Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

You come for women, you’re gonna get your ass kicked.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

The new temporary speaker of the house is a spiteful little shit.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

The GOP is a fucking disgrace.

“Why isn’t this Snickers bar only a nickle?”

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

A lot of Dems talk about what the media tells them to talk about. Not helpful.

Happy indictment week to all who celebrate!

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

I conferred with the team and they all agree – still not tired of winning!

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

It’s time for the GOP to dust off that post-2012 autopsy, completely ignore it, and light the party on fire again.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

You are here: Home / Black, Muslim, Same Difference

Black, Muslim, Same Difference

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Here’s some video from the Atlas Jugs anti-mosque rally, where some black guy made the mistake of looking Muslimish and was harassed and nearly assaulted by the collection of lily white mouth-breathers at the event:

At about 25 seconds in, he quite astutely points out to the crowd that “All y’all dumb motherfuckers don’t even know my opinion on shit.”

*** Update ***

Atlas claims she had nothing to do with this particular rally. Just, you know, starting the entire controversy.

Reader Interactions

170Comments

  1. 1.

    Quaker in a Basement

    I’m liking the little scrawny old guy who keeps shoving his way inbetween the black man and the white guy in the hard hat. That guy has more courage than the rest of ’em put together.

  3. 3.

    KG

    my favorite part is right around 2:00 when someone says, “they’re trying to make us look like racists.”

    Nope, I think you did a decent job of that all by yourselves.

  4. 4.

    trollhattan

    I wonder if Glenn Beck is still feeling that rosy patriotic 9-12 glow? I can’t take much more of these sick bastards.

  6. 6.

    jnfr

    Nah, they’re not racists, right? It’s all our fault if they scream at the only black man in the crowd.

    And ditto what Quaker said about the guy standing by him, and in between him and the crazies. Good man.

  7. 7.

    FlipYrWhig

    I had to shut it off pretty quickly, because it made me _way_ too pissed off. What was it, the crowd started harassing a black guy walking through because he had a skullcap on? The last thing I heard was “He must have voted for Obama.” Yecch.

  9. 9.

    J sub D

    Sometimes I’m ashamed to be an American. This community center on Park Avenue flap is one of those times.

    You know things surpass suck when Mayor Bloomberg is the leading sane voice in the debate.

  11. 11.

    steviez314

    I wonder when they’ll get around to hating on the Jews again.

    The old classics are always the best.

  14. 14.

    morzer

    some black guy made the mistake of looking Muslimish

    MWB

    Musliming While Black

    Or was it the other way round? It’s rather hard to tell with the right-wing these days. I suppose they reserve Black While Musliming for the President of the United States.

  18. 18.

    KG

    @Omnes Omnibus: a lesson from law school that I tried to pass on to some friends who wanted to take a camera to a bachelor party:

    Stories are hearsay, pictures are evidence. Hearsay is inadmissible.

  20. 20.

    Warren Terra

    I’m downright inspired to see a real American, someone who understands what it means to be part of a pluralistic society, at the rally. Shame all the bigots were there too.

    Beyond the bigotry, the tribalism was interesting, especially the shouts that this is going to be on CNN, because obviously they should be allowed to be hateful little bigots without interference from and exposre by Centrist media (though I’d guess they’re all sure CNN takes its marching orders direct from the ghost of Lenin).

  23. 23.

    RareSanity

    @Warren Terra:

    because obviously they should be allowed to be hateful little bigots without interference from and exposre by Centrist media

    They’re getting Schlessingered…

  24. 24.

    Violet

    Near the end a man shouts “Mohammad’s a pig. Mohammad’s a pig. Mohammad’s a pig.” And a woman says, “You don’t need to say that. You don’t need to do that.” Interesting dynamic.

    These people really are a vortex of hate. That photo in the link in KG’s post (link to LGF) is amazing. Pretty much sums it up.

  29. 29.

    Warren Terra

    Oh, and scrolling down the main Balloon Juice page, I just saw an ad for “Muslima, the international Muslim matrimonial site”, complete with the smiling face on a lovely young woman in some sort of traditional Muslim garb (I’ve never learned the terms or their precise meanings – but her face was visible).

    Does this mean that Google Adwords has figured out that this site supports the civil rights of Muslim Americans. and so we must be disproportionarely likely to be Muslims? Or, more tantalizingly, is Google unable to tell pro from anti, and the Hate Sites are seeing the same ad? Because that could be quite entertaining …
    (I won’t comment on the notion that blog denizens are more likely to be interested in mail-order brides …)

  31. 31.

    Bob_X

    Sure, it was probably wrong of the teatards to scream at the dude like that, but isn’t it ultimately his fault for being so selfish and insensitive as to exist and thereby provoke their righteous anger? Can’t well-meaning people just find a reasonable compromise where black people and Muslims would simply go away?

