Dispelling the ‘Few Extremists’ Myth – the Muslim World Is Overcome with Hate

[Que]

If people just followed the golden rule I think the world would be a better place. Why can't people just respect each other and not be rude?

I'm not sure.

 

[SumtnFancy]

What you actually have shown is how incredibly ignorant you are.
No. BBI shouldn't leave. You should. You are a bigot. You are small-minded and wrong. You are a disgrace to INGO, Indiana, America, and the human race. Whe it comes to "making their bed" the only one doing that is you.

I got an infraction for referring to someone advocating for authoritarian police action as "comrade", from YOU actually. Glad the "moderator" tag under your name isn't leading to a power trip or anything. Way to go straight for the personal attacks and insults that you are supposed to be moderating against. Maybe opinion pieces like this shouldn't be the focus of a gun forum. Nobody really cares what anybody else thinks, that much is obvious.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Pew: Muslims 'fastest-growing religious group in the world,' 70% Democrat | Washington Examiner

Trump is making me reconsider how vested in the Republicans I want to be.

 

[IndyDave1776]

Trump is making me reconsider how vested in the Republicans I want to be.

Don't feel alone. The specifics may be different, but I have been dealing with the feeling of being politically homeless for years.

 

[Que]

Don't feel alone. The specifics may be different, but I have been dealing with the feeling of being politically homeless for years.

I'm right there with you.

 

[churchmouse]

How do you figure? I know people are jacka$$es. I'm not directing that at anyone specifically.

I understand and I was not sniping at you either.
My views on why folks are lacking in the areas you mention (and me as well) are a bit hard line. Decorum and filters plus my crass attitude today will keep me from saying to much. At least for now anyway.

 

[historian]

Trump is making me reconsider how vested in the Republicans I want to be.

I'm sorry you feel that way. There are many of us who are condemning him. Unfortunately, whenever the party leadership condemns him, many people take that as an endorsement of him (Because we don't want no RINOs round these parts here).

I almost mentioned how I sorta feel for you on this site, as I'm a supporter of Jeb. That may even be worse than being a Muslim....

 

[IndyDave1776]

I'm sorry you feel that way. There are many of us who are condemning him. Unfortunately, whenever the party leadership condemns him, many people take that as an endorsement of him (Because we don't want no RINOs round these parts here).

I almost mentioned how I sorta feel for you on this site, as I'm a supporter of Jeb. That may even be worse than being a Muslim....

One question: We are in the state we are now in largely because of continuously electing establishment hacks which are so solidly establishment as to make party affiliation nearly irrelevant aside from a few issues like abortion, guns, and homosexuality which are used to jab and stir. Beyond that, the differences are nearly nonexistent. How is this going to get any better if we continue voting for the same establishment hacks who have put us where we are?

 

[historian]

One question: We are in the state we are now in largely because of continuously electing establishment hacks which are so solidly establishment as to make party affiliation nearly irrelevant aside from a few issues like abortion, guns, and homosexuality which are used to jab and stir. Beyond that, the differences are nearly nonexistent. How is this going to get any better if we continue voting for the same establishment hacks who have put us where we are?

We have moved rightward because we keep pressure on the establishment. You have a very large ship as your avatar. Do you turn that ship by demanding that it go full reverse right now otherwise it should keep going forward, or do you turn it by degrees? I would posit that this country was going full tilt lefward back in 1972. Now, Richard Nixon would be so far left, that he could only win Governor of CA (maybe). We didn't stop the ship, we turned it by degrees. The "establishment hacks" have worked to limit government and fought strategic battles. Same way we have won so far on guns. The NRA doesn't spend its time stating that the NFA needs repealed. It shoots holes where it can and moves the debate. You can now carry in DC and Chicago, and they are working to make those places better while shoring up conservative states laws. Eventually, you have the ship turned. By blasting those who are turning slowly as turncoats and traitors, you only convince those who you can persuade that they shouldn't place you in power.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

. All that to say this: I haven't read any Muslim texts. I choose not to spend my time studying them to the extent that they would need to be studied for me to understand and comment on them. I recognize that it would take hundreds of hours of my time to even gain the most rudimentary understanding and I choose not to do that. Because of that choice, I think it is also only fair for me to choose not to comment on any single portion of it or make any assumptions about how its practitioners interpret that portion..

So...reading a translation, selectively, with no context and applying a modern Western perspective to a medieval Arab text may result in misunderstandings? Huh. Odd how many miss that.

 

[IndyDave1776]

We have moved rightward because we keep pressure on the establishment. You have a very large ship as your avatar. Do you turn that ship by demanding that it go full reverse right now otherwise it should keep going forward, or do you turn it by degrees? I would posit that this country was going full tilt lefward back in 1972. Now, Richard Nixon would be so far left, that he could only win Governor of CA (maybe). We didn't stop the ship, we turned it by degrees. The "establishment hacks" have worked to limit government and fought strategic battles. Same way we have won so far on guns. The NRA doesn't spend its time stating that the NFA needs repealed. It shoots holes where it can and moves the debate. You can now carry in DC and Chicago, and they are working to make those places better while shoring up conservative states laws. Eventually, you have the ship turned. By blasting those who are turning slowly as turncoats and traitors, you only convince those who you can persuade that they shouldn't place you in power.

