After my last entry referencing the alleged link between the Nazi party and Islamic extremists I started thinking about extremists. One thing was pretty clear to me, that extremists and people that hate our country come in all shapes and sizes, religions and manifestos. I thought for a moment about what a proper analogy for the condition of extremism would be.
I came to the conclusion that you could most closely relate it to Alcoholic behavior. Now, a lot of people will state that Alcoholism is a disease and extremism is a choice. This is an argument that I cannot prove nor disprove on either side. I will say this, hatred for any sustained amount of time can become poisonous to a person and place them in a state where nothing can quell the rage inside them, this would lead me to believe that the condition of extremism, a position that is fueled in great portions by hate can be closely correlated with Alcoholic behaviors. However the important link is not in whether you identify either as a disease, but rather the practice of both and how looking at it in this way may affect your perception of how you approach the subject when a certain group is referenced as “extremists” such as the Muslim population faces now.
In both cases there is common undesirable behavior, with alcoholics its drinking to the point of becoming dangerous, either to themselves or others, with extremists it comes in the form of anger and hatred over real or imagined slights which manifests itself in the form of behaviors that are dangerous to others and often fatal to both the extremist and their victims. Make no mistake though this does not place me the camp of poor extremist, let’s get him help. Nothing gives you the right to harm innocent people because you are angry or your ideals say it is ok. The important thing to notice here is catalyst, in alcoholics it’s the alcohol, in most if not all extremists it’s a cause or religion. This statement does not place me as anti-religion; however it does show a very revealing truth about classifying a group of people as “extremists”. Let’s try a little exercise to show how this works.
Would you say someone is an alcoholic if they only drank beer? The common conception is that most alcoholics drink hard liquor, that very few are heavy beer drinkers. However this concept is untrue in that MANY alcoholics will drink beer, sometimes in the realm of a case a night.
So let’s apply this to extremists. Would you say someone is an extremist if they were a self identified Christian? No you likely wouldn’t. How about an environmentalist? Still no? What if they were a self identified Muslim? Most people in these times would identify Muslim with extremist.
Now let’s look at the numbers… (Islamic attacks are highlighted in red, Environmental Groups are Green, Everyone else is in black)
• 2000 October 13, Firebombing of Temple Beth El (Syracuse)
• 2000: 2000 New York terror attack Three young men of Arab descent hurled crude Molotov cocktails at a synagogue in The Bronx, New York to "strike a blow in the Middle East conflict between Israel and Palestine".
• 2001 May 21 The Center for Urban Horticulture at the University of Washington burned. Replacement building cost $7,000,000. Earth Liberation Front members pleads guilty.
• 2001 September 11: September 11, 2001 attacks carried out by Al-Qaeda. The attacks killed nearly 3,000 civilians and were carried out by Islamic fundamentalists using hijacked commercial airplanes to damage the twin towers of the World Trade Center, ultimately destroying both 110-story skyscrapers. The Pentagon near Washington, D.C. was also severely damaged. Building 7 of the World Trade Center was also destroyed but was not hit with a plane. A fourth plane crashed prematurely in Pennsylvania.
• 2001 September 18: November - 2001 anthrax attacks. Letters tainted with anthrax kill five across the United States, with politicians and media officials as the apparent targets. On July 31, 2008 Bruce E. Ivins a top biodefense researcher committed suicide. On August 6, 2008 the FBI concluded that Ivins was solely responsible for the attacks and suggested that Ivins wanted to bolster support for a vaccine he helped create and that he targeted two lawmakers because they were Catholics who held pro choice views.
• May 2002 Mailbox Pipe Bomber: Lucas John Helder rigged pipe bombs in private mailboxes to explode when the boxes were opened. He injured 6 people in Nebraska, Colorado, Texas, Illinois, and Iowa. His motivation was to garner media attention so that he could spread a message denouncing government control over daily lives and the illegality of marijuana as well as promoting astral projection.
• 2002 July 4: 2002 Los Angeles Airport shooting Hesham Mohamed Hadayet, a 41-year-old Egyptian national, kills two Israelis and wounds four others at the El Al ticket counter at Los Angeles International Airport. The FBI concluded this was terrorism, although they found no evidence linking Hadayet to any terrorist group.
• October 2002 Beltway Sniper Attacks: During three weeks in October 2002 John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo killed 10 people and critically injured three others in Washington D.C, Baltimore, and Virginia. The pair were also suspected of earlier shootings in Maryland, Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana and Washington state. No motivation was given at the trial but evidence presented showed an affinity to the cause of the Islamic jihad.
