[Dean's World] Dean: Response to Armed Liberal

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Posted by Dean:
Response to Armed Liberal
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1172944175.shtml


   In other news, a far more rational writer, Armed Liberal, a.k.a. Marc
   Danziger, [1]has some thoughts.

   The only thing I'll say to Marc is that he should update his link to
   [2]point to this. And that some of the comments left in his article
   illustrate just how deep a problem Islamophobia has become in certain
   segments of the right and/or hawkish community.

   So here's what I'll state again:

   I believe Islamophobia is real. I think Marc Danziger would agree that
   it is. Am I right, Marc?

   And if so, how do you identify it, and what do you do about it? I know
   what I do: I'm rude about it when I see it.

   That's my choice. You can choose other approaches. But a few years ago
   I started arguing with Islamophobes with cool reason and logic and
   references. Their response was to get nastier and snottier and meaner.
   I was challenged to find some Muslims who might come to Dean's World
   to show that they were rational, decent, modern human beings--and they
   often got treated like utter garbage and as if they could fix
   terrorism themselves.

   At some point I stopped being nice about this. And I will not start
   being nice about it again.

   Because the fact is that American forces are fighting side-by-side
   with Muslims to defeat terrorism--all over the world. There are Muslim
   nations asking for help to stamp out terrorism. There are Muslim
   organizations worldwide trying to fight the cause. Treating all of
   this with contempt is utter insanity.

   Not to mention that it's just plain bad behavior.

   I cannot make anyone think anything. I can, however, set editorial
   policies for this web site. Which is, as anyone who really reads it
   knows, pretty much as hawkish as you can get with out advocating
   nuclear annihilation.

   But this is an Islamophobe-free zone.

   That does not mean there can be no criticism, by the way. That's just
   another straw man. It means that if you cannot agree in principal to
   all five statements I said, you don't belong here and will not be
   welcomed or treated politely.

   And that's really all there is to it.

   I'm curious to know if Marc and the fine folks at Winds of Change find
   all that reasonable. Because I don't find it unreasonable at all.

References

   1. http://www.windsofchange.net/archives/009486.php
   2. http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1172801118.shtml