To quote libertarian blogger Doug Mataconis’ tweet, “See, this is why it is about more than just a ‘mosque’ at ‘Ground Zero.’” From the Connecticut Post:
About a dozen right-wing Christians, carrying placards and yelling “Islam is a lie,” angrily confronted worshippers outside a Fairfield Avenue mosque Friday.
“Jesus hates Muslims,” they screamed at worshippers arriving at the Masjid An-Noor mosque to prepare for the holy month of Ramadan. One protester shoved a placard at a group of young children leaving the mosque. “Murderers,” he shouted.
But wait, this mosque isn’t anywhere near “Ground Zero,” so what are these fine Americans upset about? Boy, this is a tough one, let me put on my thinking cap and consider words starting with “b” and ending with “i-g-o-t-r-y.” Hmmmm.
P.S. Also, see Eugene Robinson, who writes, “it’s hard to think of a better way to give extremist ideology a major boost than to demonstrate what far too many of the world’s 1 billion Muslims already believe is true: that the West rejects not just extremism but Islam itself.” Heckuva job, Newt, Sarah, et al!
Also, see Richard Cohen, who notes that “The inclination to go from the particular to the general — to blame a people for the acts of a few — is what has always fueled pogroms and race riots.” In this case, a few demented, warped, evil individuals murdered thousands of Americans, while 99.9999% of Muslims did NOT murder anyone. And no, that’s not a difficult concept.
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