Hi everyone,
Earlier this week, I received some obnoxious chain mail. I became so
incensed by it, that I felt a need to respond - especially since it had
a cc list and a way to counter the hate that was being spread. One of the
people on the list, a woman who I never met, took exception to my
response and sent her own reply.
In my opinion, this email could not do a better job to reveal a popular
misunderstanding of the culture from which Islam comes. It also demonstrates
the feelings of someone who considers herself benevolent but, is so scared
that she absolutely insists that someone should be punished. I found it
to be a frightening example of a person in transition from caring to hating.
Although I'm not a sociologist or a mental health professional, it was
apparent to me that the email I received, was from a women filled with
contradictions and uncertainty. Someone at the beginning of becoming a
racist.
I wouldn't send such a long email if I didn't think it
was revealing. If you want to follow the whole exchange, start at the
bottom. I suspect that you will also find the chain letter to be divisive
and one that plays on fear.
Mike
___________________________________
Michael,
The fact that numerous religions have perpetrated acts of
violence and
hatred towards others throughout the ages DOES NOT negate
the fact that
horrible things are being done in the world today in the
name of Islam.
It is the only religion in the world today
(as far as I in my
ignorance know) that is FORCING people to convert to
it with
devastating consequences/death if they don't. Women
ARE being forced
to live in subservience and suffer inhumane treatment
at the hands of a
religion that hands all authority to men (I understand
that this is not
true in every Muslim country, and I understand that
there are other
cultures that promote the same treatment... but it DOES
NOT negate the
fact that Islam is doing this also).
Christian and Animist women and
girls in Africa, in the Sudan, are being
kidnapped and being forced to
become slaves and sexual slaves to Muslim
men, even being forced to
undergo female circumcision, in the name of
Islam, because they are
infidels. People in Africa and Indonesia,
Asia, and other places are
being killed, or threatened with death for
not converting to Islam.
Young boys are being forced to fight
brutal wars in the name of Islam.
Young men, and now young women,
are being brainwashed into becoming
suicide bombers and blowing up
innocent people in restaurants, buses,
trains, etc. by instilling in
them a hatred of anything that is western
and not Islamic.
Authors ARE being killed, or threatened with death
for expressing an
opposing viewpoint. This IS all happening today in
the name of
Islam.
I understand that our country has killed thousands of
innocent people
in wars that promote our own agenda, but that also DOES
NOT negate the
fact that people are doing these things in the name of
Islam. I wonder
if we are getting a balanced report of what is
going on in Iraq and
Afghanistan. To be sure, the media is not
making up the number of
deaths and the number of bombings, but I cannot
believe that a vast
majority of the people in those countries are
excited at the prospect
of freedom and opportunity and the hope of
living free of persecution.
It is not the moderate Muslims that
are ruining our country's effort to
restore peace, to rebuild the
infrastructure, to rebuild schools,
improve the water and electrical
systems to better than what it was,
etc.
No one is ever justified in
forcing one person to accept a belief by
force. No one is ever
justified in torturing people or killing them in
the name of a
religion. It is shameful to me that people like Timothy
McVeigh
call themselves "Christians" and believe they are acting in the
name of
God. David Koresh, the Guyana tragedies, etc etc etc -- all
twisted cults doing things in the name of Christ or Christianity.
Those men are wrong, just as these Muslim extremists are wrong.
They
take writings that DO exist in the Koran, and take them to the
extreme,
believing they are doing the right thing and will receive glory
from
Allah in the hereafter. If they are right, that's one scary
religion.
If they are wrong, then they deserve to be condemned for
their actions.
So basically I take it from your email below that we are
not supposed
to notice the trends in the world today just because "Islam
does not
stand alone." Do we excuse radical Islamic extremists
because, well,
extremists will be extremists, just like boys will be
boys, or because
other religions have had extremists too?
