I fixed your typo for you, Solace

“A couple of dumbasses”? “A couple”? Really? Just a couple? Now who exactly is being the dumbass here, Solace? All of the thousands of narrow minded Americans, Brits, Israelis, Indians, Danes, French, Japanese, Filipinos, Africans, and Aussies who have been bombed, murdered, and tortured? All of the young Scandinavian schoolgirls who have been gang raped and beaten? All of the young victims of stonings and honor killings?

Yes, we’re still paying the price, Solace. Indeed we are! But we want to pay some more! And here at last we know the reason why! Solace is telling us why: Because “every religion is intended for good.” Yes! There we have it! By the beard of the Prophet! Our prayers have been answered! Because Allah –– whoops, Quetzalcoatl! –– no, Kali, the death mother! –– wills it! Praise be to Kali, goddess of death and destruction! The American Liberal Death Wish is triumphant!

These Liberals are so masochistic they can’t wait to bow before their barbarian conquerors . . . to place their heads into the noose of Kali’s stranglers . . . they can’t wait to hop onto the grill. And we are so very, very fortunate to have people like Solace who are perfectly willing –– anxious, actually –– to prepare the feast, to cater it, so to speak, and act as waiters . . . “Here’s a tender piece, sir.” All in Arabic or Farsi or Urdu or Swahili, or whatever, the college language background and travel abroad paying off at last.

We are both law-abiding, respectful, and tolerant. We respect the laws of both nature and our nation, we respect your parents for choosing to bear you, and thus we tolerate your stupidity.

I.e.,

Your revisionist “tolerance” (Definition – Stupidity that shows disrespect for those who paved the way for your blessings of life, liberty, and our tolerance of you) and ‘germ warfare.’ I must have missed the part when Ferdinand or Isabella passed Christopher Columbus the vial of smallpox and gave him the powerpoint on how to dispense it most effectively…..

Oh, and the poor annual reviews our forefathers would today receive for not integrating themselves into the local culture, shedding clothes, going barefoot, and unburdening themselves of their written language, traditions of codified laws, beliefs, and hundreds of years of cultural, scientific, and intellectual progress. Shame on them. The same rationale I guess that portrays the Israelis and their improvement of the Levant as aggressors and rapacious oppressors of the do-nothing-for-centuries Palestinians? You and your huddled consortium of massed victimized minorities and sexual deviants DO believe in integrating and tolerance, right? So you say…. You sure seem to have a lot of hate for your heritage. I am sure they appreciate you. Working on it, are you? I am sure there are places nearby to surrender your passport, and your paid-for world class rights.

Your galling unfounded accusations – Rusty obviously wears no crosses. You took a swing though, didn’t you. Thanks for playing. Miss.

Your affable way with selective historical vignettes – forgetting the Muslim ‘missionary’ efforts in Spain and the Balkans that preceded crusades and inquisitions.

Your willingness (Monday morning quarterbacking, of course) to send tens of thousands of our parents to their deaths and maiming in attacking the Japanese mainland. I would bet your ancestors are grateful for your unequivocal support for their sacrifices, selflessness, and efforts so you could whine and wring your hands over your curse of being given life and citizenship in this, the greatest nation conceived in the history of mankind. Perhaps your grandparents and their loved ones were hugging trees and hating America even then? I bet they would, given the chance now, privately, in undeserved respect to you, quietly take you out behind the woodshed and treat you to some reminders about your place.

I can promise you that my fingers, in whatever position I hold them, are clean. (I am pretty sure you weren’t ‘judging’ us there, were you?!) So are my hands. I don’t know how you manage to get both your head and your fingers up yours…..

Please stay. Rather than chase you off, we could benefit from the reminders that there are those less fortunate, and you will no doubt benefit from your association in the light.

Wamp
From Iraq

I have no personal beef with anyone who practices their religion. It’s what they do with it that I find most distasteful. From pointing the finger at me to saying their version of faith is the best and only.

I made the decision a long time ago to ignore all of it.

And, I am just as annoyed with the little fishies on the backs of people’s cars. Or the “Let go and let God” bumper stickers. Difference with me is that yes, I DO tolerate it. I have no inclination to prevent them from believing as they do. I respect their right to believe what they want.

And you will note it was YOU who said: “Muslims are violent… so let’s kill ‘em all. You don’t see the irony in that?”

I did not say that. Nor did I imply that. I said their newfound religion fits with their anger.

YOU said: ” I am intolerant of intolerance.”

I did not say that. I do tolerate other people and their religion. However, the way I FEEL about it is of no issue to anyone else but me. The difference between you and me, I suspect is that I know how to treat people fairly. If I were a store clerk, and some lady came in wearing her muslim garb, I would easily serve her as I would anyone.

YOU, I would suspect would fawn and make special chit-chat and make a complete utter drooling fool of yourself to cover your insecurity that someone of muslim faith was in your presence and you MUST make the obligatory concessions at the expense of your own dignity, probably even going so far as to wish her a “happy ramadan” or similar.

See, the thing you liberals fail to realize is that to a conservative “equal” means just that. Equal.

But you seem to think, and by putting words in my mouth that I intend to act on my displeasure. By saying that, it then follows that you, by definition act on ALL of your feelings whereas the conservative controls those urges and maintains the right to think freely. YOU on the other hand prefer to be told what to think and thus, how to feel about things.

For me, just because I FEEL a certain way about something does not determine how I ACT. No, I don’t like this new surge in people “finding” islam. I believe they use it as a statement to self-segregate; To thumb their nose at others and by the mere fact that it comes with special duds, makes it that much more visible, so better to annoy people like me.

And, finally, your use of past transgressions in the christian faith is noted. However, christians in this century, so far as I know, have not declared a holy war against anybody…most likely having learned that doing so is not really in the best interests of human kind.

And as for the distinction between muslims vs radical muslims? When the average every day muslim has decided to accept any and I mean ANY westerner on equal-footing or…let’s take it a step further any JEW on equal footing, then I will say we’ve made real progress. I do not see that happening. And yes, their intolerance bugs me because they ACT on it negatively.

My intolerance is in my head. But I refuse to treat anyone I do not like with less than common courtesy unless they give me reason to do otherwise.

You want everyone to get along? Not gonna happen. Not in this century or the next. Humans are competitive mammals and whenever there is a weakness, it will be exploited. Given the complex nature of humans, those weaknesses come in many forms and none are unnoticed.

People are fallible and the best we can do is limit those who would do harm to others. And since our laws are based on punitive measures for acts committed, we are thus limited to that. You on the other hand, appear to be a fan of the “thought police” that you somehow believe that you can change not only the way people think but the way they SHOULD think..and perhaps, you believe as well that everyone should think like you?

Who, then is truly intolerant?

For years I’ve worn a black band on my wrist so that I won’t ever forget (not that I need reminding) and I know that those of us here won’t ever forget but we’re a minority within a minority. That fact is our enemy’s best hope and my private despair.

“Islam means peace, you know.”

A common propaganda tool misconception there LibCynic. The literal translation of “Islam” in Arabic is submission, not peace. The translation is also the same in Syriac and Semitic based languages.
Submission has a completly different inflection than peace, don’t you think?