Terrorism

[kenandkids]

As I'm sure everyone know2s by now, there has been a bombing and shooting in Norway. I commented on G+ that people had finally relaxed their misapprehension that muslim=terrorist, and that this bombing would simply reinforce the prejudices and associations in the collective consciousness. This got me thinking, what do you see in your mind when someone says the word terrorist?

While actions like this increase a reaction that places islam alongside terrorism in my mind, the first image is always christians. The IRA was the primary terrorist organisation most of my life. Cousins and uncles have been wounded in those bombings, and the UK was covered pretty well by American news back then. Also, the christian bombings and murders here, OK City, doctors clinics, etc., tend to come up when I hear the word terrorist.

What about you?

 

[ImprobableJoe]

Me too. Christians, specifically of the right-wing extremist and white supremacist type.

Not too long ago, a (probably) Christian terrorist attempted to blow up a local mosque, and if the bomb had been in a different location he would have injured or killed a bunch of people. More recently, some white-power asshole left a bomb along a Martin Luther King Jr. parade route. I grew up during the most active period for IRA bombings.

And I was in Oklahoma when the federal building was bombed. Sorry, when something blows up my first thought is that some white Christian asshole is responsible.

 

[Case]

What I think when I hear the word 'terrorist'? This, every single time.

http://www.ihasafunny.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/ihasafunny-terrorists.jpg

 

[kenandkids]

What I think when I hear the word 'terrorist'? This, every single time.

http://www.ihasafunny.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/ihasafunny-terrorists.jpg

I got "page not found"...

 

[Case]

What I think when I hear the word 'terrorist'? This, every single time.

http://www.ihasafunny.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/ihasafunny-terrorists.jpg

I got "page not found"...

Then your government ISP is blocking access to the site. Are you from Australia, by any chance?

Try a different DNS / proxy / the TOR network. Or I could upload it to imgur. Choices...

One of these should work:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_IrtPpCgvEH4/S66RDa4lgQI/AAAAAAAAB5I/YoYyaxU2p4o/s1600/relativism2.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/uyyYn.jpg

 

[kenandkids]

Then your government ISP is blocking access to the site. Are you from Australia, by any chance?

Try a different DNS / proxy / the TOR network. Or I could upload it to imgur. Choices...

Sitting in WA state. I say upload... lol.

 

[Case]

See my earlier post.

Then again, maybe the first link contained a virus. When I tried to upload it to imgur it said the image was corrupt. I can view it, however.
Strange things happening.

 

[ImprobableJoe]

HA!!!

 

[kenandkids]

One of these should work:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_IrtPpCgvEH4/S66RDa4lgQI/AAAAAAAAB5I/YoYyaxU2p4o/s1600/relativism2.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/uyyYn.jpg

Rofl! That is funny!

 

[he_who_is_nobody]

This got me thinking, what do you see in your mind when someone says the word terrorist?

 

[ImprobableJoe]

Oh, look... the suspect in the Norway terror attacks is... who would have believed it...


... a lily-white Christian right wing extremist.

Now, this is all alleged and such, and let's not all leap to conclusions. Either way.

 

[Gnomesmusher]

Whether it be Islamic extremists or christian conservative extremists, they're both right wing so in my mind I always think of a right wing nut job when I think terrorist. And it pisses me off that this guy gunned down 80 people one by one for political reasons. I'm tired of the dehumanizing of anyone they don't agree with by the Right.

 

[ImprobableJoe]

Whether it be Islamic extremists or christian conservative extremists, they're both right wing so in my mind I always think of a right wing nut job when I think terrorist. And it pisses me off that this guy gunned down 80 people one by one for political reasons. I'm tired of the dehumanizing of anyone they don't agree with by the Right.

I'm just tired of people thinking that it is OK to gun down random people over differences in abstract ideas.

 

[Gnomesmusher]

I'm just tired of people thinking that it is OK to gun down random people over differences in abstract ideas.

Yeah, it's just that the first step in that road is dehumanizing people so that they can justify gunning them down like dogs.

 

[Dean]

@ImprobableJoe

Me too. Christians, specifically of the right-wing extremist and white supremacist type.[. . .]

Like the KKK? I would suspect these attacks should be a wake-up call to those people who do in fact believe something along the lines of "Muslim = Terrorist". I doubt that it will be of any influence at all to...say...the Christian Right Wing of America, who will no doubt attempt to gloss over this with No True Scotsman fallacies, and other bizarre comments. Just look at Bill O'Reilly's commentary on this.... We still have some progress to make before we arrive at the point of... Der Tod ist ein Meister aus Deutschland... :shock:

 

[nefariousvirtuoso]

I dont think people wrongly associate Muslims with terrorism they rightly associate Muslims with terrorism. I like people dancing around this fact.

Allahu Akboooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom ! ! !

 

[nasher168]

I dont think people wrongly associate Muslims with terrorism they rightly associate Muslims with terrorism. I like people dancing around this fact.

So do you also "rightly" associate Americans with terrorism? After all, many Americans have committed acts of terrorism, and many, many more agree with the motives. Just look at the abortion clinic bombings, the anti-black and anti-gay attacks over the years, the various far-right, anti-government attacks like the Oklahoma City bombing (to name the most prominent one) etc.

Admittedly, I am building a bit of a strawman here, since none of those terrorists do their attacks in the name of America. I use Americans as an example because of course the notion that being an American makes you more likely to support terrorism is ridiculous. But I think the point still stands.

A minority of Americans support the terrorism I mentioned above.

A minority of Muslims support the terrorism so prominent in the news. And it is a minority. Don't try to deny that. The facts simply aren't on your side.

 

[australopithecus]

I dont think people wrongly associate Muslims with terrorism they rightly associate Muslims with terrorism. I like people dancing around this fact.

Allahu Akboooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom ! ! !

Really? What a shocker. Personally I associate fundamentalists with terrorism, be they Muslim, Christian, right wing or right wing. Anything else is dishonest. More terrorism as been perpetrated in the UK by Christians than by Muslims, that has killed more people over a longer period of time, so why specifically is it Muslims that are associated with it now? Other than short attention spans? That's not to say Islamic fundamentalism isn't dangerous, but on a comparative scale Christian fanatics make Muslim fundies look like boy scouts.

Don't try to deny that. The facts simply aren't on your side.

Ah, but lest we forget. 200 out of 600 muslim students agree with Sharia law, ergo, 30% of all muslims ever support blowing up old ladies and new born puppies. :roll:

 

[kenandkids]

So do you also "rightly" associate Americans with terrorism? After all, many Americans have committed acts of terrorism, and many, many more agree with the motives. Just look at the abortion clinic bombings, the anti-black and anti-gay attacks over the years, the various far-right, anti-government attacks like the Oklahoma City bombing (to name the most prominent one) etc.

Admittedly, I am building a bit of a strawman here, since none of those terrorists do their attacks in the name of America. But I think the point still stands.

A minority of Americans support the terrorism I mentioned above.

A minority of Muslims support the terrorism so prominent in the news. And it is a minority. Don't try to deny that. The facts simply aren't on your side.

Have you ever, even once, been able to sway a bigot with simple things like facts and rationalism?

And as an aside, nearly all of those you list DID do those things in the name of America, it was just the invented "Christian Nation of America" that exists solely within their own minds.

 

[nefariousvirtuoso]

This comparison is nonsense. The Christian fundamentalists have done very little for a very long time. If this thread was opened during the Christianities barbarism heyday fine but they have moved on. In 2011 the terrorism comes 99.99% from Islam.

True Facts.