Let's talk about Islamophobia

This whole "phobia" thing is frustrating. It seems like one side is shaking their finger at the other side because they have a phobia of Muslims. The side shaking their finger acts like they are mightier than thou and never have an irrational thought.

Fact is, almost all groups of people have members of that group that have an irrational fear or dislike of some other type of group they don't belong to.

Many poor people have an irrational fear (or more of a dislike) for rich people .

Many rich people have an irrational fear or misunderstanding of poor people

Black people have an irrational fear of white people.

White people have an irrational fear of black people.

Many born and raised Americans have an irrational fear or dislike of Mexicans.

And the list goes on and on and on.

Yes....many trump and Cruz supporters have an irrational fear of Muslims. But, they are not alone in the whole "phobia" phenomena. Problem is when people in political power feed fuel to the issues to gain their own power over the group.

 
BigRedBuster said:
This whole "phobia" thing is frustrating. It seems like one side is shaking their finger at the other side because they have a phobia of Muslims. The side shaking their finger acts like they are mightier than thou and never have an irrational thought.

Fact is, almost all groups of people have members of that group that have an irrational fear or dislike of some other type of group they don't belong to.

Many poor people have an irrational fear (or more of a dislike) for rich people .

Many rich people have an irrational fear or misunderstanding of poor people

Black people have an irrational fear of white people.

White people have an irrational fear of black people.

Many born and raised Americans have an irrational fear or dislike of Mexicans.

And the list goes on and on and on.

Yes....many trump and Cruz supporters have an irrational fear of Muslims. But, they are not alone in the whole "phobia" phenomena. Problem is when people in political power feed fuel to the issues to gain their own power over the group.
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I have a fear you may be right

 
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BigRedBuster said:
This whole "phobia" thing is frustrating. It seems like one side is shaking their finger at the other side because they have a phobia of Muslims. The side shaking their finger acts like they are mightier than thou and never have an irrational thought.

Fact is, almost all groups of people have members of that group that have an irrational fear or dislike of some other type of group they don't belong to.

Many poor people have an irrational fear (or more of a dislike) for rich people .

Many rich people have an irrational fear or misunderstanding of poor people

Black people have an irrational fear of white people.

White people have an irrational fear of black people.

Many born and raised Americans have an irrational fear or dislike of Mexicans.

And the list goes on and on and on.

Yes....many trump and Cruz supporters have an irrational fear of Muslims. But, they are not alone in the whole "phobia" phenomena. Problem is when people in political power feed fuel to the issues to gain their own power over the group.
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I very much agree. The difference, also, is that they're the political leaders calling for wholesale changes that affect everyone. People simply afraid of others aren't doing that.

 
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dudeguyy said:
BigRedBuster said:
This whole "phobia" thing is frustrating. It seems like one side is shaking their finger at the other side because they have a phobia of Muslims. The side shaking their finger acts like they are mightier than thou and never have an irrational thought.

Fact is, almost all groups of people have members of that group that have an irrational fear or dislike of some other type of group they don't belong to.

Many poor people have an irrational fear (or more of a dislike) for rich people .

Many rich people have an irrational fear or misunderstanding of poor people

Black people have an irrational fear of white people.

White people have an irrational fear of black people.

Many born and raised Americans have an irrational fear or dislike of Mexicans.

And the list goes on and on and on.

Yes....many trump and Cruz supporters have an irrational fear of Muslims. But, they are not alone in the whole "phobia" phenomena. Problem is when people in political power feed fuel to the issues to gain their own power over the group.
Click to expand...
I very much agree. The difference, also, is that they're the political leaders calling for wholesale changes that affect everyone. People simply afraid of others aren't doing that.
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People afraid of others fuel the fire due to not opening their minds to other view points. It is easy for trump to gain power over people afraid of Muslims because those people don't say..."Hmmmm......Is there a chance my fear is irrational and is there a better way? Is it OK for me to be standing in this group at a rally promoting hate towards other groups?"

