islamophobic

Terrorism is a tool. Terrorist acts are not the last act of a terrorist mission, they are the first act of the much bigger mission.

In their stampede towards cowardice and embrace of the flip side of prejudice that ISIS relies on, a number of Republican Governors are obliviously following the desires of ISIS in proclaiming that they won’t accept refugees from Syria, Iraq and the region under siege by ISIS. And this is exactly what ISIS wants, overt bigotry and hatred by those in the West against Muslims, affirming the Crusaders vs. Righteous ISIS scenario which is their primary recruiting propaganda.

To be clear, Republican Governors are blindly providing support for ISIS’ recruiting efforts to make ISIS grow bigger and more powerful. And they’re doing it through knee jerk cowardice, almost crowing about how their prejudice against non-whites and non-Christians (those who are different form them, that is) is now completely justified.

Which Republican Governors have jumped aboard the Cowardly Bigot Express? The 24 (so far) are the governors of  Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin. Only one Democratic governor (NH) has joined this panic party.

The first question that comes to mind is why these Republicans, especially those in The South, think that panicking after a terrorist attack and proclaiming how fearful they are, comes off as macho in the supposedly “macho” Republican community. Their fear doesn’t make them look strong to those outside of Republican communities, they look like small, weak, cowardly men.

It seems clear that these Republican Governors are acting politically, they know that the xenophobes that make up the core of their voters will reward them for using the attacks to proclaim Islamophobia as state policy. Still, consider the stupidity behind such declarations:

  1. All but one of the Paris terrorists were citizens of France or Belgium. Are all these governors going to also bar everyone who’s French or Belgian from entering their state? Are they going back to Freedom Fries and Freedom Chocolate? Didn’t that defeat the terrorists too?
  2. Once in the U.S., Muslims can drive cars, ride on planes and buses and even walk. So Republican governors, you’ve refused to allow the U.S. government to settle Syrian refugees in your state. Instead, they’ve been settled in a state near yours. Guess what? They can come into your state anytime they want by driving, flying or taking a bus. Unless you ask Donald Trump to build a “yuuuge” wall around your state, of course. BOO!!!
  3. Islamophobia creates more terrorists that could come and attack you. It’s pretty well documented that the ISIS volunteers coming from The West to join ISIS are disaffected Muslims who feel oppressed and mistreated. Openly and aggressively voicing support for Islamophobia as these Republican governors are, is exactly the desired outcome that ISIS was hoping its attacks would inspire. Unintentionally, these Repubs are collaborating with ISIS as top tier recruiters.
  4. Brave people are defiant against evil people, not their victims. As President Obama is displaying, brave men and brave leaders encourage their citizens to not give into fear and to defy the intent of terrorists. They urge people to continue acting on their principles and not allow the terrorists to win by compromising who they are. America and the world have long believed in the moral responsibility of providing a haven for the refugees of terrible conflicts. It is part of the American character and the nation’s humanity to do so. Republican Governors might be quick to throw away such principles but when they do so, they allow terrorists to have power over them and their alleged principles.
  5. An American Muslim community that is supported by our political leaders is a strong defense against extremists and terrorism. Instead of smearing all Muslims as possible terrorists, embracing Muslims as equals and non-automatic terrorists helps build a community that embraces America back. Part of the reason France is such a target for Muslim extremists is that their government has been at odds with the Muslim community over the years. Some will remember the Muslim protests that swept France a decade ago, this tension has been around fro some time. It is a different situation in America, in general, Muslims are more comfortably integrated into the country. This provides for a more positive sensibility for Muslims in America and is more conducive to their feeling a part of the country instead of feeling like outcasts in an Islamophobic nation and more prone to hatred and committing violence.
  6. Islamophobia right after 9/11 only made everything worse. Osama Bin Laden made clear that he had a goal to bring America to its knees. The attack on the World Trade Center didn’t do that in itself. But the Islamophobia and knee jerk fear and rage driving more violence and wars, accomplished Bin Laden’s goals for him. President George W. Bush whipped up and rode the wave of Islamophobia in America to go to war in Iraq which helped destroy our economy (not to mention cost us so many irreplaceable lives of our soldiers and innocent Iraqis) and created ISIS. At least in comparing the economic and human toll that Al Qaeda directly caused and that Bush directly caused, it’s hard to argue that the attack on 9/11 caused more losses to our country than the Islamophobia-driven responses by our leaders afterwards.

