Exactly right. As someone who worked across the street on 9/11, saw everything happen, and ran for my life after seeing the 2nd plane smash into the WTC along with the ensuing fireball, I have a particular sensitivity to this issue. I have no problem with building a mosque...build 3 if you want to in NYC. Just not within eyeshot of the WTC site.
Because you know some fucker extremist preacher(s) in Saudi Arabia will be pointing to that mosque generations from now as a symbol -- a "scar" of battle struck against the great Satan in the early 21st century -- like a victory flag at the top of a hill taken from the enemy. It would be like a group of Americans wanting to erect a statue of Harry Truman near Hiroshima. And the last thing we want to be doing is giving encouragement to future generations of muslim extremists.
You continue to make the same points I have already repeatedly addressed. I'll repeat.
First, sorry you were affected by the attacks. That's traumatic. But traumatic doesn't mean you are right if you blame excessively because of that trauma.
It often works that way; I saw people 50 years after WWII who still hated the Japanese or German people today from the trauma they went through. Families of victims of crimes from another group - race, religious, etc. - often blame 'that group', emotionally. Heck, women who are raped often have problems with sexual relationships after that.
Again, the Muslim people were the *target* of Al Queda with these attacks - Al Queda wanted to create animosity between the US and Muslims, because the more there was a war between the two, the more Muslims would be driven towards Al Queda, instead of what was happening, Al Queda being very unpopular in the Muslim world. If you want to serve the 9/11 attackers agenda by increasing animosity towards the Muslims, even if it's asking them not to put a mosque there, that's your choice.
But if you want to fight the 9/11 attackers, do what they don't want - welcome the mosque and your fellow targets of 9/11, the Muslims there, and recognize that the warm acceptance of the Muslims spits in the face of the 9/11 attackers and shows they did not get what they want, the animosity.
Instead, you make up a false bogeyman of the 'radical Muslim' who claims the mosque as a *victory* for Al Queda, when it's the opposite.
Your analogy with Harry Truman is wrong - Harry Truman did order the bomb dropped. The Muslims building the community center are the enemies of Al Queda, they did not do 9/11.
But it shows how you are linking 'all Muslims' together wrongly.
If you don't want to encourage future generations of Muslim extremists, don't encourage hostility to Muslims. Be warm to them and undermine the radicals who thrive on hate.
Also, you just don't do it out of common sense and respect. This is a lose/lose for Obama, and he is injecting himself into a local dispute and pissing off even more people -- 70 percent of Americans are dead against a mosque being built that close to the WTC. He's not a dumb guy so I'm assuming he's doing it intentionally to suck up to the Middle East and satisfy his own idealogical agenda.
OJ Simpson committed a brutal murder in his neighborhood. If he had to sell his house out of the civil settlement, and the neighbors said to 'respect' them by not letting a black man buy the house, the answer would be no. We can respect their legitimate trauma being affected by the crime, but that doesn't give them the right to violate others' rights because they're being wrongheaded - even if you can sympathize with them - about the blame.
You are again just making up nonsense about some Obama middle east agenda. IMO, it appears very likely Obama is supporting the constitution, fairness, and opposing the misguided blame many citizens are placing on Muslims. His position is just what you want a president to do in standing up for right when the majority is wrong.
Obama is fast turning into the disgrace and disaster I knew he had the potential to be. Very very upset at his position on this issue. And it's got nothing to do with freedom of religion. It's a lack of sensitivity, respect, and good taste that I have a problem with.
Again, that's like saying that the black man can buy OJ's house is a lack of sensitivity, respect and good taste. Wrong.
Stop blaming your fellow 9/11 victims who were the targets of the attack - Al Queda's reason for 9/11 was to force the US to attack a Muslim nation, to drive Muslims into Al Queda's arms when they were outraged by the US attack. Al Queda was careful to give a lot of 'reasons' for the attack that are popular among Muslims to hide their agenda.
Welcome them, and support peace and justice and fight the Al Queda agenda. The Muslims involved are no more guilty of 9/11 than you are.
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