This is no different than Jesse Jackson gaining power over black people because black people aren't saying...."Hmmmm......is my fear of white people irrational and is there a better way than what Jesse keeps telling me and why I'm supposed to send him my money?"

 
darkhorse85 said:
dudeguyy said:
Zoogs is calling a spade a spade. What Cruz suggested was straight-up strongman demagoguery that actually has very little support from anyone insofar as keeping Americans safe. If it was supported and/or effective, you wouldn't have the NYPD Commissioner coming out and saying "Cruz doesn't know what the hell he's talking about," and Cruz retorting that somehow the NYPD commish is "one of [Mayor] De Blasio's Democratic political henchman."

Cruz is attempting to get out in front of a political issue by fear-mongering and out-Trumping Trump. Meanwhile, the Donald is back to suggesting we utilize torture and/or nukes to deal with Islamic terrorists.

It is revolting and feckless, in my opinion. I think that it actually speaks to the ignorance of both of them on the matter.
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Trump was asked "If you could substantially reduce the risk of harm to [American] ground troops, would you use a battlefield nuclear weapon to take out Isis?" The media told you that Trump said he'd use nuclear weapons. What he actually said is that he wouldn't want to use them. He refused to say he absolutely wouldn't use them because he always wants that threat to be there. What good does it do to have nuclear weapons if the world knows that you wouldn't use them? Now, I don't think they need to be used but it's nice to have them in the arsenal. Loaded question anyway.
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Woah, woah, woah...

Unless I'm mistaken, the U.S. does not leave the threat of using its nuclear arsenal in its military options on the table and for very, very good reasons. The existence of the arsenal serves the MAD purpose. Nuclear saber-rattling is reserved for the insane, dangerous blather of states like North Korea and Iran.

We don't exist in a world where a major nuclear power conducts military operations with either overt or implied threat of dropping a thermonuclear bomb on the battlefield. That would be a perilous, dangerous world to be in.

And the United States hardly needs that threat to bring overwhelming conventional firepower to bear. The problem is the utility of wiping out an existing power structure (see Libya for example -- or Iraq). In combating terrorism, the U.S. has turned (not without controversy) to a massive, precision-targeting drone program. Cruz's "carpet-bombing" line came from clear ignorance; I'm gobsmacked that there's actually a discussion of tactical nukes as an implied option. It does give you a sense of what sort of commander in chief he'd be.
 
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To whoever mentioned white on muslim or christian on muslim terrorism, my argument is when you have the power you don't need to resort to terroristic tactics. I don't see why the terrorists have to attack a bunch of civilians, and that makes them crazy and horrible (and uh... terrorists), but there will never be a large # of whites/Christians killing Muslims through the means of terrorism because there is just no need. We can use more PC methods. Although those kill civilians sometimes too. It's just accidental.

I think we're coming from a better place and trying to do good but through our government we've killed thousands upon thousands of muslims.

 
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Moesker said:
dudeguyy said:
Say what you want about this pope. A lot of people probably think he's in the limelight too much. But he's an OG.
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PR Pope.
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Christ called his followers to spread His message to as many people as possible. As long as Pope Francis is spreading a genuine message of Christ's teachings, he's doing it right.

I believe the only people that think he might be "in the limelight too much", are the Christians who are uncomfortable with his message, or the non-Christians that are comfortable...

Not that it really matters, but I'm an ELCA Lutheran, and I have a tremendous amount of respect for Pope Francis.

 
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Good older article about Muslim vs Islam vs Islamism. With all this talk about Islamophobia on here this seems to explain why i think a lot people are considered islamophobes when really they are just islamismophobes.

http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/muslims-vs.-islamists

While Islam is the faith of 1.4 billion people, Islamism is not a form of the Muslim faith or an expression of Muslim piety. Rather, it is a political ideology that strives to derive legitimacy from Islam. Islam and Islamism are not synonymous, and there is even a tension between the two, exemplified by the case of this Nigerian Muslim father turning in his Islamist son to the authorities.

So if Islam is a faith, then what is Islamism? It can be best described as an "anti-" ideology, in the sense that it defines itself only in opposition to things. That is, Islamism stands not for but against.
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What about Double Muslims?

Them's the ones you don't f#*k with-- them double muslims. Cuz them mother-f'ers can't WAIT to get to Allah...and want to take eight or nine mother-f'ers with them.

 
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