Steven Weber bills himself as an "actor and wise-ass," but may have summed up Sarah Palin best:"My favorite low-brow bromide is that Sarah Palin "terrifies the Left." The truth is she (and her ilk) terrify all sensible, thoughtful people on the Left and on the Right, let alone every civilized nation on Earth. That a personality less qualified, less able, less educated should ascend so rapidly (and clearly with the help of an opportunistic media on both sides of the ideological divide) speaks to the depths this nation has sunk in terms of selecting viable, wise leadership. [...] Terrified? You betcha."
Today, on the ninth anniversary of 9/11, Weber has posted "Historiphobia," which describes some of our own history and how a public ignorant of its own past may be easily exploited:
Remember attacks on German Americans during World War 1? How about more of the same in World War 2? The Japanese internment camps? The perennial demonization of Jews? Gays? Catholics? Not to mention those who toiled and died in slavery and lived lives of humiliation under Jim Crow.
It's all there in the history that seems to have been almost purposely mislaid by those who know too well that a public which knows its own story knows itself; it is an activist public, educated and energized against forces which inevitably seek power through oppression and division.
Like a recalcitrant child who refuses to see the lesson of its past imperfect behavior, the mobs who lately decry Islam and discharge their fatuous bile are only the latest in a long line of porous intellects railing against convenient scapegoats and destined to replay an episode that, were history a requisite part of this nation's diet (instead of just another quaint castoff from the pre-IPhone era), would surely have evolved out of existence. ...
In "Muslims and Islam Were Part of Twin Towers' Life," we're told that there was a Muslim prayer room in the southern tower of the World Trade Center:
... On any given day, Mr. Abdus-Salaam’s companions in the prayer room might include financial analysts, carpenters, receptionists, secretaries and ironworkers. There were American natives, immigrants who had earned citizenship, visitors conducting international business — the whole Muslim spectrum of nationality and race. ...
Media Matters has created a timeline of the past year's anti-Muslim demagoguery.
President Obama has condemned the demagogues:
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Update: Crooks and Liars' "On This 9-11 Anniversary, It's Just Us," has transcribed President Obama's response to a Fox reporter's question:
"We are not at war against Islam. We are at war against terrorist organizations that have distorted Islam or falsely used the banner of Islam to engage in their destructive acts. And we've got to be clear about that. We've got to be clear about that because ... if we're going to successfully reduce the terrorist threat, then we need all the allies we can get. The folks who are most interested in a war between the United States or the West and Islam are al Qaeda. That's what they've been banking on.
"And fortunately, the overwhelming majority of Muslims around the world are peace-loving, are interested in the same things that you and I are interested in: how do I make sure I can get a good job, how can I make sure that my kids get a decent education, how can I make sure I'm safe, how can I improve my lot in life. And so they have rejected this violent ideology for the most part, overwhelmingly.
"And so from a national security interest, we want to be clear about who the enemy is here. It's a handful, a tiny minority of people who are engaging in horrific acts -- and have killed Muslims more than anybody else.
"The other reason it's important for us to remember that is because we've got millions of Muslim-Americans, our fellow citizens, in this country. They're going to school with our kids. They're our neighbors. They're our friends. They're our coworkers. And, you know, when we start acting as if their religion is somehow offensive, what are we saying to them?
"I've got Muslims who are fighting in Afghanistan, in the uniform of the United States armed services. They're out there putting their lives on the line for us, and we've got to make sure that we are crystal clear for our sakes and their sakes: They are Americans. And we honor their service. And part of honoring their service is making sure that they understand that we don't differentiate between 'them' and 'us.' It's just 'us.'"
Update: Alaska Dispatch has a report (with slideshow) of today's event at Wasilla's Menard Sports Center. Sarah Pallin and about 300 people attended.
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10 comments:
Thanks to an anonymous commenter for leaving the link to the NY Times article about the prayer room at 2 WTC. We should remember that Park51 isn't a mosque; it's a cultural center that happens to have a prayer room.
