Found my soapbox! (It was behind the piano)

So the big talk is all about the Muslims that were pulled off a plane after saying their prayers in the lobby of an airport last week. Outrage, indignation and protest are littered all aver the internet, sometimes eloquently, sometimes brutally, all negative and all chasing each other like so many birds in a barn.

To which I can only say: What were you expecting, filial compassion? You’ve gotta be kidding me. Supposedly these were Islamic holy men. Well, while they are probably not dumber than an ox, they’re not appreciably smarter either. They chose to pull this stunt in an airport, and personally, speaking as someone who was HANDCUFFED TO A CHAIR WITH GUNS POINTED AT HIM as I entered customs, if they’ll pull this shit with a Whitey coming out of Indonesia, you can bet your brown ass they’ll do it to an Arab. It’s not, in my opinion, racial or religious profiling. It’s just preemptive action. Call it the law knee-jerk reflex response. It's a miracle this is all that's happened. Certianly, they can't be the only Muslims praying in an airport.

I hate to remind everyone of this, but of all the religions in the world, Islam is probably the one we (America) are most ignorant of. We can’t really determine what is “Islam” and what is “Some fool spouting nonsense in the name of God”. (Personally, just because you hear voices doesn’t mean it’s God on the horn, if you follow me) Coupled with the spin of the popular media hysteria and public opinion, Islam is viewed as the religion of terrorists. Al Jazeera plays those despicable tapes of Americans being beheaded & all we hear in the background is “Praise be to Allah!.” Every time we turn on the news, there are a minimum of 200 Kaffiya-wearing Arabs screaming “Death to America” and firing AK-47’s into the air. Every Mohammedan that makes it to a news camera screams about America being all the cause for Muslim oppression. And of course, 9-11.

Terrorists and politicians alike have pounded into our heads for the past five years: We are your enemy, and we represent Islam. We want to kill you. Our preferred modus operandi is the hijacking of an airplane. You will convert to Islam. Not that it will matter, because we will kill you anyway. We hate you. Bush would NEVER have been reelected if not for the Islamic Terrorists. Ironically, he has Bin Laden to thank for his second term.

So, with this scene set, enter the Imams. And 20 minutes later, exit the Imams. Because we have our Islamic xenophobia ratcheted up to pants – shitting intensity that we’ll shoot first, shoot later, shoot some more & THEN ask questions.

This is what we think. This is how most of the world views Islam, and to go one step further, I believe the terrorists succeeded in one critical factor that I honestly don’t think crossed their minds for a second: They have united most of the western world AGAINST ISLAM. So when I see several Muslims who are just sitting there minding their own business get tapped for a strip search, of course a part of me feels regret. But most of me thinks, “Better them than me”. And given the choice, I will choose THEM every time.

And now we have CAIR, the Council on American – Islamic Relations, whose tagline is “to enhance understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding." Although they seemingly have no other purpose on this planet except as Wahabbi/Hamas apologists. This from their leader, Omar Achmad:

"Those who stay in America should be open to society without melting, keeping Mosques open so anyone can come and learn about Islam. If you choose to live here, you have a responsibility to deliver the message of Islam ... Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faiths, but to become dominant. The Koran, the Muslim book of scripture, should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on Earth."

Oooookay. I won’t repeat my point of Islam being a one-way revolving door, except to say that Islam will never be accepted in America until people are just as free to NOT be Islamic without consequence. But I make a point: This is a dark time for America. This is the time to tread lightly, and speak in whispers. People are still disappearing, you know. We have to be careful about what we say, something that I myself also need to do, and I was born here. Several of you have written or called me about some things I said about President Bush on my blog, and you’re right: I’m practically begging for it.

So, although it was reprehensible, the detaining of the Muslim Imams shouldn’t have been the least surprising. We still have Homeland Security, and they are still more paranoid than a blond white girl in a Hookah bar in Cairo. The American public, for that matter, is looking over it’s shoulder every five seconds expecting to see a jihadi with about 30 Lbs. of semtex strapped to his insane ass.

You know, seven years ago I was a graphic designer. I worked in umpteen print shops, many that were owned by Muslims (here in Seattle, it’s the big thing for Arabs to do…Every corner has it’s Copies for Allah). During Ramadan I was often the sole person running the shop at any given time, due to being the sole infidel working in the shop. Everyone else was occupied with prayers. Which was fine. But I say this to mention how far things have fallen in seven years. Back then, I would see a man in a turban kneeling on a rug and think nothing of it.

Today, I’m scared shitless. I don’t believe we should put every Muslim in a camp, or detain/search/humiliate anybody wearing a turban. But consider: If the face of my enemy and the face of an innocent are identical, what is the solution? How do I grant religious amnesty and simultaneously keep my family safe? What would you do?

Now, it truly is NOT the way of Islam to promote terrorism on Americans, and that’s not what I’m trying to say here. The Muslims will pull this same shit on each other as quick as they will anybody else, this bloody vendetta has been passed around since before the Civil War. Check out MSN.com for the sheer volume of Sunni vs. Shiite body count, I didn’t realize we had invented numbers that big. It’s a spectacular tit-for-tat war of attrition, and I can only wonder where they are getting all the bodies from. Personally, I think if we bailed on the middle east for, oh, let’s say 20 years, the herd will have been significantly thinned by then. We could probably send a troop of illiterate girl scouts to secure Baghdad, and not think twice about it.

By the by, I’m just pointing out the obvious. Don’t send me emails decrying my racism, you’ll never convince me of it. If nothing I’ve said here rings true, then fine. Ignore it. Or better yet, show me the fallacy of my thinking, I’m open to it. If I’ve disappointed some of you, I’m sorry: I just think that coddling stupidity or worshipping impotence isn’t the answer. You allow it to live and it breeds, then you have a group of stupid people doing what only a couple were doing a decade ago.

And the thing about America being responsible for something that happened 40 – 50 – 60 years ago…COME BLOODY ON! Does anybody hold everyone ELSE responsible for the actions of their country five or six decades ago, or is it just America? Exactly what kind of bullshit is that? I wasn’t alive back then, and I DON’T accept responsibility for it, so lick me. I have only now. This moment in time. Here. I’m doing everything I can for a change, even as we speak. I WANT things to be different. What happened in my Grandfather’s Grandfathers’ time is neither my FAULT, nor my RESPONSIBILITY, so stop trying to extract a pound of flesh out of ME for something that, were YOUR father’s sins known, would require you to cut off something a bit more meaningful if it were discovered.

But still…

Where do we go from here? Is peace possible? For that matter, does anybody actually want it? It’s not, historically speaking, a winner. It’s not the popular vote. There is opposition in the trenches. Do we just kill and kill until the last person on Earth puts up the chairs & turns off the lights behind them?

If none of us have learned anything about living together in this advanced age, then why do we deserve to live at all?