8/19/10

we interrupt your scheduled programming...

Okay, I know I said I would post more about Seattle next time, but something occurred that I REALLY need to vent about because I have to make sure that I'm not the idiot in this situation.

The other day, I partook in something I usually avoid like the plague and never dreamed of being involved with: I argued with someone on Facebook.

Lord, have mercy on my soul.

It takes a lot to make me angry. I'm extremely passive. I can't stand confrontation and I like to let everyone have their own views and opinions regardless of what I think. However, every once in a while, someone will say something so ignorant, so uneducated, so startlingly thick that it irritates me until I can't take it anymore. The statement I'm going to discuss today is so staggeringly dense that NASA is undertaking a multimillion dollar project to discover its chemical composition, which is sure to be unlike anything we have seen on Earth before.

I logged on to Facebook yesterday and saw this on my front page:
Butch O'Doyle*: A Mosque... Near Ground Zero.. Are you forreal? Brilliant? I think not. Idiotic insensitive prick? Sounds like our president! 2012 is approaching fast(:

*names have been changed to protect the clueless
For those of you who don't know, there's controversy brewing right now about a proposed Islamic center and mosque to be built two blocks away from the former site of the World Trade Center. There's been a bit of an uproar from people saying that it's disrespectful to the families of those who lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks and that it should not be built.

A few people liked the status and commented about how my pal Butch was spot on in his eloquent analysis of the situation. After a few posts congratulating Butch on reaching enlightenment, a voice of reason attempted to sneak in:
Rodney McReasonable: I am upset about this, but there is nothing anyone can do about it besides protest. But otherwise, it is completely permissible and (thankfully still) legal for someone to build something anywhere on their own property.
Atta boy, Rodney! Way to think clearly! Unfortunately, Butch kicked his razor-sharp wit into high gear and retorted with:
Butch O'Doyle: I have the right as an American to say hell no. I may not remember much from 9/11 but it pisses me off to this day.
This spooked poor Rodney, who was never heard from again.

Someone pointed out that the attacks were carried out by Muslim extremists who do not represent every follower of the religion. Once again, they were struck down by Butch's mighty logic:
Butch O'Doyle: christian extremists aren't anti-american. thats the difference. Like i've repeated, BUILD IT SOMEWHERE ELSE! IDGAF.
This is the point where I made the mistake of attempting to apply a different perspective to the situation:
Me: if christians had hijacked the planes on 9/11, would it be insensitive to build a church near ground zero?

Butch O'Doyle: Hell yeah it would, but christians didn't.
Drat! Foiled! After that, someone said that they felt it was unfair to Muslims and that it took away their freedom, but Butch soothed their worries:
Butch O'Doyle: Fairness and Freedom have nothing to do with this. I wouldn't exactly call this taking freedom away, or being unfair.
I felt bold and offered my opinion again:
Me: ‎...even though we would be taking away their freedom to build a place of worship and being unfair by punishing innocent adherents of a major religion based on the actions of a few rogues?

Butch O'Doyle: Major? i don't recall it being major. Like i said, they can build it any other damn place in new york except by ground zero. haha. I've only said that like... 5 or 6 times? I don't believe thats punishing anyone. If its the major opinion of new yorkers, than it doesn't matter. It shouldn't happen.
Quickly, I fled to Google, Benevolent Provider of All Things Data-Related.
Me: oops :\ i looked it up and you were right...only 1 out of 5 people on the planet are muslims. my mistake...

Butch O'Doyle: Yeah but are 1/5 people in the united states muslim? i don't think so. once again, nice try. At the largest estimated numbers there are 10 million muslims in the united states. That would be 1 muslim for every 40 non muslim. Yeah major religion in the U.S. Right?

Me: about 1 out of 30; the united states' population is roughly 300 million. 10 million is a pretty major group of anything. only 4 out of every 300 united states citizens are oregonians. we're even less of a "major group" than muslims, but we still get to vote in every election. major doesn't mean majority, it means enough of a voice to make an impact. in addition, of those 10 million american muslims, 600,000 of them live in nyc.

Butch O'Doyle: Still wouldn't call it a major religion.
At that point, I was thoroughly and completely blown away. My jaw literally dropped when I read his last response. How is it possible that ten million people can't be considered a major group? I tried frantically to come up with something that could make sense to Mr. O'Doyle, but there was nothing left to say, so I said nothing.