• 2006 March 5: Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar injured 6 when he drove an SUV into a group of pedestrians at UNC-Chapel Hill to "avenge the deaths or murders of Muslims around the world".
• 2006 July 28: Seattle Jewish Federation shooting, Pakistani-American shoots six women at Jewish Center killing one.
• 2007 October 26: A pair of improvised explosive devices were thrown at the Mexican Consulate in New York City. The fake grenades were filled with black powder and detonated by fuses causing very minor damage. Police were investigating the connection between this and a similar attack against the British Consulate in New York in 2005.
• 2008 February: In the first reported incident of animal-rights extremists physically assaulting the family members of animal researchers, six masked activists attempted to force their way into the home of a University of California, Santa Cruz, researcher and injured the researcher's husband.
• 2008 March 3: Four multimillion-dollar show homes place in Woodinville, Washington are torched. The Earth Liberation Front is suspected in the fires.
• 2008 May 4 Multiple nail laden pipe bombs exploded at a Federal Courthouse in San Diego at 1:40 AM causing "considerable damage" to the entrance and lobby and sending shrapnel two blocks away. The F.B.I. is investigating links between this attack and an April 25 explosion at the FedEx building also in San Diego.
• 2008 July 27 Jim D. Adkisson opened fire in the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee killing two and injuring seven before being tackled to the ground by congregation members. A note found in his SUV indicated this was intended as a suicide attack and said the church was apparently targeted because of its support of liberal social policies.
• 2008 August 2, August 3 University of California-Santa Cruz molecular biologist David Feldheim's home was firebombed. A car belonging to another researcher from that University was destroyed by a firebomb in what is presumed to be related. FBI is investigating incidents as domestic terrorism related to animal rights groups.
• 2009 April 8: According to a report in the Wall Street Journal intruders have left malware in power grids, water and sewage systems that could be activated at a later date. While the attacks which have occurred over a period of time seem to have originated in China and Russia it is unknown if they are state sponsored.
• 2009 May 31: Assassination of George Tiller. Dr. George Tiller, a doctor who provided late term abortions was shot to death in a Wichita, Kansas church. Tiller was shot previously in 1993 and his abortion clinic had been bombed in 1985. Alleged assassin Scott Roeder, who believes in justifiable homicide of abortion providers, has been arrested for the killing.
• 2009 May 25: Crude bomb explodes in a Starbucks in Manhattan's Upper East Side. On July 14 Kyle Shaw age 17 is arrested and pleaded not guilty. He is being held pending $300,000 bond or $100,000 cash bail. Police allege his motive was to emulate "Project Mayhem" a series of assaults on corporate America portrayed in the movie Fight Club.
• 2009 June 1: Arkansas recruiting office shooting One military recruiter was killed and another critically injured by gunshot at a Little Rock, Arkansas Army/Navy Career Center. The suspect Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad said he was upset over U.S. killing of Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• 2009 June 10: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum shooting. 88 year old James Wenneker von Brunn walked into the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. and shot a guard who later died. von Brunn was critically wounded when security guards immediately returned fire . On January 6, 2010 von Brunn died of natural causes at a hospital near where he was imprisoned. von Brunn was a self-described white supremacist and neo-Nazi.
• 2009 July 4: A denial of service attack of unusual length and sophistication affected United States and South Korean government websites as well as websites for the Washington Post and NASDAQ. Websites for several U.S. government agencies were shut down for up to 3 days. A sophisticated organization or nation was suspected according to the National Intelligence Service.
• 2010 February 18: Joseph Stack flew a small plane into an IRS building in Austin, Texas, believed to be in retaliation to the U.S. Government.
• 2010 September 1: Jamie Lee wearing explosives and carrying a gun took hostages at the headquarters of the Discovery Channel in Silver Spring, Maryland before being killed by police. He was protesting the channels "anti environmental" message and programming encouraging birth of humans who he called filthy.
So from this we see in 10 years, that 8 out of 24 of the attacks were based in Islamic extremism. Of those 8 at least 2 were never actually linked to Islamic extremism but it was the closest (easiest?) explanation that law enforcement could make. This also means 2/3 of all terrorist attacks in 10 years were by American groups, with about 1/3 of those attacks being from environmental groups. I don’t know about any of you but I don’t see anyone protesting the existence of environmental groups.
You can choose to view this however you like, but it should remind you of one thing. That like alcoholism, there is no “one size” fits all for extremism. No matter which we talk about the poison is as unique as the person that chooses to use it, whether it is Beer or Whiskey, Islam or Animal rights.
Think about it next time you shy away from a Muslim you see in public, but stop at the entrance to a store to give money to an environmental group collecting donations.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Friday, September 3, 2010
An Email about Nazis and Muslims.