H/T to Frozen Justice's We are not at war with Islam, for the link to Pres. Obama's comments.
Just for the record, I am not terrified of Sarah Palin (Perhaps I'm not a "sensible, thoughtful" person? No, I think it's because I know that it's unlikely that Palin and her ilk will succeed.) It's an interesting irony (considering Weber's remark) that insensible, thoughtless people on the right (the left, too?) are terrified by what Sarah Palin tells them, but that's the plan: scare them to death of an imaginary bogeyman.
Is it my imagination or is the 9/11 "remembrance phenomenon" way more strident this year? In the past, weren't there a few new stories, laying of wreaths, that's about it? Was I not paying attention or has it become a political prop for those "rill 'murikans"?
Is it my imagination or is the 9/11 "remembrance phenomenon" way more strident this year? In the past, weren't there a few new stories, laying of wreaths, that's about it? Was I not paying attention or has it become a political prop for those "rill 'murikans"?
8:24 AM, It has become politicized. Rachel Maddow spendt some time talking about that, after Pres. Obama's remarks. I wasn't going to post anything about it, but that there was a prayer room in 2 WTC led to the post and the "attack" on the demagogues.
"Is it my imagination or is the 9/11 "remembrance phenomenon" way more strident this year?"
Nope, not your imagination. Sarah Palin shoplifted all things Alaska; now she and her merry band of idiots are shoplifting the attack on the World Trade Center.
I refuse to call what happened "Nine-Eleven". Do we really need a catchy little smarmy marketing phrase that's easy to remember and quick to say, based on a calendar date?
What is this, an SUV commercial?
What happened is that the World Trade Center in New York was blown up.
What happened is that a handful of Jihadist pilots hijacked several passenger aircraft in a staged coup.
What happened is that these aircraft were used kamikaze-style to damage/destroy a number of targeted sites including the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Several other aircraft possibly destined for other sites like the one headed for the Valdez Oil Terminal were unsuccessful, because it was rerouted to Whitehorse and grounded.
What happened is that we Americans live in a vacuum and pretend that we're the only ones on the planet. We insist that people speak only English; we demand that everyone become Christian. We dominate and bully.
We got targeted by a stealthy pissed-off Middle Eastern faction that bullies their own people and country. They do not want America in charge of their oil fields and making deals with the Saudis.
I need no commemoration of these events.
We're still IN this event.
I agree with comedian Louis C. K. He called Sarah Palin the "early Hitler" who is busy amassing a following of brainless sheep.
Hitler's pawns eventually helped fully-evolved Hitler to commit mass murders. History may be starting to repeat itself.
Americans should be fearful of egomaniac Palin because she plays to the ignorant and fearful. She provides tasty placebos for the nation's ills but she cures nothing. She only intensifies hatred that could turn violent. Sarah Palin displays the potential to evolve into pure evil.
5:04 PM, I disagree with Louis C.K. Comparing Palin with Hitler trivializes who Hitler was and what he did.
Comparing her to Hitler is like using your last bullet. You've got nothing left. If she's comparable to Hitler, why would anyone call her out for lying? She could embezzle PAC donations and no one would care, if she's done things that make her comparable to Hitler. Doing things that Hitler did would dwarf those "little" misdeeds.
Is she like the "early Hitler?" Would it matter unless the conditions in this country are like those in Germany before Hitler came to power? Palin is a demagogue, but her audience is only about 20% of the population, and many of those don't think she would make an effective president.
Yeah, but who counts the votes? That's what we need to worry about, Joie.
nswfm, In a very close election cheaters might get away with something, but election fraud is difficult to pull off without being detected when one candidate reveives a solid majority of the votes.
Sarah Palin would probably fare worse than Goldwater did in 1964. He was called an extremist and was actually a truer conservative than Palin and her ilk, but he lost big time.
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