It is an important goal for ISIS to have the response to their terrorism be one of Islamophobia. They want and need an existential battle between Muslims and non-Muslims and inspiring Islamophobia is key to that. So when we see the rise of xenophobic, anti-immigrant nationalists like The National Front party in France, UK Independence Party in the UK, the Danish People’s Party in Denmark, etc., we see ISIS’ wet dream coming true.

And watching Republican governors jump onto this Islamophobic dog pile makes one ashamed at the cowardice and ignorance they proudly display on behalf of America.

Those who are smart, learn from experience. Panicking about Muslims after 9/11 led to disasters that continue today as we’ve seen this past week.

We need to be smarter than our fears, holding on strongly to our principles especially when confronted with hatred and violence. It will always be what’s best in us that protects us in the end, not catering to the worst of our fears and prejudices.

(UPDATE: This article has been updated to reflect the increased number of Governors opposing refugees. Also, Republicans in Congress and running for president are unsurprisingly jumping on the Fear and Bigotry bandwagon, Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz even stating that only Christian refugees should be allowed into the U.S..)

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funksandsJames Michael BrodieAdLibKillgoreTroutmonicaangela Recent comment authors
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funksands
Member

Republicans rarely miss an opportunity to punch down.

The constant mantra drilled into the head of conservatives is:

1. What to be afraid of
2. Who to blame
3. It isn’t your fault

The Right Wing Entertainment Industrial Complex can’t miss an opportunity to reinforce this message with real-life examples.

monicaangela
Member

This article is perfect AdLib, it explains a phenomenon that has been happening in this country for centuries. Almost since the time this nation was usurped by the tactics used by the first invaders, tactics such as those you described are happening now with the mostly Republican governors.

Cowardice? No, not cowardice, at least not in my opinion. Instead of cowardice, it is a blatant attempt to frighten the rest of us, those of us that will have to give up our loved ones to go off to fight a war that they are steadily trying to drum up against ISIL. Boots on the ground yes, but not for their friends and family, only for those that they continue to oppress and then utilize when their butts are in the ringer.

In the beginning, they called the Native Americans savages and justified their savagery against them by acting as though they were terrified of the people who occupied this land before they arrived, even though those very people had the winter before saved their lives by sharing their intelligence regarding ways to live in the new land that they were not familiar with. They shared their food and other belongings with those that would later commit a veritable genocide against them. It appears the sins of the father’s are definitely visited upon the sons.

You know the history of this nation, so I don’t have to go through what they did to every other minority that came to this country, legally illegally, in bondage or whatever. They did the same thing they are attempting to do to the people in the middle east. Why did they do this in this country? If you know your history you know why. Why are they trying to do it in the middle east? Same reason…GREED. They have something valuable, the Oligarchs want it, and they will go to no lengths to get it. ISIS is in the way? Okay, they will pretend to be terrified of ISIS, AL Qaeda and any other group that dares to fight back.

One thing you forgot to mention when discussing those horrible governors that are now denying Syrian refugees entry into their states and that is this: When the “terrorist” attacked the U.S. on 9/11, they were majority Saudi citizens, yes, they were from Saudi Arabia. Did you hear any of those governors protesting saying no Saudi’s will be allowed to migrate to the U.S.? Did you hear any of them clamoring for war against Saudi Arabia, or even discussing Saudi Arabia in a manner that would be detrimental to the Saudi government? Of course not, remember Bandar Bush? Well, he was like one of the Bush family, instead of declaring the Saudi’s savages, they allowed them the opportunity to leave the nation by plane during a time of restricted flight, remember? Again, I should say not, Saudi Arabia had and still has something their corporations need, something they continue to say that we need. OIL…circle complete, GREED.

