://www.capitolsoft.com
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In a previous post, David Cunningham and Christian Grauss have brought up the issues of hate crimes being committed against Muslims in Canada and Australia. Living in the same county (Arlington, Virginia) where Pentagon is, I also see a rise of hate crimes against ordinary Muslims around here. Just in one day after the terror incident, there has been 210 hate crime related incidence recorded. This includes physical assaults, threats, and vandalism of properties owned by Muslims. There have been reports of such hate crimes in other parts of the country as can be found from this MSNBC report. This only reminds the hate crimes committed towards Jews in Nazi Germany. But I agree with David. These crimes are committed by a very small number of individuals and are overreactions of the tragedy. The mainstream American public is certainly not with them. I applaud the efforts by President Bush and other national leaders such as NY mayor Julianni, attorney general John Ashcroft and congressman David Bonnier asking fellow Americans to show tolerance towards American Muslims. I also thank Chris for his recent decision to moderate this board to filter out inflammatory messages (despite his heavy workload). I don’t know what drives this kind of hate crimes against peace loving Muslims here. Like other Americans, Muslims here too are deeply shocked by the heinous atrocities committed by the terrorists in NY, DC and PA. There are a number of Muslims who also lost their lives in the WTC sites. All of the national Muslim organizations have condemned the attacks and come forward to support blood drives, encouraged to donate money and asked Muslims to participate in interfaith prayer services. Even if it is found that extremist group such as the one led by Bin Laden was behind this, no true Muslim can support such barbaric crime. Yes, it is true that there has been extreme unbalance in US policy in Middle East, yes it is true that there are thousands of children dying in Iraq everyday due to American led attack and subsequent sanctions, but in no way that can be justified to kill innocent American lives. These erroneous US policies were the result of some interest groups, who may be only a few in numbers, but are extremely powerful in US administration and American media. I am sure, if the American public were exposed to balanced media coverage, these policies would have changed and life in the modern world would be a lot
It is good to see President Bush and the others point out that innocent Muslims have nothing to do with this. Targeting minorities is downright ugly and should be condemned. But why don't I hear Islamic nations combating blatant discrimination and destruction of their minorities (http://www.amnesty.org )? For every brick thrown against a mosque in the US of A, there are multiple bombs being thrown against minorities in Islamic countries. Why is it that Muslims tolerate such blatant discrimination in their own countries? :confused: /*Satish192*/
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As a blonde haired blue eyed male I am, for whatever reason, in a group that is not often discriminated against. I got lucky. For the rest of my fellow countrymen, some aren't so lucky. It angers me and breaks my heart that there are those in the free world who would target and victimize innocent people because of thier skin color, national origins, religion, etc. Isn't this exactly what the terrorists have done to the US? That such barbaric ignorance can exist in the world is appalling to me. I've known many people of arab descent. I've had girlfriends of arab descent(just had to watch out for their fathers;)). They were wonderful caring people who wanted nothing else than to live in peace with their fellow man. I've never been a violent person. I hate violence, although I have occasionally had to pull out a raging can of whoop-ass to protect innocent people. I just hope that the small minded white trash idiots running around with fists full of stupidity come to their senses before more good people are hurt. And if they dont, may they and their families step in front of busses so that the world is free of them. Anyways, that's my morning rant. Peace. Josh josh@that-guy.net
Well said brother. I couldn't have put it better myself.:) Andy Metcalfe - Sonardyne International Ltd
(andy.metcalfe@lineone.net)
http://www.resorg.co.uk"Be yourself, not what others want you to be."
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It is good to see President Bush and the others point out that innocent Muslims have nothing to do with this. Targeting minorities is downright ugly and should be condemned. But why don't I hear Islamic nations combating blatant discrimination and destruction of their minorities (http://www.amnesty.org )? For every brick thrown against a mosque in the US of A, there are multiple bombs being thrown against minorities in Islamic countries. Why is it that Muslims tolerate such blatant discrimination in their own countries? :confused: /*Satish192*/
Politics, greed and power I suspect. :(( It's all too easy to make the mistake of assuming that religion is the dividing line between peoples. Each nation has its own agenda - decided by the few who rule. The different approaches probably have a lot more to do with the difference between democratic and non-democratic countries than their faith. I'm afraid that the bottom line is that discrimination won't end as long as there are countries like Iraq, Libya and so many others. X| Andy Metcalfe - Sonardyne International Ltd
(andy.metcalfe@lineone.net)
http://www.resorg.co.uk"Be yourself, not what others want you to be."
