MSM 'Wisdom' Embraces Bigotry And Authoritarianism - Again

Yesterday, the serious and thoughtful columnist/journalist/author/radio host Michael Coren penned an op-ed titled "A victory for common sense", whereby he applauds and supports the incorporation by Congress of the so-called John Doe amendment into the latest renewal of the Patriot Act. The enactment of this amendment is likewise being applauded by serious and thoughtful, great right-wing thinkers such as Michelle Malkin (yes - she who, in her own words, defends "internment of Muslims, airport profiling, immigration enforcement, heightened scrutiny of Muslim chaplains and soldiers, etc."), among others.

It is therefore not surprising that Mr. Coren's column amounts to nothing more than an exercise in blatant bigotry, which he attempted to disguise under the veneer of serious and thoughtful consideration, all the while being embraced by an MSM outlet.

First off, allow me to provide a bit of background here. The John Doe amendment aims to protect anyone who reports suspicious activities from being sued as a result of providing information. Said protection is retroactive to Oct. 1, 2006, in order to cover an incident which occurred last year and which stands behind its inception, namely the removal, detention and interrogation of six Muslim imams from a US Airways plane following complaints from "worried" passengers about their "suspicious behavior", and the discriminated imams' rightful lawsuit against US Airways, as well as their consideration to include the "denouncing" passengers in said suit.

Michael Coren thus begins his feuille de chou:

"God bless America. And God bless Congress for enacting legislation last week that will protect from lawsuits any airline passengers who inform authorities and complain to staff about people boarding or sitting on an aircraft who appear suspicious and a possible terrorist threat."

Aside from the fact that Coren is a fundamentalist Christian, his calls of "God bless!" underscore nonetheless the point that this whole thing about the War on Global Terrorism(TM) is truly about Christianity (God) winning over Islam (Allah), in the ignorant, fevered and fear-driven minds of far right Christianists.

After the set up, Coren goes straight for the jugular:

"The act was passed largely because of the case at Minneapolis airport last year when six Muslim clerics and teachers loudly denounced the Iraq war among themselves, insisted on conducing ostentatious Islamic prayers and generally made other passengers acutely uncomfortable and frightened."

Yes indeed, these imams were definitely very suspicious and "up to no good". Let us count the ways:

First, they dared to criticize openly among themselves the Iraq War. Not only is this characterized as "loudly" by Coren in a mendacious attempt to imply that the imams were "asking for it", but he echoes the reports of the time which construed such commonplace exercise of the constitutional right of free speech (and free discussion) on the part of the imams as "making anti-American statements". Because, of course, it is tantamount to treason whenever one criticizes the Iraq War, or even the Afghanistan War for that matter.

Second, the imams "deliberately" caused panic by doing their normal, usually-timed, ostentatious Islamic prayers. This is particularly galling on their part, since Islamic prayers are suspiciously vocal in nature to begin with. And all the constant praises of "Allah!" in those prayers? Definitely suspicious and frightening! You never see Christians do such things in public when they pray, raise their hands to the Heavens and call out God's name. Indeed, such things can not be suspicious - even from Christian radicals who are bent on terrorism and murder themselves. But seriously - if folks like me would have been the ones to vocally criticize the Iraq War (as many folks do every day) and pray openly to God (as many passengers do before their plane takes off), I am willing to stake a million dollars that no stink would have been raised to the flight attendants or to the authorities. Why? Because I am white and not a Muslim.

Not surprisingly, Coren-the-religious-bigot remains willfully oblivious to that effect, because his religion is the right religion in his intellectual sloth-driven petty mind. After all, and especially where Christianism is concerned, there is nothing ostentatious about that indeed. Coren thereafter proves my point with the following paragraph:

"The argument from those who see mythical Islamophobia around every corner was that this was pure racism and hysteria. The view of Congress and most North Americans is that innocent people have a right to moderate and justified self-defence in a climate such as this. The climate in question? One in which more than 20 separate Islamic fundamentalist organizations have sworn to blow western airliners out of the sky and where there are more than a dozen acts of terrorism committed by jihadist groups every day."

Yes - only Islamic Jihadists plot to commit acts of terrorism. Check.

From there, Coren goes on to justify racial/religious profiling in these grave, frightening times that we live in. A few highlights (emphases mine):

- "As much as it may be inconvenient or even embarrassing to be questioned by a police officer, it is less offensive than watching hundreds of smashed bodies fall from the sky."