This one showed up a few days ago, and has been widely circulated in the past few weeks. I suspect many of you have seen it and read it. I have highlighted the parts I found most amusing, my response to this follows the email.
The Email
------------------------------------------------------------------
German View of Islam
This is by far the best explanation of the Muslim terrorist situation I have ever read. His references to past history are accurate and clear. Not long, easy to understand, and well worth the read. The author of this email is said to be Dr.
Emanuel Tanay, a well-known and well-respected psychiatrist.
Is this what Glen Beck has been warning us about? The march in Washington was a clear sign that America needs to "wake up" and realize that there is still time to put in "check" the present administration and tell them we are "on to them"!
A German's View on Islam
A man whose family was German aristocracy prior to World War, owned a number of large industries and estates. When asked how many German people were true Nazis, the answer he gave can guide our attitude toward fanaticism. 'Very few people were true Nazis,' he said, 'but many enjoyed the return of German pride, and many more were too busy to care. I was one of those who just thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools. So, the majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then, before we knew it, they owned us, and we had lost control, and the end of the world had come. My family lost everything. I ended up in a concentration camp andthe Allies destroyed my factories.'
We are told again and again by 'experts' and 'talking heads' that Islam is the religion of peace and that the vast majority of Muslims just want to live in peace. Although this unqualified assertion may be true, it is entirely irrelevant. It is meaningless fluff, meant to make us feel better, and meant to somehow diminish the specter of fanatics rampaging across the globe in the name of Islam.
The fact is that the fanatics rule Islam at this moment in history; it is the fanatics who march...it is the fanatics who wage any one of 50 shooting wars worldwide. It is the fanatics who systematically slaughter Christian or tribal groups throughout Africa and are gradually taking over the entire continent in an Islamic wave. It is the fanatics who bomb, behead, murder, or honour-kill. It is the fanatics who take over mosque after mosque. It is the fanatics who zealously spread the stoning and hanging of rape victims and homosexuals. It is the fanatics who teach their young to kill and to become suicide bombers..
The hard, quantifiable fact is that the peaceful majority, the 'silent majority,' is cowed and extraneous.
Communist Russia was comprised of Russians who just wanted to live in peace, yet the Russian Communists were responsible for the murder of about 20 million people. The peaceful majority were irrelevant. China 's huge population was peaceful as well, but Chinese Communists managed to kill a staggering 70 million people.
The average Japanese individual prior to World War II was not a warmongering sadist. Yet, Japan murdered and slaughtered its way across Southeast Asia in an orgy of killing that included the systematic murder of 12 million Chinese civilians; most killed by sword, shovel, and bayonet.
And who can forget Rwanda , which collapsed into butchery. Could it not be said that the majority of Rwandans were 'peace loving'?
History lessons are often incredibly simple and blunt, yet for all our powers of reason, we often miss the most basic and uncomplicated of points:
Peace-loving Muslims have been made irrelevant by their silence.
Peace-loving Muslims will become our enemy if they don't speak up, because like my friend from Germany , they will awaken one day and find that the fanatics own them, and the end of their world will have begun.
Peace-loving Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, Rwandans, Serbs, Afghans, Iraqis, Palestinians, Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians, and many others have died because the peaceful majority did not speak up until it was too late. As for us who watch it all unfold, we must pay attention to the only group that counts--the fanatics who threaten our way of life.
Lastly, anyone who doubts that the issue is serious and just deletes this email without sending it on, is contributing to the passiveness that allows the problems to expand. So, extend yourself a bit and send this on and on and on! Let us hope that thousands, world-wide, read this and think about it, and send it on - before it's too late.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
End Email
I would like to know who uses the word "Orgy" when discussing a massacre? The way I see it the author of this only used the word to add shock value.