Now then, how dare those savages that claim to be forming a caliphate steal our oil, attack the country of our now most prized ally (an ally that was completely hated during the run up to the Iraq war, because they were trying to be sensible and prevent what is happening to them now, remember? Some even wanted to change the name of French Fries to Freedom Fries because we were so mad at the French for not immediately supporting our decision to attack an innocent nation.) Now because ISIS is attempting to do the same thing we did and is fighting back when we attempt to stop them, we are all of a sudden realizing that this thing that they are doing is horrible.

How dare ISIS and Al Qaeda and anyone else try to make the world think the way they do. And, how dare they attempt to prevent us from continuing to rule over our new colonized nation of Iraq, and prevent our attempts at imposing our will upon the government of Syria. How dare they get in our way and put up a fight not only against us, but also against our allies. We are going to have to do something and we have to do it now, or those savages will be over here beheading your women and children, or still worse, raping them and then beheading them. Be afraid, be very afraid, and remember, a Muslim is a Muslim, doesn’t matter if the person is Shia or Sunni, no matter if they are from Syria, Russia, the U.S. or whatever country, because after all, if they practice the religion of Islam they are all the same, so remember, be afraid of them all, and begin the slaughter of them all, that will of course fill the coffers of the Oligarchs also, and even if you can’t eliminate them all, at least you will have eliminated enough of them to make the job of the Oligarchs which is to control them much easier.

As you say in your article, when will we learn. The Oligarch’s have killed millions of Native Americans, millions of African Americans and millions of everyone they consider other, and continue to eliminate the other in more ways than I would care to count because they think the rest of the world is coming for their toys, and they just won’t have it under any circumstance, and of course in the back of their minds they still somehow think they are going to rid the world of everybody and everything that doesn’t look like them, act like them, or meet their expectations in whatever way they deem is acceptable. And also too, there is the pie, the thing the rest of us call the earth, they feel she, the earth, is theirs, and refuse to slice that pie equally. They refuse to share any of it so that the rest of us might be able to enjoy this planet that is actually here for all of us, maybe more so for those willing to share it than those who would try to usurp all of it for themselves.

I believe this is a time of a great awakening, I believe the Oligarch’s have finally been allowed the luxury of making the mistake of creating this disaster in the middle east, and maybe they are being given an opportunity to do the right thing this time and try to find a way to learn from their past mistakes, admit the world isn’t theirs and allow those that would in my opinion be more capable handle the problem of ISIS. I feel those of the religion of Islam understand better what is happening with this group and are the only ones that can prevent the spread of what many consider a departure from the true religion of Islam.

One day, hopefully soon, this nation will understand what President Obama appears to have learned, no amount of boots on the ground, no amount of blood and treasure is going to dispense with an idea. Maybe, just maybe we will get some grown ups in a room, grown ups from every nation to discuss the better course going forward. It is for sure, the U.S. and NATO should not be left alone to make the decision as to what to do about this problem.

The U.S. the nation that I believe is most responsible for creating this mess should definitely not be allowed to make the decision as to how we should move forward, and those governors, shrewd cowards they are, should be praying that those that have been so horribly wronged in their own nations decide to bless them by coming to live in their states, if for no other reason than to prove to them that not everyone in this nation is like the evil Bush administration that caused these problems in the first place.

If the Oligarchs don’t reconsider and start trying to find ways to get along with the rest of the world, and learn to share the abundance that is available for all on this planet, THEY are going to regret it.

Thanks for this wonderful article, and for giving me the opportunity to express my feelings in this what I’m sure some will call a rant. Have a great day. 🙂

James Michael Brodie
Member

Monica, one thing I look forward to when I come back to POV are your insights.