This is
about the third or fourth time you have responded to a mass
email and I
have read you defending people who would love to see MY
faith destroyed
and my country brought down, and would love to wipe an
entire people
group which I support wiped off the face of the earth
(the Jews)(and I
am not talking about a small country which you would
undoubtedly say
that the Jews took over by force from the poor
Palestinians and the
Muslims have every right to use terrorism to
eradicate the Jews and take
back the land-- I am talking about these
extremists wanting to totally
innihilate the Jews, period). Do you
EVER read the other side of
the story?
Listen, I could go on and on, but to tell you the truth, I
don't do
well in political arguments, and I am relatively ignorant, and
I would
probably be swamped in a few minutes, but I do maintain that ALL
THE
THINGS mentioned in the email to which you responded DID happen and
they WERE done in the name of Islam, and just because other people have
done criminal acts in the name of their cause, it does not mean that we
should not notice of what is happening in the world today and what is
the agenda of the radical Islamic extremists. And lest you think
that
I believe all Muslims should be lumped into a group with these
proponents of hate and irrationality, think again. I do not think
that
the extremists are representative of all Muslims any more than I
think
that David Koresh, for example, is a true representation of
Christianity. Just because someone wants to point out the
atrocities
that are going on in the modern world, does not make them
xenophobic
morons. Like xenophobes, you obviously have
trouble with people who
don't think the way you do. If you think
that your way of thinking is
best, does that make you egocentric and
intolerant of other's views?
Here is a website for you to check out that
will probably make you
angry but will at least give you an idea of why
some people are so
scared: www.levitt.com
Find the link for the
newsletter and read some of them. Try to do it
without lumping
this man and these writers into your pre-conceived
xenophobic category,
but try hard to read with an open mind. They can
substantiate
everything they say.
Now, Mike, I would appreciate again if you would
remove me from list
when you hit the "reply to all" icon on your
computer. Right about
now, you may be thinking that I am one of
those people who really needs
to hear your point of view, but if I
choose to believe that radical
Islam is a very real threat in today's
world, that is my right, just as
it is your right to defend those who
would ultimately like to destroy
you and your way of life. Just
quit sending your opinions to my email
address and invading my
privacy. I prefer to get mail from people I
know, even if they are
xenophobic and won't widen my views (read that
last sentence with a
sarcastic LOL). I promise that I will not do this
to you
again.
And Jerry, if you want to forward this stuff to me, please do it
blind.
Thanks.
Ramona
On Aug 2, 2005, at 12:03
PM, Michael Redler wrote:
> Joe, you xenophobic
moron.
>
> Nearly every criminal act of political extremism
has
> been carried out by a male extremist. If your looking
>
for a pattern, you will have more success
> concentrating on gender
rather than their chosen
> religion. However, since you insist on
carefully
> selecting questions that all have the same answer,
>
blow the dust off your history book and look for the
> names and
places involving acts of violence in the
> name of religion. You will
find that Islam does not
> stand alone.
>
> Now hurry up
before you miss your Klan meeting.
>
> Mike
>
> ---
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
>
>>
>> Please pause a moment, reflect
back, and take the
>> following multiple choice
>> test.
The events are actual cuts from past history.
>> They
actually happened!!!
>>
>> Do you
remember?
>>
>> -1968 Bobby Kennedy was
shot
>> and killed by
>> a. Superman
>> b. Jay
Lenno
>> c. Harry Potter
>> d. Muslim male extremist
between the ages of 17 and
>> 40
>>
>> 1.
In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes were
>> kidnapped and
massacred by
>> a. Olga Corbett
>> b. Sitting
Bull
>> c. Arno! ld Schwarzenegger
>> d. Muslim male
extremists mostly between the ages
>> of 17 and
40
>>
>> 2. In 1979, the US embassy in Iran was
taken over
>> by:
>> a. Lost Norwegians
>>
b. Elvis
>> c. A tour bus full of 80-year-old
women
>> d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the
ages
>> of 17 and 40
>>
>> 3.During the !