  32. 32.

    kay

    @General Stuck:

    That wasn’t a rally, it was a vortex of hate.

    And it was at Ground Zero! Deeply disrespectful, to hold a mob hate-fest on Hallowed Ground. It’s like a stab in my eye.
    They’re allowed to assemble and speak, 1st Amendment, I get that, but couldn’t they move it somewhere else?
    They’re insensitive.
    I’m not sure, now, who is more insensitive. The screamers or the builders? It might be a wash.

  33. 33.

    Napoleon

    @Warren Terra:

    Funny, the other day on TPM I saw the same thing when they had a couple of stories on the 2 blocks from Ground Zero Burlington Coat factory non-mosque.

  36. 36.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @Warren Terra:

    Does this mean that Google Adwords has figured out that this site supports the civil rights of Muslim Americans. and so we must be disproportionarely likely to be Muslims?

    No, it just means she who shall not be named has been running her “muslims will vote for Sharia” meme 24/7 for the last few days.

  40. 40.

    Glenndacious Greenwaldian (formerly tim)

    My god, what a lame protest rally…without the alleged/accused mooslim, those dumbasses wouldn’t have known what to do with themselves. Everyone seemed to be just milling around aimlessly, randomly hating…haha. Freaks.

  41. 41.

    TBogg

    I really enjoyed the guy in his remarkably clean and unscratched sky blue Bob the Builder hard hat. I bet he was looking for someone from the Post to explain that he wouldn’t build the “mosque” nor would any of his union brothers from International Lego Builders Local 231

  43. 43.

    Comrade Darkness

    Seeing this crowd makes me wonder how so many infants could get dropped on their head, repeatedly. We must have an epidemic of that.

    @Warren Terra: I’m getting ads for motorcycles, which is eerie because just the other day, I was daydreaming about that … Must be Google’s new PsychicAdWords feature.

  44. 44.

    Silver Owl

    From the pictures I’ve seen on the net of the proposed site it doesn’t look like the protesters were near where the community center will be. Where did they protest in relation to where it will be?

  45. 45.

    JGabriel

    @trollhattan:

    I can’t take much more of these sick bastards.

    Me neither. The idea of people who are that filled with hate being in power – and willing to gather in mobs to, as shown in the video, simply harass and humiliate people who don’t look like them – is disturbing and sickening.

    And it shows how they would use and abuse power, because that’s exactly what the video shows: the power of people in numbers, being abused to chase a man from a public space, where he has every right to be, simply because he’s a black man in a white cap.

    In America.

    .

  47. 47.

    mikefromArlington

    These people are idiots.

    And the people these idiots will be voting for will be running Congress soon if people don’t wake up.

  49. 49.

    jeff

    I actually live in lower Manhattan, and I wish to fuck these assholes would go away. Jeezes. It’s not a symbol, it’s a city. It’s not ground zero, it’s a discount coat store. They’re not jihadists, they’re boring bourgeous muslims.

    The Cordoba funders should just move at this point, it’s obviously too late to preserve their mission. Just hold a press conference and say: “OK, you fucking assholes win, we’ll move it 3 blocks”. Who would want to fund this development now anyway?

    I’ve never wanted to tell so many of my fellow countrymen to fuck off before now.

    Also, and I’ll stfu now, they should give up and move on. Seriously, just give in to the pressure and move the project away. Yes, it’s giving in to bigots, and yes, I think that’s the only way to prevent their project from becoming a permanent political statement–which is the opposite of what was intended.

  50. 50.

    salacious crumb

    Prof Juan Cole actually pointed out today that majority of the people who think Obama is Muslim actually do know he is Christian, but they cannot stand the fact that they have a black President, and since Muslims are the new black and everyone’s (except, of course, the good folks here on this blog) favorite punching bag, the President is a Muslim. Its taboo to discriminate and talk badly about blacks, so the new way to channel that hatred is by branding your opponent as Muslim

  51. 51.

    soonergrunt

    That’s because calling someone a muslim is the new dog whistle for the n-word. Birferism is racism dressed up. “We can’t have a foreign-born president” is a hell of a lot less problematic than “we can’t have a darkie in charge” for people.

    Don’t ever forget that if his skin were white and his last name was something Turkish or Georgian or Bosnian that this wouldn’t be a problem even if he actually was ineligible. Particularly if he were a Republican.
    The Teabaggers wouldn’t be rallying about government spending if we had President Whitey Paleskin McBland.

  52. 52.

    noncarborundum

    @jnfr:

    It’s all our fault if they scream at the only black man in the crowd.

    His very presence was a provocation. I mean, where’s his sensitivity and respect for the feelings of all the racist a**holes?