My Response to this:
Wow, what a fascinating piece of absolute garbage this is. I find it beyond amusing that a message of warning about the importance of involvement has been twisted from its original meaning in to something deigned to further incite fear and mistrust of people not like us. The facts, yes most Germans were not true Nazi's and most saw the Nazi political movement as a return to German pride and fundamental values. However rather than compare them to the Muslims, let’s compare them to two parties that they more closely resemble, The Neo Conservatives, and the Tea Party (both parties in the United States, not radical Islam). The Nazi rise to power was done in stages and was by all historical accounts conducted brilliantly (even though it was for completely nefarious means). Many are unaware of why the Nazi's were allowed to rise to power and the answer lays in Joseph Goebbels the Nazi party Propaganda minister. What everyone should know and remember is the Nazi's did not "seize" control by force, they did so through a brilliantly executed propaganda campaign aimed at two things, German pride and fear, and using these items were able to gain a majority seat in German parliament. The first item, German pride, is easy to explain, it’s obvious that most people want a reason to be proud of their country, however pride has a funny way of slipping in to the realm of viewing yourself as superior to others and such makes you feel as though you have right to judge. We are all guilty of this even me, however it is important to realize it and reel it back when it goes too far, a quality that the Tea Party and most Neo Cons do not possess. The second item is fear, in both the case of the United States and Germany it is fear of a shadowy, and mostly intangible enemy, which according to the party pushing the message is "Hell bent on destroying our way of life". The truth is, we are doing the job of the "Radical Islamists" for them, as we allow our own radicals (like Glenn Beck) to sow the seeds of unrest and xenophobia in to our population and thus preventing real progress in our society. The crater that still remains in New York City is proof, as rebuilding ground zero is beleaguered by petty squabbling over what should be allowed there. If we allow emails like this to circulate then we only further the position of divisive nut jobs that require your fear to give their message power. I recommend anyone that thinks the message I have referenced here is legit, go to a Mosque or prayer center and meet these so called shadowy evil people hell bent on destroying our way of life. I think you will find most, if not all of them, are more afraid of you then you are of them and that all they want are the same things you do, safety, security, and prosperity for them and their families. Some people will say “Well that doesn’t include the extremists” your right it doesn’t, but if you don’t think for one minute that we have more American’s in the United States plotting the destruction of our country than we do Muslims than your SORELY misinformed.
I will leave this entry with a quote and a thought:
“They came first for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for me
and by that time no one was left to speak up.”
- Pastor Martin Niemöller
If you don’t know who Martin Niemöller is I suggest you look him up, his writings’ will give you great insight to what we may face as Americans in the future. Except one major difference, ours will look like this…
They came first for the Muslims,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Muslim…
We still have the ability to choose to adhere to what is right and good about our great nation, and to live by the qualities of freedom for all that we tout in front of the world. Our freedoms are what make us the envy of all other nations, if we sacrifice them to fear of that which is different than we are no better than those we fight.
The Email
------------------------------------------------------------------
German View of Islam
This is by far the best explanation of the Muslim terrorist situation I have ever read. His references to past history are accurate and clear. Not long, easy to understand, and well worth the read. The author of this email is said to be Dr.
Emanuel Tanay, a well-known and well-respected psychiatrist.
Is this what Glen Beck has been warning us about? The march in Washington was a clear sign that America needs to "wake up" and realize that there is still time to put in "check" the present administration and tell them we are "on to them"!
A German's View on Islam
A man whose family was German aristocracy prior to World War, owned a number of large industries and estates. When asked how many German people were true Nazis, the answer he gave can guide our attitude toward fanaticism. 'Very few people were true Nazis,' he said, 'but many enjoyed the return of German pride, and many more were too busy to care. I was one of those who just thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools. So, the majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then, before we knew it, they owned us, and we had lost control, and the end of the world had come. My family lost everything. I ended up in a concentration camp andthe Allies destroyed my factories.'
We are told again and again by 'experts' and 'talking heads' that Islam is the religion of peace and that the vast majority of Muslims just want to live in peace. Although this unqualified assertion may be true, it is entirely irrelevant. It is meaningless fluff, meant to make us feel better, and meant to somehow diminish the specter of fanatics rampaging across the globe in the name of Islam.
The fact is that the fanatics rule Islam at this moment in history; it is the fanatics who march...it is the fanatics who wage any one of 50 shooting wars worldwide. It is the fanatics who systematically slaughter Christian or tribal groups throughout Africa and are gradually taking over the entire continent in an Islamic wave. It is the fanatics who bomb, behead, murder, or honour-kill. It is the fanatics who take over mosque after mosque. It is the fanatics who zealously spread the stoning and hanging of rape victims and homosexuals. It is the fanatics who teach their young to kill and to become suicide bombers..
The hard, quantifiable fact is that the peaceful majority, the 'silent majority,' is cowed and extraneous.
Communist Russia was comprised of Russians who just wanted to live in peace, yet the Russian Communists were responsible for the murder of about 20 million people. The peaceful majority were irrelevant. China 's huge population was peaceful as well, but Chinese Communists managed to kill a staggering 70 million people.
The average Japanese individual prior to World War II was not a warmongering sadist. Yet, Japan murdered and slaughtered its way across Southeast Asia in an orgy of killing that included the systematic murder of 12 million Chinese civilians; most killed by sword, shovel, and bayonet.
