DoomYoshi wrote:Even if we were, I would sleep easier at night knowing that muslims were all in concentration camps.
I HOPE you are not serious.
And, aren't you the one talking about Christianity? Explain where Christ tells us to harm those who disagree.
Symmetry wrote:With polls showing that a minority of Republican voters think that Islam should be legally allowed and the Republican front runner declaring that Muslims should be registered and tracked, how far along do you think we are toward conservatives either fully embracing or finally speaking out against the creeping fascism of the Republicans?
Your poll is biased, but that aside, its clear that the anti-islam rhetoric and feelings are growing. I mean, several governors are against relocating Syrian refugees, some want only Christian refugees relocated, etc.
On the other hand, the big difference is that in past events of discrimination, there was no real threat from those denied. Even during WWII, for example, while Germans did experience some ill-will, it was Japanese (and some Chinese) who were interned. German prisoners kept here to work on farms and such were treated pretty well, from what I have read. Some even stayed and became citizens. In this case, there are dangerous individuals within these groups. Blacks, of course, have experienced reams of discrimination on all fronts, for no real cause. However, without excusing that, I don't think it is directly related to the Islam issue. (it is such a big topic in and of itself, I don't want to mix the issues up, but am mentioning it because in the discussion of discrimination, it must be noted).
In part, this is not unrelated to previous waves of discrimination against those who are not "like" us. Not so long ago, our country would see signs saying "no dogs or Irish allowed". Italians, Poles, etc, etc... each faced discrimination when they came in what were perceived by some to be in too large numbers.
But here is the uneasy truth. While this idea that we can and should blatantly discriminate against all Muslims because they might be terrorists is just plain wrong and needs to be countered, there is an uneasy truth in that all of these past waves have impacted our country. And, while we now tend to look back and see cause for celebration, it is legitimate to at least ask how much of that is a case of looking back with rose colored glasses. Also, as our population expands, it is legitimate to ask how many new people (of any nationality, religion, etc.) we should take and how.
Let me be clear, the biggest reason to allow open and free discussion is because when these things are not discussed in open ways, then the discussion shifts to the darkest and most irrational, plain wrong (that is, not fact-based) formats and areas. Open discussion allow us to honestly distinguish between hatred based rhetoric and rhetoric that is based on real fear. That is, "real", in the sense that it is what people are feeling. Whether it is "real" in terms of fact is what needs to be debated and discussed.
Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2015 12:26 am
