dumb and dumber

 

no more muslim derangement syndrome, please

I’m not a person of faith, but do feel that as a democratic republic, people in the US should be free to practice or not practice a religion without fear of discrimination, violence, etc. For many years, American Jews, Quakers, Mormons and others had suffered discrimination in the US, and for the most part, such discrimination is a thing of the past, with infrequent instances of outright discrimination and prejudice against these minorities. Muslims aren’t there yet. Just as American Jews and Catholics were often inappropriately viewed as having foreign allegiances (to Israel and the Vatican respectively), since 9/11, Muslims in this country are too often stereotyped as being secret terrorists, a veritable “fifth column” waiting for orders to act against this country. In this regard we’re no better than Israel, where Israelis of Arab descent (20% of Israel’s population) are frequently discriminated against and viewed as working against Israel itself, even though the great majority of Israeli Arabs are peaceful and by any account loyal Israelis. We’re also no better than a number of predominantly Muslim nations that viewed their Jewish population with suspicion and in many cases drove out their Jews after both the 1948 and 1967 wars with Israel.

So for many years, American Muslims have been considered suspicious, and despite even George W. Bush’s instructions to behave otherwise, a great number of American Christians and Jews continued to hold unpleasant, even paranoid, opinions regarding their Muslim neighbors and friends. What’s particularly bizarre, at least to me, is that many Christians who decades ago would have been likely to hold frankly antisemitic views now are very supportive of Jews and Israel in part because of their rage against Muslims. Perhaps a “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” attitude is driving this, but regardless, many Christians, particularly Evangelicals, are not exactly BFFs with the Islamic community in this country. Many seem to actually hate Muslims, regard any and all of them with suspicion, and at the drop of the hat will espouse all sorts of anti-Muslim rhetoric and hysteria.

In other words, the Muslims have become the new Jews.

What’s particularly appalling to me is that some of my coreligionists think nothing of branding all Muslims as terrorists, as wanting to live under strict Sharia law, etc. To them, anything bad that a single Muslim does reflects poorly on the entire population of US Muslims. Concern about Israel is also frequently brought up, as if to justify their Muslim derangement syndrome. That is, since many Muslims express criticisms of Israel, clearly they must be capable of terrorism within the US, and anything a Muslim does that is not proper or legal justifies whatever harsh collective action Israel does against the Palestinians.

The Ft. Hood killings is a perfect example of how the right-wing media has taken something an individual Muslim does as the starting point for anti-Muslim invectives and a campaign against Islam. Just a month ago, several Republican congresspeople held a press conference to warn against an “infiltration” of the Federal government by Muslim interns under the “control” of the Council for American Islamic Relations (CAIR). This was nonsense, trumped up by that bastion of truth, World Net Daily. But that pales in comparison with the prejudice being espoused since the Ft. Hood murders. Because the shooter was a Muslim, and (oh horrors!!!) a Palestinian, Fox News, Michelle Malkin (blecch), Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, Debbie Schlussel and others from the right-wing hate-sphere just had to opine that this meant Muslims in the military should be viewed with extreme suspicion.

To put it into context, in the run up to the Holocaust, a Polish Jew acting alone assassinated Ernst vom Rath, the German Secretary of Legation. The Nazis immediately used vom Rath’s murder to justify Kristallnacht and the indiscriminate murders of many German Jews along with mass vandalism of their businesses and property. In the US during WWII, Americans of Japanese descent were rounded up and sent to internment camps. In both cases, there was collective suspicion, prejudice, punishment and (in the case of German Jews) mass murder.

I’m not saying that the current anti-Muslim hysteria being whipped up by the right-wing media is going to lead to a Kristallnacht of sorts against Muslims in the US. But I have absolutely no doubt that some law-abiding Muslims who are good citizens of this country will be discriminated against, and even hurt or murdered, as a result of the utter crap and ignorance being broadcast 24/7 against all US Muslims, all because of the act of a single Muslim soldier and physician. Why his religion has anything to do with this is totally beyond me. But it’s given racists like Debbie Schlussel the ammunition to continue her spewing of hate. Why am I singling out Ms. Schlussel over Michelle Malkin and many others? Perhaps its because as an American Jew, she should be more than understanding of where such invective can lead. If she doesn’t, then clearly she is no better than the folks in Nazi Germany who used any excuse to spout antisemitic commentary and whip up violence against Jews.

When Timothy McVeigh, a Christian who was previously in the US military, committed a horrible act of terrorism against the US, no one suggested that Christians in the US military should be viewed suspiciously. Indeed, a Bush-era report on hate groups and violence in the US that appropriately concluded that some White veterans might be capable of similar acts of terrorism was widely condemned by the Republicans in Washington. But let a single Muslim, one who might have been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, commit a deranged act of murder, and it’s no longer a workplace killing but an act of “Islamic terrorism.” As if any religion endorses terror.

So I would appreciate it greatly if the media at large and the blogosphere got rid of its Muslim derangement syndrome once and for all. The specific religion of a crime perpetrator is irrelevant unless it has some clear bearing on the incident, as when a Catholic priest is guilty of sexual abuse within the church. The fact that Dr. Nidal Hasan is a Muslim and has Palestinian ancestry has as much to do with his contemptible act against his colleagues at Ft. Hood as his being a doctor, his eye color or whether he was right- or left-handed. No one seems to make much of the fact that the person who assassinated Dr. George Tiller was a fundamentalist Christian, so why does Dr. Nidal’s religion have anything to do with his irrational decision to commit mass murder?

The hypocrisy and prejudice is enough to make me want to scream.

glenn beck is an idiot. just sayin.

 

dangerous parallels

I’ve been very concerned, as have many, by the forceful, venal and often racist attacks on our president. Recently, I’ve been reading Body of Secrets: Anatomy of the Ultra-Secret National Security Agency by James Bamford on my iPhone, and it’s interesting to notice how much opposition, even at the level of a potential military coup, there was to Kennedy’s early administration. He was felt to be too soft on Cuba, decided against invading the island after the Bay of Pigs fiasco, and engendered a lot of crazy opposition from the John Birch Society and others. Obama has the birthers and the teabaggers, but that might pale against the forces that were arrayed against JFK from the outset.

The scary thing is that we know what happened to JFK. And Rabin. As much as I wish Obama would do more to make good on his promised changes for the country, he is my president. Our president. The fact that folks on the right are cheering against this country because they so desperately want Obama to fail is mind-boggling to me. The atmosphere is toxic, and can turn deadly very quickly. We have talks about secession-serious discussions even-and some bring guns to town hall meetings and presidential visits.

This is why I feel eerily reminiscent of the early 60’s. I was born in 1961, two weeks before JFK was inaugurated. But I think I’m living it over again as I read more about the fervent rumor mongering and name calling the right did against another president who had a great vision for the US.

what a surprise: pat buchanan hates people of color, women, Jews…hell, anyone who isn’t a white Christian dude

I’m all for freedom of speech, however odious it may be. And I give Rachel Maddow a ton of credit for enduring what had to have been a painful discussion/debate with Pat Buchanan on the Sonia Sotomayor nomination. But given Buchanan’s known antisemitism, misogynism, racism and, frankly, clear hatred of anyone who isn’t a white Christian male, why do networks like MSNBC continue to hire him as a commentator and give his idiocy a prominent TV pulpit? Just consider his hypocrisy: he rails against Sotomayor as an “affirmative action appointee,” yet it never occurs to him that it could be argued that the Republicans took the same tactic when Miguel Estrada was nominated to a Federal court appointment. He argues that Sotomayor is not qualified for the Supreme Court. Given the facts of her education, performance and very substantial judicial experience (the most in 70 years for any Supreme Court nominee), this is at best intellectually dishonest, at worst racist and sexist. I am very comfortable stating my opinion that it’s the latter. Pat Buchanan is racist. He hates women. In the past he’s made it clear he’s not a fan of Jews either. Let’s stop giving him credibility by providing him with a TV pulpit and instant credibility. He has no reason to be hired as a TV commentator or “expert.” Trust me, there are more than enough jackasses on the right to put on the air, so do we also need to include someone who so blatantly gives comfort and support to all angry white male Christians out there?

the daily show gets it right, again

bigus dickus

my letter to the Philadelphia Inquirer

The Inquirer just hired torture architect John Yoo for a monthly column. Another sign of the fall of a once great newspaper.

Here’s my letter to the Inquirer. Feel free to send them your thoughts here (you’re welcome to recycle my text below as your own).

I wish to protest the Inquirer’s hiring of John Yoo as a recurring columnist. As a chief architect of the Bush Administration’s misguided and illegal policy on torture, Yoo has no credibility and deserves condemnation by the Inquirer, not employment. I am urging all my friends and acquaintances to boycott the Inquirer until and unless the hiring of John Yoo is rescinded.

Sincerely,

David Toub

wish list

• Prosecutions for US-sanctioned torture. I don’t care where it leads. A war crime is a war crime, period.
• Repeal of ”Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.“ We’re supposed to have equal rights for all in this country. I’m not sure we can say that when we ask so much of people who are willing to sacrifice everything for this country, then essentially fire them for a biological reality, namely being gay or lesbian.
• A Twitter client that does everything I need in a simple way, and no more
• Time. I really need a 27-hour day.
• A Democratic primary victory by Joe Shestak over Arlen Specter, and a general election victory for Shestak. He gets it. Arlen doesn’t.
• Tolerance. We’re such a divided nation, and in a very personal, ugly way. I’m speaking about you, Rush, Sean, Glenn and all the other right-wing talking heads who just spew hatred against progressives and pull ”facts“ out of their asses. Guess I’m intolerant of intolerance.
• A moratorium on rain in the Northeast
• Real separation of church and state in this country. Get rid of the National Day of Prayer. We’re a pluralistic country, and just as clergy have no business telling people how to vote, the government shouldn’t be telling folks how to pray. Or whether to pray.
• No more funding of “abstinence-only education.” It doesn’t work. Or do facts not matter any more?
• Passage of the Freedom of Choice Act. Like the Equal Rights Amendment, it’s long overdue.
• A reduction in bigotry, including racism masked in “anti-immigration” hysteria. No one was pushing to close our borders with Canada during the SARS outbreak, were they?

torture shmorture

Torture, shmorture…