I don't want you building your church near the Oklahoma City Bombing site!

[backscatter712]

(note: I'm posting this rant in its entirety because I wrote it and give myself permission.)

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/8/17/893894/-untitled-diary

That's how stupid the entire right-wing sounds this week. Congratulations to Frank Luntz and Karl Rove - you've made bigotry cool again. Because that's where the objections to the "Ground Zero" "Mosque" come from, entirely - BIGOTRY. It's despicable, it's disgusting, and I've had it with bigotry.

Does the GOP even bother to listen to themselves? Do they know what they sound like? Let me give you this perspective.

Do we tar all of Christianity as terroristic or murderous because of the actions of Timothy McVeigh, Eric Rudolph or Scott Roeder? Do we condemn all of Christianity as a religion of hate because of the actions of a few people? No, of course not. I don't. I'm not an idiot.

But we hear the right-wing's blathering about how building the "Ground Zero" "Mosque" (not at Ground Zero, and not actually going to be a mosque) is offensive to the victims of 9/11 (failing to mention that some of the victims of 9/11 were also Muslims.)

That argument comes from, and can only come from a broad-brushing of Islam. It's idiotic for me to broad-brush Christianity for the actions of McVeigh, Rudolph and Roeder. Why is it OK to broad-brush Islam for the behavior of nineteen terrorists on September 11, 2001? The hijackers of 9/11 no more represent Islam than McVeigh, Rudolph and Roeder represent Christianity.

So don't tell me that this Muslim community center is an insult to the victims of 9/11. Islam didn't kill all those people at the World Trade Center, 19 assholes did. Broad-brushing an entire religion practiced by more than a billion people with the actions of 19 criminals is an unwarranted slander against millions of innocent people, a disservice to those that died at Ground Zero, and a disservice to America.

[Blue Owl]

1. Apparently, we need John McCain more than ever

to shake his fist and yell "Get off my lawn, you punks..."

[Deep13]

3. That guy has completely lost his marbles. nt

[backscatter712]

4. Yep, and we need Sarah Palin to make more nonsensical tweets... n/t

[Deep13]

2. Me neither. nt

[jdlh8894]

5. Just wondering?

Did Timothy McVeigh say "GO Jesus!" when the bomb went off?:evilgrin:

[backscatter712]

6. IIRC, McVeigh wasn't even Christian.

Just a right-wing Turner Diaries worshipper.

Though the Turner Diaries was a big hit for the dominionist/Christian Identity nutcases.

[RaleighNCDUer]

12. Just wondering, were the 9/11 terrorists devout Muslims

or did they hang out drinking at strip clubs while in flight school in Florida - kinda un-Islamic, donchya think?

They were every bit as Muslim as McVeigh was Christian.

[Ichingcarpenter]

7. I don't want you building your Republican HQ near the Oklahoma City Bombing site!

After all Timmy was a registered republican

[piratefish08]

8. No Christian churches within 2 blocks of an abortion center!

No Buddhist Temples within 2 blocks of Pearl Harbor!

No Catholic churches within 2 blocks of a school playground!

[Scuba]

10. +1

[KatyaR]

9. Actually, there's a chapel just across the street to the east

of the Bombing Memorial, and on the west side, there's a statue of Jesus.

No one said a word when these were put up....

[backscatter712]

11. Funny how Newt and Rush don't say anything about that. n/t

[Manifestor_of_Light]

13. DH was born at St. Anthony's Hospital, where they took the bombing victims.

in OKC.

[Honeyporter735]

14. McVeigh didn't do in it Jesus's name n/t.

[BlueCheese]

15. Not a good analogy...

The people who want to build an Islamic center near the WTC site have every right to do so. To prevent them from doing so would be a gross violation of the First Amendment, and those opposed to it simply because of its Islamic nature are bigots.

Having said that, I don't remember Timothy McVeigh being motivated by Christianity (or any religion for that matter). The 9/11 terrorists and Osama bin Laden were clearly motivated by what they interpreted as Islam. I don't think the two cases are really that similar.

[TheKentuckian]

16. Scott Roeder??? Plenty of abortion bombings. The Klan were heavily dependent on a twisting o

Christianity.

Are we also going to conflate the stated rationale for crimes with anyone who shares a connection with it?

Hinkley said he shot Reagan because he was in love with Jodie Foster. A man crashed his plane into a government building because the IRS had a vendetta. There is McDonald's and Coca Cola in Viet Nam.

Plus, they believe in the exact same God of Abraham as Christians and Jews. Not so different than a Christian killing another Christian while saying "God damn you!".

All in all, its just hunting for a way to blame many for the crimes of a few. A justification for irrational hatred is all I can see.

[BlueCheese]

17. I agree with you.

That's why I phrased it as "what they interpreted as Islam", now "Islam" itself as practiced by over a billion peaceful adherents. I'm sorry if that was unclear.