1980's a number of Americans were
>> kidnapped in Lebanon
by:
>> a. John Dillinger
>> b. The King of
Sweden
>> c. The Boy Scouts
>> d. Muslim male
extremists mostly between the ages
>> of 17 and
40
>>
>> 4. In 1983, the US Marine barracks in
Beirut was
>> blown up by:
>> a. A pizza delivery
boy
>> b. Pee Wee Herman
>> c. Geraldo
Rivera
>> d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the
ages
>> of 17 and 40
>>
>> 5. In 1985 the
cruise ship Achille Lauro was
>> hijacked and a 70 year
old
>> American passenger was murdered and thrown
>>
overboard in his wheelchair by:
>> a. The Smurfs
>>
b. Davy Jones
>> c. The Little Mermaid
>> d. Muslim
male extremists mostly between the ages
>> of 17 and
40
>>
>> 6.In 1985 TWA flight 847 was hijacked at
Athens,
>> and a US Navy diver trying
>> to rescue
passengers was murdered by:
>> a. Captain Kidd
>> b.
Charles Lindberg
>> c. Mother Teresa
>> d. Muslim
male extremists mostly between the ages
>> of 17 and
40
>>
>> 7.In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed
by:
>> a. Scooby Doo
>> b. The Tooth
Fairy
>> c. Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid
>> d.
Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages
>> of 17 and
40
>>
>> 8. In 1993 the World Trade Center was
bombed the
>> first time by:
>> a. Richard
Simmons ; b. Grandma Moses
>> c. Michael
Jordan
>> d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the
ages
>> of 17 and 40
>>
>> 9.In 1998, the
US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania
>> were bombed
by:
>> a. Mr. Rogers
>> b. Hillary Clinton, to distract
attention from Wild
>> Bill' s women problems
>> c.
The World Wrestling Federation
>> d. Muslim male
extremists mostly between the ages
>> of 17 and
40
>>
>> 10.On 9/11/01, four airliners were
hijacked; two
>> were used as missiles to
>> take
out the World Trade Centers and of the
>> remaining two, one
crashed
>> into the US Pentagon and the other was diverted
and
>> crashed by the
>> passengers.Thousands of people
were killed by:
>> a. Bugs Bunny, Wiley E. Coyote, Daffy Duck
and
>> Elmer Fudd
>> b. The Supreme Court of
Florida
>> c. Mr. Bean
>> d. Muslim male extremists
mostly between the ages
>> of 17 and 40
>>
>>
11.In 2002 the United States fought a war in
>>
Afghanistan against:
>> a. Enron
>> b. The Lutheran
Church
>> c. The NFL
>> d. Muslim male extremists
mostly between the ages
>> of 17 and 40
>>
>> 12.
In 2002 reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and
>> murdered
by:
>> a. Bonnie and Clyde
>> b. Captain
Kangaroo
>> c. Billy Graham
>> ! ; & nbsp; d.
Muslim male extremists mostly
>> between the ages of 17 and
40
>>
>>
>> 13. 2004 - Spain Railwayy
bombings.
>> Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of
17
>> and 40
>>
>> AND NOW
!
>>
>> 14. 2005 London Railway bombings
>>
Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of
>> 17 and
40
>>
>> Nope, .I really don't see a pattern here to
justify
>> profiling, do you?
>>
>> So, to ensure
we Americans never offend anyone,
>> particularly fanatics
intent
>> on killing us, airport security screeners will
no
>> longer be allowed to
>> profile
>> certain
people. They must conduct random searches
>> of 80-year-old
women,
>> little kids, airline pilots with proper
>>
identification, secret agentsof the
>> President's
>>
security detail, 85-year old Congressmen with metal
>> hips,
and Medal of Honor
>> winning and former Governor Joe Foss,
but leave
>> Muslim Males between the ages 17 and 40
alone
>> because of profiling.
>>
>> Let's send
this to as many people as we can so that
>> the Gloria
Aldreds and!
>> other attorneys along with Federal Justices
that
>> want to thwart
>> common sense, feel doubly
ashamed of themselves -
>> if they have any such
>>
sense.
>>
>> As the writer of the award winning
story "Forrest
>> Gump" so aptly put it,
>> "Stupid
is as stupid does."
>>
>> Come on people wake
up!!!
>> Keep this going. Pass it on to everyone in
your
>> address book.
>> Our Country and our troops
need our support and
>> prayers.
>>