  53. 53.

    Perry Como

    The protesters have a point. There won’t be a mosque there. There will be a community center 2 blocks north and 1/2 a block east from where they are protesting. Idiots.

  56. 56.

    arguingwithsignposts

    Man, it’s too bad a bunch of Americans couldn’t get together and have this kind of protest against a war or something. Imagine, tens of thousands of people marching on a seat of government protesting a pointless military exercise … oh, wait.

  57. 57.

    Brachiator

    @John Cole:

    It’s awesome how pointing a camera at someone makes them racist.

    I’m looking forward to the inevitable Fox News story explaining how this angry black man incited a peaceful group of Real Americans into a near riot. This will be followed by a panel discussion, anchored by a Murdoch Standard Issue Blond female reporter, which speculates that this man was an ACORN plant deliberately sent to make white people feel bad.

  59. 59.

    Violet

    @salacious crumb:

    Its taboo to discriminate and talk badly about blacks, so the new way to channel that hatred is by branding your opponent as Muslim

    It’s a bonus for these people that he was black. Two birds with one stone!

    @soonergrunt:

    Don’t ever forget that if his skin were white and his last name was something Turkish or Georgian or Bosnian that this wouldn’t be a problem

    So true.

  61. 61.

    Alwhite

    COME ON EVERYONE SING ALONG WITH ME . . .

    AH-M PROUD TO BE A MERRRRRIIII-KAN WHERE FOLKS ARE DUMB AS TREES

  62. 62.

    jeff

    A few years back I saw a bunch of Korean high school kids standing in front of ground zero for photos, doing their stupid fucking “victory sign” thing while grinning like idiots. I was slightly offended, but chalked it up to their general cluelessness, which was evident. This shit by the Staten Island Klan is the most offensive display I’ve seen that intentionally had to do with 9/11.

  64. 64.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @gnomedad:
    Indeed, would that some used car dealer from Long Island would get Pam Geller something to do besides stir up religious strife. Are there no homeless to feed, no children to shelter, no battered women to comfort in the naked city?

  65. 65.

    Allison W.

    I want to know how many of those a-holes even live in NYC. How many times have they passed by ground zero or anywhere near ground zero?

  66. 66.

    Violet

    @phillip anderson:

    it’s days like today that make me sad for my city and sure of the fact that cable “news” will be the death of all.

    What’s the demographic that watches cable “news”? I don’t watch it much at all. Usually it’s inadvertent, like I’m out somewhere and it’s on, like at the airport. I watch my local news to keep an eye on local issues and the weather, but even with that I’m an occasional viewer.

    I get most of my news online.

  67. 67.

    Kiril

    @Bob_X:

    Sure, it was probably wrong of the teatards to scream at the dude like that, but isn’t it ultimately his fault for being so selfish and insensitive as to exist and thereby provoke their righteous anger?

    You are being totally unfair. Of course he has the right to exist. But it is wrong for him to exist there.

    p.s. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_Hat_Riot

  72. 72.

    Anya

    How can people sustain this much hate. I know the history of humanity is filled with ethnic conflicts and such but it would be really exhausting to have so much hate for people for no other reason than because they look different than you or because they worship another deity.

  73. 73.

    JGabriel

    @Violet:

    What’s the demographic that watches cable “news”?

    I don’t know exactly, but it definitely tips older. Younger people, including those who would have been cable-news watchers two decades ago, are getting most of their news from the internet now.

    .

  75. 75.

    Kryptik

    I’m planning on dropping by tomorrow there, but that’s part of my worry if I come down there, sign or no sign: Am I gonna be harassed, and forced away with police escort because I’m sufficiently brown enough to be mistaken for a…gasp…Muslim?

    Fuck, if I get mistaken for that, I’ll just tell them the truth. I’m an illegal Mexican Jew who came to steal their banking jobs and institute the Latino World Order.

  78. 78.

    dms

    I think you’re all being a bit unfair to little Pammycakes and her band of Amurikkkans. The Burlington Coat Factory building is part of Ground Zero because it was hit by the landing gear of one of the fateful planes, structurally damaged, and thereby part of “Ground Zero”. You have to keep up with her interviews.

  79. 79.

    Kiril

    @jeff: This is not something most people would be expected to know, but in S. Korea, Japan and Indonesia, it’s almost required that a teenager flash a peace sign when having his or her picture taken. I don’t know why, but they all do it, all the time.

  80. 80.

    El Cid

    Remember, it would be a horrible thing if a white or black crowd was screaming against placing a synagogue somewhere.

    That would be offensive.

    A bunch of religio-fascists screaming about Muslims, though, it’s all about the sensitivity of the nearest 8,000 miles around Ground Zero.