That all sounds nice, but how does this account for having a 6 year period of your rightward-shifting establishment types controlling the White House and both houses of Congress, and doing little of nothing while the NRA was very quietly mumbling, "Enforce the existing laws...enforce the existing laws...enforce the existing laws..."? I would also like to see where this supposed work on limiting the government happened. Did they not fill a handful of projected new government jobs or cut 5 staplers from the budget? Seriously? I see a trend toward massive expansion. After all, who brought us the grossly misnamed 'Patriot Act' which does little of nothing for national security, especially since they quake in fear of offending certain groups, yet eroded our freedom in scandalous ways? The brochure may say that your establishment buddies are in favor of smaller government and respect for rights, but I certainly don't see any action on it.

Oh, and while I am at it, the Patriot Act and ObamaCare, two of the biggest power grabs in our history, tend to argue against your position that we need minuscule, incremental changes. If our enemies can change the entire landscape overnight, why are we limited to picking up a crumb or two here and there?

 

[historian]

Oh, and while I am at it, the Patriot Act and ObamaCare, two of the biggest power grabs in our history, tend to argue against your position that we need minuscule, incremental changes. If our enemies can change the entire landscape overnight, why are we limited to picking up a crumb or two here and there?

Because the majority wants ObamaCare. Heck the Chief Justice of SCOTUS practically told people that if they don't want ObamaCare to go vote against Obama. And...people voted for Obama.
A crumb or two here or there is better than nothing in my book.

As for Jeb, I'll let a Democrat tell you about his record in Florida:

Dan Gelber, who was the Democratic leader in the state House during part of Mr. Bush’s tenure, said on issues including guns, taxes, education and abortion, the former governor led from the right. “Anyone who woke up in Florida every morning knew that Jeb Bush was not a moderate,” he said. “You could check every single box.”

 

[IndyDave1776]

Because the majority wants ObamaCare. Heck the Chief Justice of SCOTUS practically told people that if they don't want ObamaCare to go vote against Obama. And...people voted for Obama.
A crumb or two here or there is better than nothing in my book.

As for Jeb, I'll let a Democrat tell you about his record in Florida:

ObamaCare passed with approximately 70% opposition and you claim that a majority wanted it?

Roberts basically declared that he doesn't give a flying f*ck about the Constitution and tortured the law into something it plainly states within the law that it isn't so he could find it constitutional, when it isn't.

A crumb or two is acceptable to you when we are constitutionally entitled to the entire pie?

Seriously?

 

[Jludo]

One question: We are in the state we are now in largely because of continuously electing establishment hacks which are so solidly establishment as to make party affiliation nearly irrelevant aside from a few issues like abortion, guns, and homosexuality which are used to jab and stir. Beyond that, the differences are nearly nonexistent. How is this going to get any better if we continue voting for the same establishment hacks who have put us where we are?

Spoken like a true libertarian

 

[historian]

ObamaCare passed with approximately 70% opposition and you claim that a majority wanted it?

Roberts basically declared that he doesn't give a flying f*ck about the Constitution and tortured the law into something it plainly states within the law that it isn't so he could find it constitutional, when it isn't.

A crumb or two is acceptable to you when we are constitutionally entitled to the entire pie?

Seriously?

70%. Yet Obama won with 51.1% of the vote. Even after Roberts all but told people to go vote.

A crumb or two is better than nothing. Yes, I want the whole pie, but that won't happen, and if you are honest, you know that ship sailed a while ago. Best to keep gathering crumbs until we get the whole pie back.

51% of the people decided that they wanted Obamacare. That choice was clear.

 

[IndyDave1776]

Spoken like a true libertarian

The exception to that statement is that I don't see any future in voting L, but rather preventing a hand-picked candidate, picked by either the establishment or the media, to be shoved down our throats making the general election largely irrelevant. I would emphasize that this is the reason why Trump is so popular. Even people who wouldn't consider him a top pick all things being equal see him as the hammer to break the establishment chokehold on the nomination process.

 

[IndyDave1776]

70%. Yet Obama won with 51.1% of the vote. Even after Roberts all but told people to go vote.

A crumb or two is better than nothing. Yes, I want the whole pie, but that won't happen, and if you are honest, you know that ship sailed a while ago. Best to keep gathering crumbs until we get the whole pie back.

51% of the people decided that they wanted Obamacare. That choice was clear.

Come back and tell me about this strategy when your great grandchildren are still licking the floor in the hopes of a crumb or two sticking to their tongues.

 

[Jludo]

The exception to that statement is that I don't see any future in voting L, but rather preventing a hand-picked candidate, picked by either the establishment or the media, to be shoved down our throats making the general election largely irrelevant. I would emphasize that this is the reason why Trump is so popular. Even people who wouldn't consider him a top pick all things being equal see him as the hammer to break the establishment chokehold on the nomination process.

Do you think a republican going through the process has a better chance of breaking the two party stranglehold than a third party does? Trumps threat to run third party if he doesn't keep the lead/attention makes it that much more interesting.

 

[historian]

Come back and tell me about this strategy when your great grandchildren are still licking the floor in the hopes of a crumb or two sticking to their tongues.

Tell me how your strategy is working. The first election I voted in was Bush v. Kerry. I voted against Obama twice. I had the pleasure of voting for a RINO governor twice and a "good conservative" once, and I'd vote that RINO for president if he ran (I miss Mitch).

My grandkids? Heck, you are an optimist. I'm working to give my future self a shot. Between the "Greatest" generation and their kids, I'm hoping we have a country when I'm old enough to complain about how the policies that my generation enacted are unfair and I deserve more.

 

[BugI02]

If people just followed the golden rule I think the world would be a better place. Why can't people just respect each other and not be rude?

Because you can't command respect, you have to earn it. Rudeness is the pin that pricks the balloon of pomposity.