The question on the previous day was:
Do you think a Florida pastor's plan to burn copies of the Quran in memory of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks is an advisable way to make his point?
A. Yes 77% B. No 23% (of 2,854 total replies)
I was so shocked by this that I contacted the Star-Advertiser editor and got this e-mail back immediately.
Yes, Kay, we checked to make sure we weren't being spammed, and it appears that that was the actual result.
Aloha,
Mark Coleman
Editorial staff
Then coincidentally, I got this following e-mail from my son, Jon's girlfriend.
Hi! Jon mentioned that you'd written a blog posting about the 9/11 controversies, and I thought you might be interested in this New York Times article:
I hope this gets widely read -- it reminded me of all the wonderful Muslims we came to know and love in Mali.
Hope everything is going well ....
Love, Sarah
Jon and Sarah were both volunteers with the Peace Corps in Mali, West Africa. I agree with Sarah; everybody should read this article, particularly those 77% who shamefully voted Yes.
Could 77% of the people in Hawaii actually have felt that the whole Muslim religion is at fault for 9-11 and that it is justifiable to burn their holy book? Do they really feel that this is an advisable way to promote peace? Perhaps they just want some sort of misguided justice? Did they read the question wrong? Could it be that it is a certain kind of population that would vote for such a stupid thing?
I know it was wrong of me, but as I walked around at different places in Hawaii today and smiled at all those friendly faces, I wondered...
I know I have met the enemy, as the comic strip character, Pogo said,and he is us.
"But terrorists and the religious people are different. God doesn’t say kill people.”
ReplyDeleteThat were wise words spoken by this lady, who is a muslim and lost her husband in the attack.
If killers think they please their Gods they are very mistaken.Christians, Muslims, Jews who think that they have to kill members of other religions in the name of God, are criminals and no real believers. Burning religious books is horrible. We don't want our bibles to be destroyed, nor any other religious books. Fanatics are the worst people on our planet.
I am suprised by how many people voted yes. I don't know anyone who agrees with this individual. If you think about it this is not a total population vote or even asking radom people off the street. From reading articles on line and the comments I think some people make comments just to flame a fire. I can't believe that many people actually feel that way!
ReplyDeleteOh, Kay, that is shocking. In the depths of our souls I think many of us are beginning to wonder if we've met the enemy, and it is us.
ReplyDeleteI try to keep remembering the religious persecution Catholics, Jews, and Mormans experience in our country.
The Irish, Japanese, and Blacks have long suffered discrimination in this country.
Will it ever end? Not in my lifetime.
It's like all these other cooked-up controversies, such as the one about evolution. Lots of Americans have no real persepective, are poorly educated, not well traveled, don't know many people outside their own group. Their news sources are right wing, like Fox News.
ReplyDeleteI think teaching critical thinking in the schools is very important. But if teachers are looking over their shoulders for fear of offending Christian fundamentalists, the children will not learn to think independently.
People's opinions are scary. And it seems that it is useless to try to get them to see things in a different light. Lord help us all.
ReplyDeleteAn English woman who lost her son on the 11th September 2001 was interviewed on the radio today, and condemned the American pastor for his intentions, whether or not he carries them out. She was horrified that he was planning to burn a Holy Book, and that he could be so bigoted as to even think about it. She was also adamant that there was nothing wrong with the plan to build an Islamic centre near to Ground Zero. She was able to recognise the difference between a religious Muslim and a terrorist; it's shameful that there are so many people who can't, or won't, understand that difference. It was such a shame to hear that Muslims living in America feel less safe now than they have at any time since 9/11.
ReplyDeleteAll this hate makes me so sick at heart. I have no understanding of people who think hate and violence are a solution to the world's ills.
ReplyDeletethere will always be hateful vengeful people around, the trick is not to join them. Unfortunately the press caters to them...
ReplyDeleteHad the press not got hold of this story of an ill-informed bigoted evangelist pastor the story would not have gained the attention that it has. Should we blame the media again?
ReplyDeleteYes, Janice, we should blame the media again.
ReplyDeleteI worked in the newspaper industry for many years, and sensationalism gets readers/viewers which in turn get advertisers, etc. etc.
Kay, I am encouraged by all the intelligent comments here.
Sometimes the problem is simply that we don't speak out, whereas the bigots do. We who have Muslim friends sometimes assume everyone understands the difference between a Muslim person and a terrorist.
I'm not always good at expressing myself, but I'm going to try. Building an Islamic center near to Ground Zero is not illegal, we do have freedom of religion for everyone, but it is a painful reopening of a wound to many many people, even ones who realize that as in all groups of people there are good and bad. Burning books, even holy ones is not illegal, but is also an insult and painful to the group whose sacred books are so being abused. Maybe, there is wrong on both sides and there should be more reading of the scriptures and praying, and less hateful goading and insensitivity. Could be that both groups need to step back and do unto others as they would wish to be treated. I'm speaking of the good ones, I don't expect that the bad ones have any desire to be "sensitive". I am a Latter Day Saint (Mormon), and I wasn't around for the real persecution, but I have run across a bit of prejudice, and I always feel like if you can't show the right or truth of your beliefs by living them, only by tearing down others, I don't want anything to do with yours. This is just my take on the slice of the pie that I have some understanding of, I understand that the entire pie has many other ramifications, but I just wanted to add my 2 cents.
ReplyDeleteOMG, Kay, unbelievable...
ReplyDeletethe pastor and the 77% both
Everybody: I was blaming the media, too. But then, Diane Sawyer had something interesting to say about that last night. She said that the 50 person Florida fringe priest had already put the information out on the Web. That caused enormous attention and anger in the Muslim world which got the media involved. She said the media is charged with the respsonsibility to keep people aware of situations such as this.
ReplyDeleteI was planning to ignore the hoopla, but by doing so... by not speaking out... perhaps we're allowing the weeds of intolerance and evil to spread. We need to be vigilant and pull them out whenever we see them.
Sometimes, however... I need help to make sure it is a weed and not something that we should allow to take its own place on the ground whether we like it or not.
This angers me greatly and that's all I'm going to say. What I really think about that pastor is unprintable and un-Christian. Then again, this so-called pastor would probably castigate me because I'm Catholic and we all know that us Catholics aren't Christians. Every time one of these nuts pulls a stunt like this, I get a little angrier.
ReplyDelete77% is a terrifying figure but it's only of the number of people who answered the poll. What worries me is the number of people who think it's a bad idea to burn holy books but couldn't be bothered to say so. Paradoxically, apathy is a great weapon for those who want to stir up hatred: if sensible people can't be bothered to stand up and be counted, one day they won't be.
ReplyDeleteI am not surprised..sad, but not surprised..
ReplyDeleteThat is really depressing, the percentage.
ReplyDeleteA shocking statistic indeed. But the cause is ignorance, perpetuated by 24/7 media.
ReplyDelete