However, Butch was not through with me just yet. This morning, I awoke to find this:
Butch O'Doyle: Adam: new yorkers don't want the mosque anywhere near ground zero, so from what your saying they shouldn't be able to build there. Not only is it highly insensitive but its an insult to the survivers and deceased's loved ones. Like I've said before.
From what I'm saying? I thought that perhaps good ol' Butch had accidentally confused me with himself. I was completely finished with this argument. It was pointless for both of us; nobody was going to change their mind. My final message was:
Me: chief, all i'm saying is that i support the freedom of religion, not "the freedom of religion anywhere but this particular spot."
He has yet to respond.

It makes me sad that so many people in my country view Islam as inherently evil because of what a few zealots did. I'm a Christian, but I guarantee that if the planes on 9/11 had been hijacked by Christians who said that they did it for the glory of God, the newspaper headlines would have read "Planes hijacked by insane terrorists" and not "Planes hijacked by Christian extremists." I believe that people are afraid of what they don't know about, and Islam as a whole became an excellent scapegoat for the cause of the tragedy.

If this display of ignorance is representative of most Americans, it's no wonder why the rest of the world hates us.




Listening to: Arcade Fire - Wake Up
Currently fixated on: This pedal

6 comments:

  1. Adam, I agree whole-heartedly with you. My father is Muslim (he converted from Catholicism) and it's always uneducated people like "Butch" who give him crap for it. Just because a few people did really awful things doesn't mean that the whole faith should be punished for it.
    :/

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  2. Hello
    It is sad to hear all those things, it s a pitty that people can be ignorants like that, the problem is nobody really knows what was behind 11/9, because media cannot be trusted, that subject is contreversial, and a normal citizen in this world, that follows and is blinded by what the media shows, cannot know entirely the true story, all we know is that innocents died that day, among them muslims and arabs, so maybe we can just let go of all the hatered and try to be peacefull and accept one another, because as I said the truth is unknown, one must really use their mind to understand and analyze what is it that happened, and what is it that s happening now right this moment...
    how can we live in peace when people are seeking revenge pretend they know everything and are blinded with hatered..
    it is sad, but still, we ll hope for a better world where everyone can live with an open mind and a heart full of love
    cheers
    MB

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  3. Chief! You used 'chief' on him! Oh, Adam, That was brilliant. I thoroughly enjoyed this blog and your dispute. I agree with you full on. This guy just pisses me off so much. I'm a Christian. I went to a Christian school from pre-school to 8th grade, and I still attend church now. Though, my best friend is Muslim, and I see absolutely nothing wrong with that. Why does religion have to sort us out into who we should like and who we think is "wrong"? It's ridiculous. This guy is an ABSOLUTE IDIOT. Of course Muslim is a major religion in the Unites States! You even gave him valid numbers of how many Muslims live in the United States. Now, I normally don't have extreme hate for things, but I extremely hate ignorant people. It is in their constitutional right to build a mosque where ever the hell they want to. The mosque had been planned even before 9/11. I just....ugh, can't even fathom how people become so ignorant.
    In my opinion, I think they should just let them build the bloody thing, because then maybe, just maybe the Islamic people will be happy at the US government for once, stop hating the rest of America, and oh, I don't know, end the war and stop bombing?
    Who knows, who knows.

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  4. Jordyn's Muslim best friend speaking :)
    I'm not in any position to judge anyone, or anything. I'm a Muslim, but I'm not extremely devout, nor am I an extremist. The only thing I want to point out, is that despite the number of dimwits that occupy this country, there are people, like yourself, you have an open mind and I just want to say that I am greatful for people like that. Our president himself is one, an educated, CULTURED man who respects EVERYONE who lives in this country. And like Jordyn said, the mosque was scheduled to be built way before Bin Laden decided to wage war. There's this thing called "reading" that people should look into. It not only will it teach them how to speak properly, but it also provides massive amounts of information so people don't point and laugh at their ignorance.

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  5. Brilliant Adam!

    I'm a Muslim myself, and I'm very happy that you don't view us the way Butch does. What they did on 9/11 is entirely against the core principles of Islam, and people need to stop thinking that all of us are bad. Did you know that if we Muslims were to wage war, we have certain rules to comply with? We cannot harm the women and children, the innocent, nor can we destroy the land(plants/animals). What happened at the World Trade Center? Not something any sane Muslim would do.

    I love what America stands for, and if you take that away, it'll be just like any other country.

    Good job Adam, for being brave to speak your mind. Keep on blogging and posting videos!

    Love,
    Your subscriber

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  6. Oh, its really wonderful to see how open-minded you are Adam, as well as others who view it just like you. Oh, thank you.

    And what Sabs commented is true regarding Islamic rules to wage war.

    And yeah, I'm a Muslim too. I really believe in world peace.. And and you rock!!! woohoo! :D

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