  81. 81.

    K. Grant

    I think it is time for an investment group to draw up plans for an actual Masque on the actual 9/11 site – with minarets taller than the old twin towers.

    It should be solely funded by Mexicans. Or a new stimulus bill.

    And President Obama should declare that he has nationalized the site, okayed the building plans, and has claimed naming rights. Of course, he will run a contest to name the edifice but only allow ethnic and religious minorities to enter.

  82. 82.

    KCinDC

    I don’t understand the idea from Karen Hughes, Richard Land, Howard Dean, Margaret Carlson, and so on that they can “just” move it a couple of blocks. Is there somehow a lot of cheap vacant land in Manhattan two or three blocks farther from the WTC site? Besides, is this hateful mob going to be unable to move a few blocks down the street?

  83. 83.

    El Cid

    @jeff: I bet if the media covered an actual Klan rally they’d be unlikely to be worried about presenting ‘both’ sides.

    But in this country, if you’re talking about anti-Arab or anti-Muslim ethno-religious chauvinism, or advocacy of genocidal military action, well, you’re an important part of the discussion and worthy of mainstream media attention.

  85. 85.

    KCinDC

    @jeff, you should be careful in trying to interpret hand gestures by foreigners. They’re not universal. Hell, even in the United States I don’t think many people have thought of that as a “victory sign” for many decades.

  86. 86.

    Svensker

    @J sub D:

    You know things surpass suck when Mayor Bloomberg is the leading sane voice in the debate.

    Bloomberg and Chris Christie, fer gawd’s sake.

    I can’t believe our public discourse is being led by Pam Geller. We are truly fucked.

  87. 87.

    El Cid

    @Svensker: I can’t god-damned believe she isn’t dismissed out of hand as a racist nutbar. It’s an absolute disgusting offense that her views are being printed and aired as some important side of a debate.

    Fuck, these same god-damned fuckers didn’t even give the time of fucking day to ACORN to defend themselves against the lying ‘pimp’ fakers.

  89. 89.

    Kryptik

    I’m honestly surprised no one has asked Mr. Rauf “So when did you stop being a terrorist?”

    I mean…either that or “Why don’t you just…you know, stop being a terrorist?”

  90. 90.

    mai naem

    Well, all they really wanted is the black muslim man’s birth certificate. I mean, hell, anybody can wear a flag pin and the fact that this guy was wearing it as a pendant, well, that’s just proof that he was trying too hard to make it look like he was American. Kinda like Barack Hussein Obama.

  92. 92.

    jeff

    It’s not really a peace sign anymore. It’s a “I’m having my picture taken” sign. Anyway, I was joking about it.

  94. 94.

    KCinDC

    One of the saddest things about this insanity is seeing Howard Dean, of all people, decide that the Truth must be somewhere in the middle, between the extremes of Michael Bloomberg on one side and Pamela Geller on the other.

  95. 95.

    JITC

    This video is just depressing. All that hate so ignorantly expressed.

    On the other hand more videos like this please. It exposes this “movement to what it really is. Ignorant, wrong, racist, and hateful. No longer can it be claimed that this is about “sensitivity” or the people who died on that awful day.

  96. 96.

    Alex

    Fair play to the “muslim” guy for keeping his cool and remaining calm and articulate throughout the whole thing. I think I’d be shaking and wittering like a madman if I’d been in his position.

  98. 98.

    Silver

    Regarding the guy in the blue hardhat, I can you from personal experience that the only guys on a construction site with a hardhat that looks like that are engineers just stopping by or a dickhead that just got hired that day.

  99. 99.

    Cheryl F

    These people are so incredibly STUPID it is hard to believe they’ve lived to maturity.

    Ignorant CONservative tbaggies.

    Go away racists – we don’t want you in OUR country!

  102. 102.

    ed

    Are you asking me to leave? You know that’s a violation of my rights. You know that, right?

    That guy was great. The Other-Bashers were not. They were bashing Others.

  104. 104.

    morzer

    @Woodrowfan:

    In many ways, violence has broken out. What hasn’t yet happened is the stage up from isolated acts by unhappy, frightened crazy people, or small groups like the Hutaree. If we get through to 2012 without anything worse, we should be very thankful.

  106. 106.

    Rafael

    Good God, if someone had told me 5 years ago that LittleGreenFootballs would be one of the blogs most dedicated to denouncing the right wing’s racism, bigotry tactics and anti-science agenda, I would have thought they were insane. That place used to be crazy, now any of their posts could be put here or even on DailyKos and nobody would blink.

  107. 107.

    Peter

    Christian “love”.

    American “liberty”.

    “Freedom”…unless it’s hard.
    “Freedom”…unless it makes you uncomfortable.
    “Freedom”…unless you’re afraid.