And who can forget Rwanda , which collapsed into butchery. Could it not be said that the majority of Rwandans were 'peace loving'?
History lessons are often incredibly simple and blunt, yet for all our powers of reason, we often miss the most basic and uncomplicated of points:
Peace-loving Muslims have been made irrelevant by their silence.
Peace-loving Muslims will become our enemy if they don't speak up, because like my friend from Germany , they will awaken one day and find that the fanatics own them, and the end of their world will have begun.
Peace-loving Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, Rwandans, Serbs, Afghans, Iraqis, Palestinians, Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians, and many others have died because the peaceful majority did not speak up until it was too late. As for us who watch it all unfold, we must pay attention to the only group that counts--the fanatics who threaten our way of life.
Lastly, anyone who doubts that the issue is serious and just deletes this email without sending it on, is contributing to the passiveness that allows the problems to expand. So, extend yourself a bit and send this on and on and on! Let us hope that thousands, world-wide, read this and think about it, and send it on - before it's too late.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
End Email
I would like to know who uses the word "Orgy" when discussing a massacre? The way I see it the author of this only used the word to add shock value.
My Response to this:
Wow, what a fascinating piece of absolute garbage this is. I find it beyond amusing that a message of warning about the importance of involvement has been twisted from its original meaning in to something deigned to further incite fear and mistrust of people not like us. The facts, yes most Germans were not true Nazi's and most saw the Nazi political movement as a return to German pride and fundamental values. However rather than compare them to the Muslims, let’s compare them to two parties that they more closely resemble, The Neo Conservatives, and the Tea Party (both parties in the United States, not radical Islam). The Nazi rise to power was done in stages and was by all historical accounts conducted brilliantly (even though it was for completely nefarious means). Many are unaware of why the Nazi's were allowed to rise to power and the answer lays in Joseph Goebbels the Nazi party Propaganda minister. What everyone should know and remember is the Nazi's did not "seize" control by force, they did so through a brilliantly executed propaganda campaign aimed at two things, German pride and fear, and using these items were able to gain a majority seat in German parliament. The first item, German pride, is easy to explain, it’s obvious that most people want a reason to be proud of their country, however pride has a funny way of slipping in to the realm of viewing yourself as superior to others and such makes you feel as though you have right to judge. We are all guilty of this even me, however it is important to realize it and reel it back when it goes too far, a quality that the Tea Party and most Neo Cons do not possess. The second item is fear, in both the case of the United States and Germany it is fear of a shadowy, and mostly intangible enemy, which according to the party pushing the message is "Hell bent on destroying our way of life". The truth is, we are doing the job of the "Radical Islamists" for them, as we allow our own radicals (like Glenn Beck) to sow the seeds of unrest and xenophobia in to our population and thus preventing real progress in our society. The crater that still remains in New York City is proof, as rebuilding ground zero is beleaguered by petty squabbling over what should be allowed there. If we allow emails like this to circulate then we only further the position of divisive nut jobs that require your fear to give their message power. I recommend anyone that thinks the message I have referenced here is legit, go to a Mosque or prayer center and meet these so called shadowy evil people hell bent on destroying our way of life. I think you will find most, if not all of them, are more afraid of you then you are of them and that all they want are the same things you do, safety, security, and prosperity for them and their families. Some people will say “Well that doesn’t include the extremists” your right it doesn’t, but if you don’t think for one minute that we have more American’s in the United States plotting the destruction of our country than we do Muslims than your SORELY misinformed.
I will leave this entry with a quote and a thought:
“They came first for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for me
and by that time no one was left to speak up.”
- Pastor Martin Niemöller
If you don’t know who Martin Niemöller is I suggest you look him up, his writings’ will give you great insight to what we may face as Americans in the future. Except one major difference, ours will look like this…
They came first for the Muslims,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Muslim…
We still have the ability to choose to adhere to what is right and good about our great nation, and to live by the qualities of freedom for all that we tout in front of the world. Our freedoms are what make us the envy of all other nations, if we sacrifice them to fear of that which is different than we are no better than those we fight.
Why I started this.
I receive on average 10 emails a day from people I know about various subjects designed to incite fear in me about some new threat looming, weather it be Muslims, Aliens, Barrack Obama, or whatever, all were designed to do one thing, scare me in to consent, consent for people to advance motives against the very nature of my being and the foundation of the United States. I don't expect to save the world with a blog, but I hope to pass some of my education on these matters to those around me. Those of you who send the emails, please keep sending them, I enjoy reading the latest terror tactic being used, and I enjoy deconstructing them, so please keep them coming as this as turned in to something of a hobby for me.
-Mark
-Mark
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