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http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2010/08/i ... l#comments
I Am Proud that Eboo Patel Is an American
Buce sends us to Eboo Patel:
Underbelly: In America, We Don't Do That: Patel on the "Mosque": The last thing I intended to do when I got up this morning was a pair of posts on the "Ground Zero Mosque."[1] But Eboo Patel (via Glenn Greenwald) wraps it up with such pristine clarity that he gets 10 points for craftsmanship, whatever he gets for content. "Lemon" is CNN Anchor Don of that ilk:
Lemon: Don't you think it's a bit different considering what happened on 9/11? And the people have said there's a need for it in Lower Manhattan, so that's why it's being built there. What about 10, 20 blocks . . . Midtown Manhattan, considering the circumstances behind this? That's not understandable?
Patel: In America, we don't tell people based on their race or religion or ethnicity that they are free in this place, but not in that place --
Lemon: [interrupting] I understand that, but there's always context, Mr. Patel . . . this is an extraordinary circumstance. You understand that this is very heated. Many people lost their loved ones on 9/11 --
Patel: Including Muslim Americans who lost their loved ones. . .
Lemon: Consider the context here. That's what I'm talking about.
Patel: I have to tell you that this seems a little like telling black people 50 years ago: you can sit anywhere on the bus you like - just not in the front.
Lemon: I think that's apples and oranges - I don't think that black people were behind a Terrorist plot to kill people and drive planes into a building. That's a completely different circumstance.
Patel: And American Muslims were not behind the terrorist plot either.
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Reply August 21, 2010 at 09:44 AM
Pat S said...
I would suggest that based on the logic being used by opponents of the community center that it would be appropriate to construct a safe and pure community by banning all Jews (proven cheats, ala Bernie Madoff,) African Americans (drug dealers and killers, ala the Bloods,) Latinos (ditto, Mara Salvatrucha,) Italians (can't forget the Mafia,) WASPS (talk about attacks on our way of life, they led us down the path to the financial crisis,) German Americans (Nazi's,) Japanese Americans (who can forget Pearl Harbor,) Chinese Americans (communists and Tong members,) Russian Americans (communists again and the Russian Mafia,) Vietnamese Americans (I still remember that war, even if you don't,) Korean Americans (ditto, plus all the stuff with North Korea right now,) Irish Americans (the IRA AND the protestant militias,) English (they burned the White House back in 1814,) Scandinavians (socialist marxist anarchists of the worst sort,) Southerners (racist slaveholders and KKKers,)Texans (they gave us George the Lesser,) Californians (don't get me started,) and others I can't think of right now.
Before long we would have excluded everyone (including me) except cows (and they have been accused of destroying the climate with their belching.) But we would have a nice safe pure community no one could object to.
The whole point of the US is that we have a system whereby the actions of individuals are not generalized to whatever groups they happen to belong to, regardless of what Russ Douthat says.
In addition, if we manage to extend our conflict with a few bandits who killed a bunch of people into a war with Islam, including more than a billion people world wide, we will be well on our way to giving the gang of criminals who are responsible for the attack a major victory in their efforts to portray us to be doing just that.
Reply August 21, 2010 at 10:13 AM
howard said...
what i'm still trying to understand is how nearby strip clubs aren't destroying the sanctity of hallowed ground, but i'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation.
Reply August 21, 2010 at 11:29 AM
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yrs,
rubato