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Looks like our country has only progressed very little since the 1940s. Let us not forget the hate crimes against the Japanese Americans who lived in the US at the time. They were branded traitors and loyal to the emperor of Japan, and summarily herded up into concentration camps. And you know what happened when the US allowed them to fight in the war? They walked away the most decorated infantry troop of the war. Let's hope that panic and ignorance doesn't lead down the path to camps again. Jon Sagara Sagara Software
Come on, Jon, you guys cannot be serious. Out of a population of 280 million something people you are surprised when a few morons come out of the woodwork? If you give enough people enough freedom some of them are going to decide to be a-holes, get used to it. We should not tolerate their behavior, but the mere fact that they exist hardly translates into no social progress since the 1940's. Anyone harming an Arabic person is going to be punished for a hate crime, and that is how it should be. Such people should be hunted down with as much passion as we are using againt bin Ladin I just don't get why your first instinct seems to be to rip into your own country's culture. I do not understand. It seems like just another form of overreacting. I will confess that I do not share in the sentiment that bin Ladin, et al, merely represent a bizarre anomaly in an otherwise peace loving society. I think Islamic culture as it currently exists in the Middle East is serously flawed from any Western point of view. I do not believe that "taking out" a few terrorist cells is going to do a lick of good. I believe that Islam in and of itself represents a threat to our future well being. But, hey, I will be happy to be proven wrong. However, none of that means that I wish any harm to any Arabic/Muslim person. Every one I have every met as been a fine individual and a tremendous asset to our country and its economy. I welcome them here with open arms. I just do not enjoy entertaining lectures on the intolerance of my society when I see so little coming from theirs. If that makes me intolerant, so be it.
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Come on, Jon, you guys cannot be serious. Out of a population of 280 million something people you are surprised when a few morons come out of the woodwork? If you give enough people enough freedom some of them are going to decide to be a-holes, get used to it. We should not tolerate their behavior, but the mere fact that they exist hardly translates into no social progress since the 1940's. Anyone harming an Arabic person is going to be punished for a hate crime, and that is how it should be. Such people should be hunted down with as much passion as we are using againt bin Ladin I just don't get why your first instinct seems to be to rip into your own country's culture. I do not understand. It seems like just another form of overreacting. I will confess that I do not share in the sentiment that bin Ladin, et al, merely represent a bizarre anomaly in an otherwise peace loving society. I think Islamic culture as it currently exists in the Middle East is serously flawed from any Western point of view. I do not believe that "taking out" a few terrorist cells is going to do a lick of good. I believe that Islam in and of itself represents a threat to our future well being. But, hey, I will be happy to be proven wrong. However, none of that means that I wish any harm to any Arabic/Muslim person. Every one I have every met as been a fine individual and a tremendous asset to our country and its economy. I welcome them here with open arms. I just do not enjoy entertaining lectures on the intolerance of my society when I see so little coming from theirs. If that makes me intolerant, so be it.
Stan, Agreed. This was an overreaction to a stated overreaction. Consider it an act of indiscretion. I reserve every right to be critical of my country's culture. I love the US. I have never dreamed of living anywhere else. I can't think of any better time or place to have been alive than right now. But being self-critical never hurt anybody; in fact, I think it helps more than it hurts. It's called keeping yourself in check. My patriotism only goes so far. And just for the record, this was not my first instinct. That was to check and see if family members were ok. I'm happy that you thrive on diversity - so do I. When I was younger, I was not so open-minded, but having experienced a lot of things and having met a lot of people since I graduated from high school, I have learned to embrace different cultures. At least we agree on that. I also happen to agree that having one's point of view shoved down your throat (can you say "Mormon"?) is like taking a swift kick to the groin. It makes me angry and sick at the same time. I believe what I want to believe. Everyone else can believe what they want to believe. But they better not try to force their beliefs on me. Thanks for making your point, Stan. It's discussions like this that make me enjoy these forums so much. Sorry Chris, I probably crossed the line here. Jon Sagara Sagara Software
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Stan, Agreed. This was an overreaction to a stated overreaction. Consider it an act of indiscretion. I reserve every right to be critical of my country's culture. I love the US. I have never dreamed of living anywhere else. I can't think of any better time or place to have been alive than right now. But being self-critical never hurt anybody; in fact, I think it helps more than it hurts. It's called keeping yourself in check. My patriotism only goes so far. And just for the record, this was not my first instinct. That was to check and see if family members were ok. I'm happy that you thrive on diversity - so do I. When I was younger, I was not so open-minded, but having experienced a lot of things and having met a lot of people since I graduated from high school, I have learned to embrace different cultures. At least we agree on that. I also happen to agree that having one's point of view shoved down your throat (can you say "Mormon"?) is like taking a swift kick to the groin. It makes me angry and sick at the same time. I believe what I want to believe. Everyone else can believe what they want to believe. But they better not try to force their beliefs on me. Thanks for making your point, Stan. It's discussions like this that make me enjoy these forums so much. Sorry Chris, I probably crossed the line here. Jon Sagara Sagara Software
And thank you, Jon. Please don't misunderstand that I was saying we should not be critical. It is just that I do not understand much of the criticism. It seems to me that we are displaying an incredible degree of tolerance. If I seem overly paranoid, it is only a father's concern for his children's future. I too very much enjoy forums such as this. It seems like such a natural, healthy vehicle for debate among a democratic people. Heck, I even enjoy having a Mormon try to shove his point of view down my throat, it gives me a chance to shove mine done his.;)