(no subject)
Sep. 13th, 2010 11:25 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hnpccA link to the timeline of the New York Community Centre debacle.
It goes from an an approving article in The New York Times in early December last year, to an approving interview on FoxNews in late December last year, to one lone nutjob blogger opposing it, being picked up by (amongst others) the Murdoch owned New York Post to where we are now.
Which is of course noted commentator Donald Trump weighing in with his version of a conspiracy theory: “I believe that he is using this building as a way to sell it for a lot of money, and he is using religion as a way to get a better price and I don’t like it,”
Yep, we're down to the Property Market Islamic Conspiracy Theory.
(Of course the counter conspiracy theory to that one is that "This is just a cheap attempt to get publicity and get in the limelight". From Donald Trump? Surely not.)
Meanwhile my favourite quote from today comes from this article focusing on the media's role promoting the Kristallnacht attempt: "..the leader of a microscopic cult of idiots.."
*snerk*
In the long history of fringe religious figures saying and doing stupid things, it is exceedingly rare for the media to provide much attention to them. Pat Robertson has been telling America that gay people cause hurricanes for years, and it never amounts to much in the way of coverage beyond a periodic reminder that Pat Robertson is a complete fool.
*double snerk*
Eventually, Robert Gates -- the Secretary of Defense, who is running two wars! -- had to call Jones up and try to convince him not to do this. "Which is crazy," says Alex Pareene, accurately, because when, exactly, did the Pentagon start negotiating with two-bit terrorists?
And... yep.
The answer to that of course is when the media made them.
And so the Park51 community center became an election issue. Imagine that, in a world with a nine year-long, going nowhere war and a massive unemployment crisis! Imagine how many times you would have to hit yourself in the head with a ball peen hammer before you would ask a politician from California how they stood on a local zoning issue in Manhattan.
Let alone have the answers reported on a world-wide basis. Sheesh.
Now, can we just let them build the damn centre and get back to what we were doing?
The proposed community center was to include a basketball court and space for different religious communities in New York City to have interfaith relations. It was also going to have a place for Muslims to pray, if they liked.
I for one would happily go a game of basketball there, if it ever gets finished. I warn you now though, I play like a netballer.
It goes from an an approving article in The New York Times in early December last year, to an approving interview on FoxNews in late December last year, to one lone nutjob blogger opposing it, being picked up by (amongst others) the Murdoch owned New York Post to where we are now.
Which is of course noted commentator Donald Trump weighing in with his version of a conspiracy theory: “I believe that he is using this building as a way to sell it for a lot of money, and he is using religion as a way to get a better price and I don’t like it,”
Yep, we're down to the Property Market Islamic Conspiracy Theory.
(Of course the counter conspiracy theory to that one is that "This is just a cheap attempt to get publicity and get in the limelight". From Donald Trump? Surely not.)
Meanwhile my favourite quote from today comes from this article focusing on the media's role promoting the Kristallnacht attempt: "..the leader of a microscopic cult of idiots.."
*snerk*
In the long history of fringe religious figures saying and doing stupid things, it is exceedingly rare for the media to provide much attention to them. Pat Robertson has been telling America that gay people cause hurricanes for years, and it never amounts to much in the way of coverage beyond a periodic reminder that Pat Robertson is a complete fool.
*double snerk*
Eventually, Robert Gates -- the Secretary of Defense, who is running two wars! -- had to call Jones up and try to convince him not to do this. "Which is crazy," says Alex Pareene, accurately, because when, exactly, did the Pentagon start negotiating with two-bit terrorists?
And... yep.
The answer to that of course is when the media made them.
And so the Park51 community center became an election issue. Imagine that, in a world with a nine year-long, going nowhere war and a massive unemployment crisis! Imagine how many times you would have to hit yourself in the head with a ball peen hammer before you would ask a politician from California how they stood on a local zoning issue in Manhattan.
Let alone have the answers reported on a world-wide basis. Sheesh.
Now, can we just let them build the damn centre and get back to what we were doing?
The proposed community center was to include a basketball court and space for different religious communities in New York City to have interfaith relations. It was also going to have a place for Muslims to pray, if they liked.
I for one would happily go a game of basketball there, if it ever gets finished. I warn you now though, I play like a netballer.
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no subject
Date: 2010-09-13 10:29 am (UTC)I read newspaper comic strips online, and in the comments sections people were lamenting how few of the strips "had the courage to remember 9/11" with a theme strip on Saturday. It's obvious that some people are consciously keeping the wound open and fresh by sticking a knife in and twisting it every so often, and pretending that everyone who doesn't do that is "forgetting" or "dishonoring" or something, for their own xenophobic ends. I know it's not worth much, but I find this personally insulting. As does every Muslim I know (these people must not know any Muslims, because any time the subject has come up with any Muslims I have known over the past 9 years, they voice nothing but disgust for terrorism, and often go so far as to say anybody who would do that is not a real Muslim and dishonors Islam by saying they are).
And Americans don't know what netball is anyway (seriously, I'd never heard of it before knowing you). We just play basketball. ^_~
no subject
Date: 2010-09-13 11:49 pm (UTC)Next year I think will probably be a bit bigger, not least because of the opening of whatever-the-hell-they've-called-it at the previous WTC site and the 10th anniversary thing. I imagine the low-keyness must be a bit of a relief to the families though.
anybody who would do that is not a real Muslim and dishonors Islam by saying they are
Yeah, pretty much the same here. I'd add that this is the same mob that bombed mosques in Pakistan, including after half the country was under water and 20 million people were displaced. Because nothing says "religious" quite like being a complete arsehole in a time of crisis and not helping your alleged co-religionists.