  108. 108.

    Fax Paladin

    I think the Tall Security Guy also deserves a nod. Especially when he blocks off Hard Hat, giving the black guy cover to leave.

  109. 109.

    DoubleDutchPolitics

    This particular debate is one of the most difficult for me to decide on at this moment.

    On the one hand I am a staunch advocate of American values and sticking up for freedom of religion and understanding among people.

    On the other, I believe Islam is not a religion of peace and can sympathize with the sensitivities that many have toward a mosque being built around ground zero.

    When forced to make a decision I am on the side of allowing the mosque to be built. My reasoning stems from the notion that emotions dissipate over time, and we should not make decisions based on fear during a specific moment. In 100 years nobody will feel the same as they do now about any specific issue, but our American values must endure.

    This is a difficult conclusion for me to make because I also believe its entirely possible that the marriage of the Islamic tenants and apocalyptic weapons could be the reason we don’t see another 100 years on this planet.

    Made me think of this clip from Religilous:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjqXt_wRkS8

    http://www.doubledutchpolitics.com/

    Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

  110. 110.

    xinjiang

    It is riducious to see the slogue that “Mosque supports Hamas.” The root of hartred is actually all about Islaeli occupation and aggression, I think it is time to stop sendimy our tax to Israel. we are not slave of Israel.

  111. 111.

    @pedanticdave

    I’ve just dropped by this page from a wet soggy Oxford UK. What brought me here was a tweet from one of my favourite journalists referring to the video above. It is indeed sad, and sickening.

    The real news though, for many of us in the UK is the range of progressive, incisive, angry, unifying, wonderful and often funny voices represented in the comments that follow it.

    It is a lesson to us in the UK that we need to be careful when generalising about American attitudes – and I am as guilty of this as anyone else reaching for the shorthand. In truth I know that when we talk of “America” we are not talking about all Americans. I will resolve to remember to make that case more than I do.

    It is also a lesson to us that, contrary to received wisdom here, Americans do get irony! … I laughed at so much of the above, and in this case laughter is unifying. I had flashbacks to the funniest parts of my favourite TV series of all time, and heard Josh and Toby speaking again.

    So in short, thank you to the 109 contributors above me.
    WIth best UK wishes
    Dave

  112. 112.

    Frank

    @xinjiang:

    It is riducious to see the slogue that “Mosque supports Hamas.”

    It is as dumb as somebody putting up a slogan that says “Christianity supported Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma bombing”.

    Somehow I doubt these idiots understand what they are even saying and that one can make the same claims about their own religion.

  113. 113.

    Alwhite

    @efgoldman:

    Oh no! Not our ancestors, the trees themselves! Those assclowns would have to gain intelligence to reach sphagnum moss levels of IQ

  116. 116.

    jim

    Coming up on FOX: is Obama really the secret love-child of Malcolm X?

    *FOX NEWS: WE INDOCTRINATE, YOU OBEY*

  118. 118.

    Kiril

    @@pedanticdave: This would be so much more relevant if you weren’t a tool of the Queen of England and the Rothchilds working in concert to control the world’s gold supply. Wake up, sheeple!

  119. 119.

    Capn America

    @soonergrunt:
    Ever read true winger websites? They HATE Turks and Bosnians, they really think that Clinton went into Yugoslavia to wage war on the nice Christian Serbs, who had to kill 8,000 Muslims in one day because they were worried about Islamic terrorism or something.
    Hell, the mayor of London is a blond, white conservative who was accused by the most hardcore conservatives in his party of sympathizing with Islamists since one of his grandfathers was originally from Turkey.

  120. 120.

    Quaker in a Basement

    Deeply disrespectful, to hold a mob hate-fest on Hallowed Ground. It’s like a stab in my eye.

    It was like forcing me to wear two wetsui…wait, what’s that in your hand?

  121. 121.

    Kiril

    @efgoldman: Try being an atheist liberal who moved to small town in Alabama a year before 9/11. That was a very lonely time. I started off thinking there are cool people everywhere–and there are! But when I totally first flipped on Alabama was probably when my landlady (lived next door) first said she didn’t want my best friend coming by because he looked Jewish.
    “I don’t like the look of him,” she said.
    “He a physics major,” I said. “They all look like that.”
    “Is he Jewish?”
    That’s when I knew I was really screwed.
    I lived in Alabama until August 2005 when I could finally return to my beloved New Orleans, and then….fuck.

  122. 122.

    Dave M

    The hate has been simmering for a while and now that their leaders started speaking out, they’re all coming out of the woodwork. It’s a matter of time before they start going after “muslim-looking” folks…

  124. 124.

    Kiril

    @jnfr: Hey, I’m back home, my friend. I’m dealing with the same shit everyone else is, but I’m home. So good.

