< meta name="DC.Date.Valid.End" content="20050825"> Amendment Nine: Don't spread lies

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Don't spread lies

I am just as riled up against radical Islam as the next red-blooded American, but I don't see any need to lie about shit. Being honest is an American virtue. Playing with numbers and making cute little arguments about numbers that probably never existed is a Continental virtue.

So here's the lie. That the four young souls who needlessly lost their life in Colorado the other day account for more "hate crimes" than all the "hate crimes" attributed to muslims since 9/11. I suppose the lie-originator wants to make the point that Christians are just as persecuted as Muslims. Which no one was ever really getting into anways. ANd besides, who in the hell is this lie-originator to be making a cheap political point about the death of some innocent, young, and from what the reports, altogether terrific people! Its sick. Just sick that you can't let someone die in a tragedy without trying to make some greater point. People who do that aren't understanding that human life is more valuable than political prowess.

But to make things all the worse. Tdaxp says the lie is true. ANd that if you don't agree, its up to you to prove it. Alright, I'll bite, with the understanding that I'm only doing it for fun.

The Human Rights Watch has chronicled all the attacks in the year after 9/11. They document three murders positively ID'd as motivated by 9/11 backlash, and four more murders that were likely motivated by 9/11 backlash. They also document 49 assaults and 249 assaults and property damage from 9/11 through Feb '02, all 9/11 backlash.

They also document multiple reports of places of worship being vandalized, including a Mosque in Oswego, NY being burnt to the ground on 11/29/2001. The teenage arsonists stated they thought the worshipers were followers of Bin Laden.

You can read the document and track down its extensive sourcing here.

FWIW, I'd bet at least one good green American dollar that there are a LOT more incidents of backlash than that little report pulled up. We don't stand by and wait for the government to take care of things in this country when the shit hits the fan. We hit back. Posse comitatus and all. I'm not saying this is a good thing, I'm just saying that people who argue it ain't so are people who don't understand people.

One more thing. The incidents described above were non-Muslim attacks on other Muslims (or perceived Muslims) the tragedy in Colorado appears to be Christian on Christian crime. So the perverse analogy Powerline, was trying to draw makes not a drop of sense to begin with.

Sure its a cute argument. But its a god-damned un-American one too. I think ya'll would do better to start playing to our virtues, and not to our vices. I'm just happy that guard had her trigger finger steady that day, otherwise this tragedy could have been MUCH WORSE. Steady trigger finger, and not spreading lies... two American virtues!