- "When I worked in Northern Ireland 25 years ago I was routinely stopped by Britain's Special Branch at London's Gatwick Airport and questioned. The reason was that I was a young man flying alone to an area facing a terror war."

- "Today there is another terror war being fought, but this time the enemy is far more grotesque and will use airlines, subways, buses, schools, hospitals and any other place where it can slaughter innocent people."

- "So in a democratic, careful and respectful manner we try our best to guard people while causing the least offence to those who fit the descriptions of those most likely to harm them. Sometimes we make mistakes. A shame. But not much of one."

Hence, we must all bow down and accept authoritarianism because this is the only way we can be safe from the scary, frightening, mad and grotesque Islamic terrorists. Being detained and questioned is a mere inconvenience - thus we should stay quiet, grow up and embrace this new way of life in a free, open, democratic society ... and be happy that we are not Muslims or, even better, that we do not look like ones. This is proof yet again that hysteric-gripped people like Coren constitute the real problem with terrorism.

But of course, Coren is much more than this and he proves it with this gem of wisdom:

"(It is) not too much to ask people not to gather in groups of five or six and loudly denounce western foreign policy while reciting similar prayers to those used by suicide bombers the world over."

And there you have it: it is perfectly reasonable to take away the constitutional rights of free speech and free assembly, as well as the freedom of worship, to all Muslims because there are radicals out there who commit acts of terrorism while using Islam as their contrived and twisted justification to perpetrate violence.

Very well, then. I say here and now that what is good for the goose, is good for the gander as well.

Therefore, I hereby submit that it is perfectly reasonable to expect Christians not to gather in groups of five or six and loudly denounce secular laws and secular domestic/foreign policies while reciting similar prayers as those used by Christianist terrorists the world over.

After all, and to paraphrase Coren here, if someone or some people "generally make (me and/or other) passengers acutely uncomfortable and frightened", then I should have the same "right" to have such people removed, detained and questioned - as justified by Coren and his ilk - right?

Again, to paraphrase Coren, "innocent people (like moi) have a right to moderate and justified self-defence in a climate such as (which we live in)".

Hence, I wonder what all those intellectual sloth-driven, ignorant, intolerant, bigoted, fear-driven and authoritarianism-craving madhaters, like the Michael Corens and Michelle Malkins of the world, would have to say about that humble suggestion of mine.

Which, once again, brings me back to what I wrote elsewhere:

"I have come to the conclusion that the fundamentalists, neocons and other right-wing madhaters are very much alike the people from the allegory of the cave, and somehow made flesh and blood.

They are indeed living in a cave, their backs to the entrance while facing the sunlit cave wall, seeing only shadows of reality. And it is from watching these two-dimensional shadows that they construct myths and stories to comfort themselves - because they not only fear the shadows that they see, but they also fear even more what these shadows represent.

Thus, they find themselves frightened to the deepest levels of their fragile souls by the glorious truth of the multi-dimensional reality in which we live, whenever they get out of their cave. Their intellectual sloth-driven, ignorant and fearful minds simply can not, or flatly refuse, to comprehend it.

That is why their beliefs and ideologies are not only parochial, but adamantly intractable.

Consequently, at the end of each day, the fundamentalists, neocons and other right-wing madhaters return to the safety and comfort of their cave, vowing to say and do everything in order to transform our multi-dimensional reality into the simpler, two-dimensional one made of shadows that they are accustomed to."

As Coren writes in closing (emphasis mine):

"That some Islamic activists would exploit the generosity of the free world to sue people who merely want to travel safely says a great deal not about North American racism, but about the ingratitude of some Muslims. Along with rights come responsibilities."

To which I reply: ditto for all Christians and Christian activists.

And ditto for the incompetent human being that is Michael Coren.

However, the greater shame and blame fall upon the MSM for not only endorsing such bigoted tripe by publishing it, but likewise for quietly embracing again through publication (other recent examples discussed here, here and here) the rule of the fearful, ignorant, intolerant, hysteric-driven, and authoritarianism-craving, Mob.

Because that is what John Doe-type denunciations boil down to, when coupled with the removal of the fundamental right to sue for slander and discrimination.

A victory for common sense indeed.


(Cross-posted at DKos, at Suzie-Q and at Diatribune)