Reply to Ben Carson: Islamophobe of the Day

Forum Index » Political Discussion

Reply to "Ben Carson: Islamophobe of the Day"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=jsteele][quote=Anonymous]
You have a blind spot when it comes to this issue. Let me try one more time to explain it though I will probably not succeed.

My brother-in-law is a Muslim-American. He also has a medical condition which does not allow him to go through the usual scanner at airport security. He asks the TSA to search him instead - in effect, to frisk him. He is asked whether he would like it to be done away from public sight and he declines the offer. So while he is going through the process with the TSA agent he notices other passengers - usually white passengers - gazing his way at the sight of this brown-skinned "foreigner" being closely checked out by the TSA. He often jokes that they are probably wishing and praying that he will not be on his flight.

But ........ and this is the part that you will not understand - your blind spot. He understands why they react that way. As he puts it when 9/11 occurred it was nine Muslim men some who looked like him, who crashed airliners against buildings. So, of course, they view a brown-skinned man being searched by the TSA as a potential suspicious character although the only reason he is undergoing the body search is because he requested it. He does not think those looking towards him with concern are racists or bigots because it is a natural reaction.

Fast forward to the kid with his home made clock. We have all heard of kids who have been suicide bombers outside of the US. There are also news reports that ISIS has infiltrated the US with potential terrorists and it is a major concern of our security services. No kid has been involved in a suicide attack in the US but can one blame a teacher for feeling uncomfortable that a Muslim kid - an innocent kid - comes to the school with a home made clock that she thinks might be a bomb? It does not make her a bigot because she reacted the way she did. I don't think Maher who commented about this kid is a bigot either - he is voicing a legitimate and reasonable point.

Now to your charges of my alleged prejudice: unfortunately, progressives and conservatives use a litmus test of sorts to determine if someone is a "true believer". It is asinine beyond belief. One does not need to subscribe to every item in a progressive or conservative agenda. Life is more complicated and nuanced than some on this forum think.

I don't agree with Carson's contention that it is constitutional to exclude a Muslim assuming he said this. But I can certainly relate to Carson or anyone else saying that he is not comfortable with a Muslim as president given aspects of what some Muslims believe and practice as part of their faith. I don't think Carson is a bigot or prejudiced and given choices I have made in my life, no one who knows me would accuse me of being a bigot or prejudiced.

Everything in life is not as cut and dried as you think - there are nuances and subtleties that have to be taken into consideration.
[/quote]

You have a prejudice. You have very clearly stated that prejudice. You have even provided justifications for your prejudice. As you said, there are things that some Muslims have done that you suspect all Muslims of potentially doing. You have this prejudice despite knowing about the vast and significant differences between Muslims. Some Christians bomb abortion clinics. By your logic, all Christians should be considered potential abortion clinic bombers.

Treating people as individuals rather than representatives of negative stereotypes should not be a "progressive" issue. That should be something for which all people strive as a measure of common decency.

Why is it so difficult for you to simply say "I wouldn't rule out a Muslim President anymore than I would rule out a Christian, Jewish, or Buddhist President. Each should be evaluated according to her individual strengths and weaknesses"? Why is treating people equally seemingly impossible for you?
[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics