For much of the post-September 11 era, non-Muslim Americans tended to see Muslims as mostly good people, not terribly different from Christians, Jews, or other folk, whose faith had been hijacked and besmirched by extremists in their midst. … Since September 11, year by year, month by month, hard questions and harder answers have spread far beyond Islamic-skeptical scholars Daniel Pipes and Robert Spencer and radio talk show host Michael Graham, and the blogging gang at Little Green Footballs.
For the past weeks, Americans have been horrified by threatening protests and outright violence over the Danish cartoons in just about every corner of the Muslim world. … A large chunk of Americans just decided that they no longer have any faith in the good sense or non-hostile nature of the Muslim world. Many, many Americans flat-out no longer trust Muslims. …
In a radio interview, Michael Medved lamented that Islam "has really become for many, many Muslims, unfortunately, a death cult, not a religion of life... I think there is a huge percentage of the Muslim population, probably bigger than 50% that is susceptible to radicalization."
These words, and the similar ones spoken and written around the country in recent weeks, are not the reactions of bigots or haters. These are the reactions of men and women whose patience is exhausted. Perhaps the straw that broke the camel's back was an angry Muslim protester carrying a sign saying "Islam will dominate" at ground zero in Manhattan. As one blogger wrote, "Not there. Not ever." …
History will remember that after September 11, the overwhelming desire of many in America and elsewhere in the West was to punish al-Qaeda and the Taliban and help democracy, liberty, and governments free from religious extremism take root in Afghanistan. Up until Iraq, there was something of a consensus in America that democracy, human rights, religious tolerance, freedom of speech and freedom of the press and women's rights were worth promoting in the Muslim world; …
There will not be the same reaction after the next terrorist attack in the United States - and sad to say, sooner or later, there will be another attack. The aftermath of the next attack may well feature many Americans saying they're ready to write off the Muslim world as hopeless - not decent human beings worthy of liberation and liberty, but a bunch of inherently homicidal maniacs to be contained, defeated, or, worse, if need be, eliminated.
Friday, March 03, 2006
A Tipping Point
From the New York Sun’s essay “A Tipping Point,” Jim Geraghty says:
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We here in Vancouver, Canada had our weekly Blue revolution meeting this evening. We too get it. We meet in public so others will know first hand that we get it and that they are not alone.
We meet in pblic and we say in public that Islam is a menace to our way of life and to life itself and that we do not like it and we will stop it in any ways we can. We do it in public. People can come up to us and see our faces.
We don't like Islam. We refuse to be silent. We say so in public. We aren't waiting for the next attack. We say so now and in public: Islam is dangerous and those who follow it and kill people are evil. We say so in public. We say it so others will have the courage to join us and they too can say it in public. It's not a personal opinion that embarasses us. It's a public opinion and you can see our faces and hear us say that Islam is a menace, a threat, a violence directed against us, and we won't be silent.
No more excuses. No more lies. Islam is bad. Killing people at random for religious ideological reasons is evil. Muslims do that because Islam requires it of them. We say that in public. People are nodding in agreement. They will join us in speaking it openly if we give them a chance.
Next Thursday we meet at the Vancouver Public Library atrium from 7-9 pm. You'll know us because we'll wear blue scarves to identify ourselves. Join us to add your vioce to the growing chorus. Post an announcement of where you will be then. Go to our local meeting place and give your neighbours a chance to meet you so they can say that Islam is evil and must be stopped before it causes the deaths of us all. Say it in public so others can join you.
It's good to see that people are waking up and beginning to understand why we cannot just look upon Islam superficially. And we're going to have to be on the alert for more terrorist attacks in the US, because yes, there is every possibility that it could happen tomorrow.
I have contended for some time now that the muslim world is sitting on a powderkeg in the West and is quite unaware of the fact that the apologists and hard-core leftist multicultural types will NOT be able to hold back the mass of Americans if another attack happens on US soil. How this reaction would vary in other Western countries I am not sure, though I believe that the Aussies would react negatively towards their muslim population as well.
I know that many in Europe feel trapped between the muslims and their own laws, but even so I think that a reaction in Europe would be possible if the threats and attacks continue. After all, look at all of those soccer hooligans!
PIM...
You are right.
There IS a huge underbelly of resentment against themislim threat, certainly in uk.
People of that view may not dare to speak out because Authorities will target them, as the governments are desperate to keep a lid on it.
I see it amongst very young teenage kids in uk.
Jealous as to how the mislims have amassed status symbols of wealth and been given special treatment by the local Councils etc.
Mislims should be afraid, they have been led to think that they will reign supreme.
You can only kick a brit-dog so many times before it turns on you.
One day the dog will bite back, I am certain it will be messy.
The mislim youth showed how they can riot in Bradford etc.
The uk Gov. cow-towed to them and the PC press explained it all away as being because they are "deprived."
yeah, right, deprived bmw driving thugs.
Only last night I saw a car of m. asians delivering drugs in a very quiet area. To a young white girl. Poor Fool.
Where does anyone think the money is coming from?
Why do we have to risk the brave young Brit soldiers in Afghanistan to try to stop the Opium crops?
100% of the heroin on UK streets comes from Afghan sources. Most is sold by pikistani dealers, who are all "mislim"
So why don't the Government deal with the menace here on the streets? Because they are scared to upset the human rights of these thugs.
uk government is in gross dereliction of it's duty to protect us from crime.
The times will change though.
The damn will break.
Jason,
Excellent find! People are getting fed the hell up! Furthermore, more and more people are seeing through the apologeia, and it's leaving a bad taste in their mouths (Forgive the trite metaphor).
Pim's Ghost is right: the muslim world is sitting on a powderkeg in the West...
And here in America, the powder keg is literal because many of us are armed. Statistics show that since 9/11, gun ownership has soared. And that's the legal ownership. I'm pretty certain that lots of people circumvented the usual purchase places. Also, gun ranges (not just NRA, either) are seeing more activity as newbies learn to use firearms.
Yes, I am one of the armed, largely as a result of my country upbringing. It is legal to carry in my state.
Frankly, I'm surprised that some of those with firearms didn't come rolling out on 9/12/01.
Now, I'm not advocating violence, but I see the potential for it--especially if our leaders keep appeasing and denying. And I WILL protect myself. I'm not the aggressive type, folks, but I won't stand by and watch MY cars torched.
To prevent the violence of which I'm speaking, all our leaders have to do is stand up, identify the enemy, and take the proper steps. Will our leaders do this?
In the meantime, keep educating everyone you personally can. That is the way to keep the peace without losing our Western civilization.
I've got to find/establish a blue-scarf meeting!
Now we're seeing some good sense. Always on Watch can do this as easily as anyone else. Take your neighbour out for coffee in a public place and invite some friends along. Sit and chat and let people around you hear that this menace of Islam and dhimmitude is out of control and that we, the people of our nations, are fed up. Give out the link to this site. Let people see for themsevles that we are organising and we're taking back our cultures for those who would "multiply" culture into meaninglessness and dhimmitude.
We meet weekly and wear blue scarves so other will know who we are. That's all it takes.
If you will, leave a note with me so others will know you're out there waiting for them.
that's exactly what islam doesn't understand, the willingness of free people to fight and defend themselves and their right to live their lives as they see fit. they don't realize that if they actually literally come for me, i will fight to the death. and i'll take as many out as i can.
as a woman of the free world, i doubt they'd even see me coming. whatever. i will not be raped, yoked, imprisoned, enslaved or murdered by any crazed deists (that goes for you neanderthals in south dakota). my life is my own and i am more than willing to fight to protect that.
Oh, People, thank you! Dag, the Blue Revolution idea is wonderful; we plan to go to McDonald's with ours on (even though we are vegetarians - they have orange juice. . .). Ours is a tiny town, but who knows. . .
PG, I'm with you and AOW; the Muslim world in the West is definitely sitting on a powder keg, but like the Japanese prior to WWII, they had no idea. Very few realized that they had "awakened the sleeping giant."
This time, though, it is the people, not the government, that has the moxy to understand and eventually respond effectively. As usual, it may be a job we'll have to do ourselves.
I know I've told the story before, but the Blue Scarf thing of Dag's makes it worth retelling in case someone missed it: At one time during Nero's reign in Rome, it was suggested that all the slaves wear identifying clothing. The suggestion was turned down, because it was feared that if that happened, then the slaves would know they outnumbered the free, and that might cause a problem.
Blue scarves = identifying clothing, right?
Let's go cause a problem!
AOW, I think we're definitely on the same page on this one. I've been surprised that there haven't been MORE attacks in retaliation against mosques/muslims here since 9/11. And especially after the DC snipers, but the media did keep a tight lid on many of those details, now didn't they? And now this loony in NC, that may stay pretty quiet in the MSM as well. But if one of these "martyrdom brigade" nuts detonates themselves within the US or there is another attack, I think that a massive response will be seen at the local levels. I'm not advocating violence either, I'm just saying that it won't take much more to get certain very people in the US who are already very angry and armed to take it to the streets, or even the mosques.
PG and AOW,
I think people wouldn't be so PO'd if only the people to whom we have delegated the task of protecting things like our rights (including our lives and property) and our national sovereignty, or even just showed some SMALL sign that they had ANY grasp of what was going on, we wouldn't be so concerned, and the "powder keg" wouldn't be so dry. I really believe that if Our Protectors were doing the jobs we are paying them for, the jobs that they have sworn to do, we "little people" wouldn't be so frustrated.
I guess this is just repeating what you have already said in a slightly different way.
So far, my "actions" have been limited to spreading about informative business cards with blogs/websites/book titles etc. on them, a couple of bumper stickers, and a couple of things stuck to the (inside) of my back car window.
But you know something? I might go so far as to wrap up some dog or pig doo in a few pages of the Koran and throw them on the lawn of our local mosque late some night if one of those nuts did something else, or perhaps I might even step onto the lawn (dressed in a burkah) to spray the words "Islam Sucks" with Triox on it.
Of course, I haven't ever even THOUGHT about doing such a thing!
I have no idea what I would do if one (or more) damned containers blew up as it traveled across the country, or if an EMP took us out or something.
Well; perhaps "no idea" isn't QUITE true.
Oh, and AOW, right after 9/11 in my part of the world, there actually was an incident at the mosque of which I speak - the one with the tempting lawn. Some poor guy got himself all lickered up and then spray painted some impolite remarks on the door.
He was arrested, of course, and a few days later a bunch of people got together and hosted an "apology party" for the mosque's congregation.
My guess is that even around here, if we got nuked, there would be no apology party.
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