Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Islamophobia Watch

This poor, poor guy:


NEW YORK (Reuters) - An Iraqi architect on Tuesday said he was forced to change his t-shirt before boarding a flight in New York because the shirt had "We will not be silent" written on it in Arabic and English.

Raed Jarrar wrote on his Internet blog (http://raedinthemiddle.blogspot.com) that he was required to change out of the shirt prior to boarding a JetBlue flight from New York's John F. Kennedy Airport to California this month because officials told him people were offended by the shirt.

In an interview with New York Public Radio on Tuesday, Jarrar said, "I grew up and spent all my life living under authoritarian regimes and I know that these things happen. But I'm shocked that they happened to me here, in the U.S."


Gee, I feel so sorry for him.

Let's see; he had to change his t-shirt, and meanwhile, 300 million Americans have to endure long lines at airports,wasting hundreds of thousands of hour of their precious time enduring invasive screening, having to go on board airplanes sans water bottles, gel, etc. - all because Muslim men, ages 20-45 have repeatedly plotted to, and sometimes succeeded in, bringing down airliners.

We have had to watch as the Trade Center Towers fell, killing 3,000 of our fellow citizens.

We have had to watch the Beslan Massacre, the Madrid bombings, the London 7/7 bombings, and countless other acts of Jihad.

And, to top it off, this poor guy had to change his t-shirt.

Well, here, I have something to make him feel better. It's called "The Golden I-Don't-Give-A-Fuck Award."

I hope he displays it proudly on his mantel, OR, up his ass.


Quetzal writes in to say:

I'm no leftist. I even write a blog on our issues with Islam. Still, I hate when these things happen, though I must admit it's a natural outcome of the Islamofascist's ways.

I detected in that comment a bit of an admonishment for perceived stereotyping on my part. I don't think all Muslims are terrorist. However, I do know that all the terrorists who have caused trouble in the Western world in the past few years are Muslim (with the exception of a few in Spain).

We all have to shoulder the consequences, as I note in my post, and as I commented back to Quetzal:

I am a former leftie. 9/11 changed me, and the "Jenin Massacre" did away with my leftism completely.

The reason I make fun of this guy is because I endure all sorts of inconvenience and invasive searching tactics at airports on a regular basis, and I never complain about it one bit. I am, quite often, pulled out of line, forced to take off articles of clothing, have my bags swabbed, and forced to take items out of my bags, etc. And I am a white guy with blonde hair and blue eyes.

Here's what I think when this is happening to me: "Well, they have to make a show of it, don't they? But, if this is what they have to do to make us all safe, then I am glad."

But, this poor Muslim guy can't contribute his share. He has to complain about the fact that he is being racially profiled.

Well, clearly, I am being racially profiled too. I am being profiled because as a white guy with blonde-hair and blue eyes, I am a good show to put on for all those who appear Middle-Eastern who are concerned that they will be racially-profiled.

Everybody needs to shut up and get with the program. Airport security is doing their job. Leave them alone. Stop the whining.

4 comments:

Quetzal said...

Not all natural things are pretty. Islamophobia is natural. That doesn't mean I have to like it.

I'm no leftist. I even write a blog on our issues with Islam. Still, I hate when these things happen, though I must admit it's a natural outcome of the Islamofascist's ways.

These cases (I think) cannot be prevented; I'm pretty sure we'll see more and more such "happenstances" as time goes by. Only if we could pin a real suicide bomber... that would make the Islamophobia workable.

(Speaking of Islamophobia - a "phobia" implies "excessive, unreasonable desire to avoid the feared subject". I don't see anything "unreasonable" in my fear of Islam's followers.)

On an up note: little seeds of hope may exist that not all Arabs follow their demented rules. See here a "good guy". And, by the way, I know it for sure, firsthand, that the story is true.

Pastorius said...

Quetzal,
I am a former leftie. 9/11 changed me, and the "Jenin Massacre" did away with my leftism completely.

The reason I make fun of this guy is because I endure all sorts of inconvenience and invasive searching tactics at airports on a regular basis, and I never complain about it one bit. I am, quite often, pulled out of line, forced to take off articles of clothing, have my bags swabbed, and forced to take items out of my bags, etc.

And I am a white guy with blonde hair and blue eyes.

Here's what I think when this is happening to me, "Well, they have to make a show of it, don't they? But, if this is what they have to do to make us all safe, then I am glad."

But, this poor Muslim guy can't contribute his share. He has to complain about it the fact that he is being racially profiled.

Well, clearly, I am being racially profiled too. I am being profiled because as a white guy with blonde-hair and blue eyes, I am a good show to put on for all those who appear Middle-Eastern who are concerned that they will be racially-profiled.

Everybody needs to shut up and get with the program. Airport security is doing their job. Leave them alone. Stop the whining.

Quetzal said...

Well, that clears the air. Put that way, you're right. Maybe you should edit your post and insert this comment, avoiding misleading the readers.

Pastorius said...

Okie doke.

(Oh, excuse me, that's American slang for, "Yes, agreed.")