  125. 125.

    ksmiami

    The real problem is that the fascists control our video newsmedia and the loud ugly voices are more exciting than the rational ones. Also, the lunatics have taken control of the Republican party and whereas the elites used to hide them in the cellar, now they got their guns, their depends and mom’s credit card and they’ve escaped to wreak havoc on private property owners in NYC.

    Please do not think these people represent the real America. They only represent the mirror dark side. The nativist and the ignorant make appearances in various places at various times all around the world and I have faith in most Americans that this sort of lynch mob on tape will fill enough of my fellow country men and women with shame. Do not let them win. Ever.

  127. 127.

    Mister Papercut

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    Indeed, would that some used car dealer from Long Island would get Pam Geller something to do besides stir up religious strife. Are there no homeless to feed, no children to shelter, no battered women to comfort in the naked city?

    I’m going to take a wild guess and say that Inigo Montoya was wrong and that there’s actually quite a lot of money in Revenge.

  129. 129.

    asiangrrlMN

    @Kryptik: Now, while I’m grinning like a madwoman at the last sentence you wrote, please don’t put yourself in danger. I like having you around these parts, and those people are scary crazy. I did not get off the boat, but just the picture of the one guy and the comments of the people here give me a general idea what transpired in the video.

    @Carl Nyberg: Exactly. There are very few religions that have not been packed with violence, and Christianity is not one of them.

    @arguingwithsignposts: I snorted. Nice.

    As noted above, I did not get off the boat. I really can’t stomach this shit any more.

  130. 130.

    Xenos

    @Mister Papercut: Last I had heard, Pam’s ex-husband had their luxury used car business shut down for tax fraud. If she still has some money left over due to the innocent spouse rule it seems like a terrible irony.

    I have not heard any updates to the NYPost article on her family business. Oshry is her ex-husband, and she had half-ownership of the business.

    Some further details here.

  132. 132.

    Lunarmovements

    @@pedanticdave: I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your comments. It has been a longstanding pet peeve of mine that many folks outside the US apparently (judging by their statements) believe that all Americans think and act in lockstep. I’ve often wondered where they could possibly get the notion that more than 300 million people would, should, or even could agree completely on any single issue.

    I realize that not everyone outside the US is guilty of this fault in logic. But it still chaps my ass every time I stumble across it. Thank you for illustrating that it is not a universal phenomenon. You have helped to dispel to some extent my fear that human intelligence is a vanishing commodity – just in time, too. After watching that video I had just about given up on my own species.

  133. 133.

    AxelFoley

    “All y’all dumb motherfuckers don’t even know my opinion on shit.”

    Cole, please make this a new tag.

  134. 134.

    asiangrrlMN

    @Lunarmovements: Well, look at how much our media gives credence to idiots like the ones depicted here. During the W. regime, the press pretty much WAS lockstep with the administration in regards to the invasion of Iraq. There are dissenting voices, of course, but they don’t get nearly the airplay that these asshats do. No wonder other countries get a pretty negative view of Americans–I do, too, and I KNOW there are Americans other than the batshitcrazies of the right.

  135. 135.

    Lunarmovements

    @asiangrrlMN: It’s true, I think, that a great deal of the blame should probably go to the media. If I may bastardize Jane Austen a wee bit:

    “It is a truth universal acknowledged that a single… asinine statement is ten times more newsworthy than a well reasoned, cogent one.”

  136. 136.

    AxelFoley

    @rikyrah:

    The Brotha was like ’ I WISH one of you muthafuckas WOULD put a hand on me.’ it would have been ON.

    LOL, that’s the same vibe I got. You see none of them bitches stepped to him.

  137. 137.

    Lunarmovements

    @asiangrrlMN: Sorry. Caught my typo too late to correct it. That should read:

    “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single… asinine statement is ten times more newsworthy than a well reasoned, cogent one.”

    If there are typos in this ‘retraction’, then I have proven my humanity once again. It’s a damn good thing I’m not a brain surgeon.

  138. 138.

    Ed Jackson

    I think the most powerful part of this video are the white people who did stand up for this guy. Don’t get me wrong. I watched expecting to be even more disgusted with these morons than I already am, but it makes me feel good that, in that sea of lunacy, there were some people willing to do the right thing. Now I’m left wondering if they were there watching or participating.

  139. 139.

    EOJ

    Has anyone pointed out that this guy might not be “black”? I mean it is New York City. He could be Dominican, and they do not identify as black. Neither do Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Brazilians, or other Hispanics who appear to be “black.” I think it’s ironic that, while folks are admonishing the crowd for assuming he’s Muslim, no one has mentioned that he could be Hispanic and not black.

  140. 140.

    asiangrrlMN

    @Lunarmovements: You got it. Someone pointed out that there were roughly 300-500 protesters at Ground Zero where the not-a-mosque is not being built. That’s very very very very few people, and yet, look at all the attention they get. Hundreds of thousands have protested against the war and against cruelty to undocumented aliens. No media crush for them!

  142. 142.

    liberal

    @J sub D:

    Sometimes I’m ashamed to be an American human.

    Fixt, given that this is unfortunately hardly just an American phenomenon.

  145. 145.

    liberal

    @Jaquandor:

    Where the hell is the dividing line between Hallowed Ground and Mosqueville USA, anyhow?

    IIRC deadtree Wash Post is reporting nastiness re proposed mosques in the heartland.

  147. 147.

    jazzgurl

    Try asking the same people what they think about blacks…
    I guarantee you will get the same answer!
    Is Obama a Muslim?
    Are blacks stupid?
    It is the mindset people..the mindset! Eager to show and parade their bigotry and innate racism.

  148. 148.

    Shane

    I was just reading these posts and I have to say…you people are f’ing pathetic. To say that all people opposed to this are “racists” is pretty f’ing pathetic. I guess in liberal La La land if people don’t agree with you they are just “racists”…that’s pretty tolerant of you dumba$$es, right? I for one am not a racist, but I oppose this mosque. I oppose it for one reason “RESPECT”. I fully understand they have a Constitutional Right to build the mosque at its current location. However, since Islam is supposed to be a tolerant, peaceful and respectful religion, don’t you think it would behoove them to build this elsewhere? Just saying. Maybe some of the people are racists in this video, but my guess is that you can say that people are racist and intolerant in any group…especially if you look at the posts above. I think you people need to take a look in the mirror sometime before you start to spew your dumba$$ comments. Furthermore, people may not like a black president and although I didn’t vote for him, I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. With that said, he has to be the most stupid president in the history of the country and that is saying a lot coming after Dubya. I’ll leave it at that. Peace my intolerant brethren!

  149. 149.

    Russell

    After the blue-hat construction guy strikes his fighting pose, Lurch walks in and seems to back him off — but then appears to turn on the victim and drive him away. I can’t pick up what he’s saying. Anybody able to make out what role he’s playing in this mini-drama?

    The older, little guy with the glasses has a spine of steel — what courage he showed in trying to fend off the crowd. Hats off to him.

    The cops (?) show up at the end. Nice timing.

  150. 150.

    John Bird

    Well, there’s nothing wrong with him looking Muslim!

    But why couldn’t he look Muslim uptown, or midtown? Why’d it have to be in lower Manhattan? People have the right to look Muslim, but it’s just not appropriate to look Muslim so close to someplace that some other Muslims did something bad. It just reminds us that Muslims exist, and that makes us sad, not that there’s anything wrong with being or looking Muslim!

    The polite and respectful thing to do would be for him to stay north of 14th Street if he wants to look Muslim out in front of everybody like that. He has the right to be anywhere he wants, but it’s not bigoted for us to expect him to stay away from sensitive areas, kind of like how Japanese-looking people know they shouldn’t ever visit Pearl Harbor or anyplace nearby.

  151. 151.

    Nergol

    @efgoldman

    Damn its tough being an old atheist liberal in the 21st century.

    You think that’s tough? Try being one of the only Christian conservatives who hasn’t apparently gone batshit insane in the past ten years. When I joined up in the cause, it was about saving the lives of the unborn and protecting the right of a valedictorian to say a prayer at a graduation. It wasn’t about endless wars against people who have done nothing to us and suspending the Bill of Rights because someone waved a brown-skinned boogeyman in our faces. When I joined up, we had educated, literate spokesmen like William F. Buckley, not language-mangling dimbulbs like Sarah Palin or glorified rodeo clowns like Glenn Beck.

    There’s a few of us out there staying sane, but it’s awful lonely these days…

  153. 153.

    No Likudnik

    @Shane:

    Nothing says “respect” like telling a religion they aren’t welcome to build a house of worship at a location b/c it offends people.

    Or do some people deserve more respect than others, Shane?

    Shane, do “conservatives” deserve more respect than Muslims? Or is it that stupid and ignorant people deserve more respect than Muslims?

  156. 156.

    kappa_man_stew

    @ post #143
    ridiculous and only non black people are fighting to maintain this fiction. you are black if your oirginal ethnic heritage comes from africa regardless of your nationality. just becsue a perosn has reactionary beliefs does not negate this. the fact that an unfortunate few want to distance themselves from their ethnic reality because of the stigma attached to it in this country is sad. if the poliical and social situation were reversed do you think that they would be so quick to do so?
    @post #152
    the skulllcap was developed to help players keep their hair. the constant rubbing of the helmet against their head wears the hair off like sandpaper.
    @ post #154
    way to be totally hypocritical. acknowledge a right then simultaneously seek to deny it. if you have a right you have a right even if it offends people. i can see your argument for not desegregating schools. ” I for one am not a racist, but I oppose (desegregating these schools) this mosque. I oppose it for one reason “RESPECT”. I fully understand (those black students) they have a Constitutional Right to (attend this school) build the mosque at its current location. However, since (black people) Islam (are) is supposed to be a tolerant, peaceful and respectful (people) religion, don’t you think it would behoove them to (go to school) build this elsewhere? Just saying.” barely hidden rascism

  157. 157.

    Shane

    No Likudnik wrote:
    “@Shane:
    Nothing says “respect” like telling a religion they aren’t welcome to build a house of worship at a location b/c it offends people.

    Or do some people deserve more respect than others, Shane?

    Shane, do “conservatives” deserve more respect than Muslims? Or is it that stupid and ignorant people deserve more respect than Muslims?”

    The last I heard is that this was about their “Constitutional Rights”. Well they can build this Mosque anywhere…my question to you is why here? Manhattan has a very small Muslim population; in fact most of the Muslims would have to travel into Manhattan to get to the “Community Center”…in so doing passing many Mosques’ along the way. There is no need to build this Mosque in this location…my guess is that the Muslims involved and proponents are using the “Constitution right” angle to hide there true agenda.

    It’s funny how you use the term “conservative” in a derogatory manner. You do realize that near 70% believe this mosque should be built elsewhere, correct? I believe that involves a lot more people then “conservatives”. Last I checked, wasn’t Harry Reid against building this mosque in this location as well? Right….

    Don’t talk to me about respect…respect is a two way street. We kowtow to the Muslims in this country every single day out of respect! They need to do the same. 70% of the country holds my opinion on this issue…including many people on the left…this isn’t about Constitutional Rights, it’s about respect for the dead and their families. So stop preaching it’s about Racism and intolerance…the only intolerance I see if from the people trying to build this mosque and their proponents.

  158. 158.

    Shane

    @kappa_man_stew

    I am not sure whether to laugh or cry…but you seriously need to put down the crack pipe. You are comparing people who protest the building of 1 mosque in a location that is sensitive to the families of 3000 dead americans to SEGREGATION? Are you flipping serious? That is the most pathetic post I have ever read…we are all now dumber for having read your post…my god (or anyone) have mercy on your soul. By the way…there are white muslims…just in case your pea brain can’t process that fact. Your post is so f’ing pathetic that I can’t even write a response any longer. Peace holmes.

  159. 159.

    Shane

    @No Likudnik:

    I never said they couldn’t build the mosque. I said I opposed the building of the mosque…there is a huge difference. We give enough respect to the muslim culture in this country. When is the last time americans were against the building of a mosque? Oh, thats right…never.
    This would be like building a Nazi museum next to a holocaust museum. Could it happen legally? Sure. Would it happen? I don’t think so. Why? I think it might have something to do with respect.
    Come to think of it, outside of the nations that are predominately muslim and Canada, the US is more tolerant of Muslims then any other place in the world. So your argument of respect of Muslims falls way flat…but keep reaching.
    Ultimately, this mosque isn’t going to be built. The Cordoba intitiative is going to figure out that the Americans really don’t want a victory mosque on the ruins of Ground zero..much like the ones built in Istanbul and Cordaba, Spain. Those people may have rolled over, but I don’t think Americans will. Thats just my guess.

  160. 160.

    filam

    @Shane
    “70% of the country holds my opinion on this issue..”

    I’m sure that’s around the same percentage of white Americans, definitely more, that supported Jim Crow, slavery, and the slave trade. Since when have the protections provided by the Bill of Rights become answerable to screaming lynch mobs?

  161. 161.

    Fat, White and Worthless

    The black guy should have replied, “I can tell by the way you all breath through your mouth and your knuckles drag on the ground when you walk that you voted for Weak and Stupid Bush.”
    Me, I’d have just had to ask these people what I ask of all red neck douchebags, “If I name my dick jesus, will you kneel in front of it and let me shove it down your retarded throat?”
    I really fucking hate low I.Q. white inbred christians enough to burn down their pedophile palaces. Are people really so weak and stupid that they need a poorly written, one dimentional, impotant, invisible jewish zombie to get through their day? Sad and pathetic if you ask me. Then again, I take advantage of these low I.Q. morons every chance I get. And I do it with a mile wide smile on my face knowing that the next sucker I rip off is only a conversation with a stranger away!
    Watching amerikkka crumble is so much fun. I can hardly wait until I’m selling little white christian girls for a can of beans!

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