I can’t even add anything of substance to what you have written.

monicaangela
Member

Thank you JMB, long time no see, it’s great to see you hear again, hope your presence means you will be stopping around more often, I miss reading your comments. 🙂

James Michael Brodie
Member

Will do my best, my friend. Have been dancing with the Yahoo crowd. Gotta write about that one day.

Also finishing rehearsals on my new play that goes on stage in December. A spiritual take on the Baltimore riots…

monicaangela
Member

You’re a busy man JMB. Your play sounds very interesting. Where are your plays performed? It would be nice if you could video a snippet of it and allow us to see a little of your work. Yahoo? OMG, you really are a glutton for punishment aren’t you. 🙂

James Michael Brodie
Member

Hey Monica,

It is a project I wrote for my church — One God One Thought Center, here in Baltimore. Our first performance will be Dec. 27. Hopefully, we will be able to take it around and expand on the script. I am following the August Wilson method, where you write the script and then have the actors bring themselves into the creating of the full character. Much fun. We are planning to video the play. Will keep you posted.

Yeah. Gotta luv Yahoo. They are now stalking me, giving me “Thumbs Down” no matter what I say…

Keeps me on my toes.

monicaangela
Member

Hello JMB!

It appears we ran out of space for responses, so I’ll answer you here. Just want to say good luck with your play, I’m sure it will be wonderful. Sounds as though your approach to it will be fun for the actors. Good luck with allowing Yahoo to keep you on your toes also, just don’t allow them to change your personality to that of someone who becomes depressed and bitter. Remember, their responses are just anonymous reaction to someone they don’t know. Don’t take offense. 🙂

Nirek
Member

Ad, I hope the people of the states that have Governors who refuse refugees from Syria vote the bastards out!

“1. Once in the U.S., Muslims can drive cars, ride on planes and buses and even walk. So Republican governors, you’ve refused to allow the U.S. government to settle Syrian refugees in your state. Instead, they’ve been settled in a state near yours. Guess what? They can come into your state anytime they want by driving, flying or taking a bus. Unless you ask Donald Trump to build a “yuuuge” wall around your state, of course. BOO!!!” Was the exact thought I had.

Kalima
Admin

Wonderful article, AdLib.

My first reaction was shock. My second was utter disgust.

My hope is that the UN will come out to speak in opposition to these lily liveried, pea brains. For anyone who would fail to offer help to those in desperate need should not be in a position of power.

It’s not just a huge embarrassment, they are disgracing America by their unfathomable decision and I hope it buries them.

Just read this. The facts are embarrassing enough but that won’t stop them. When did they ever accept glaring facts?

GOP Guvs Rely on ISIS Lies to Reject Syrian Refugees

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/11/16/gop-guvs-rely-on-isis-lies-to-reject-syrian-refugees.html

kesmarn
Admin

Great minds, AdLib! You and Paul Krugman are on exactly the same page today. (Link to his “Fearing the Fear” article is in our Twitter feed.)

As you pointed out so eloquently, the craven GOP governors who are looking for their smelling salts and fainting couches as they battle the “vapors” are playing right into the hands of Daesh.

We have a history of having taken in Cuban refugees (right, Ted Cruz?) and Hungarian refugees in 1956 (Surely there must have been some pinkos in their midst). But now — all of a sudden — refugees fleeing horrible violence are too “scawy” for us to handle.

Don’t you have to wonder how things will play out in Germany over the next few months? What we do know at this point is that there are a heckuva lot of Syrian refugees in their country and so far the Cologne Cathedral has not been blown to bits. Could that be in part because so far these Muslims have been treated like human beings?

If only these GOP governors could display one tenth of the courage that this little woman did during the London blitz in WWII. Even when Buckingham Palace sustained significant damage, the Queen Mum didn’t run. She kept calm and carried on:
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KillgoreTrout
Member

“These colors don’t run!” No, they just shyte themselves and scream for their body guards.

monicaangela
Member

Picture perfect Kes!!! 🙂