700 Club... I think I just pissed off my dad

[YaarghMatey487]

My dad just emailed me a link to this http://www.youtube.com/embed/A3YQANdvvbY . Subject heading: This is where the US is headed. My response was both scathing and concise.

That's one of the most stupid things I've ever seen. There have been numerous crimes against Muslims by conservative Christians. "only the police" ... that's a load of bullshit. France has some of the most rigorous standards for assimilation in all of Europe. You are not allowed to wear any sort of religious affiliated clothing in schools and government offices (including burqas). The "white minority" is absolutely not treated like a minority by the French government. There have been several laws in the past few years that have specifically singled out Muslims and other religions. Do you know why so many Muslims live in France? I'll tell you... France stuck its nose into Muslim countries and advertised job opportunities in France. The shop owner's story is very sad but it is NOT a real representation of the French Muslim dynamic. There was an incident a few years ago where Christians who didn't even live in this certain Muslim area of Paris decided to hold a street party with alcohol and pork- just because they felt like being vindictive assholes. Did the Muslim community threaten violence? NO. They said that they were going to peacefully have their own party that served religiously approved food. No violence, just peaceful disagreement. Paranoid delusions about people you don't even know are dangerous and they poison your soul. Don't send me anything like this again. I don't appreciate it.
Furthermore, the 700 Club has boasted "news" stories such as Haiti deserving all of the damage inflicted during a natural disaster. Haiti is one of the most religious (Christian) countries in the Caribbean. The 700 club claimed that God was mad at the Haitians because they had turned away from Him. This is not medieval Europe. God doesn't get pissed off and punish an entire (already impoverished) country and act like a pissed off teenager.


He's supposed to drive my brother up to my house (a 6 hour drive) this Friday... I hope they're still coming.

[Ulver]

I think they get over it eventually. My dad's anger about my being a "heathen" has waned a bit. Hopefully it won't be a huge issue.

[Melmoth]

I have to say I understand (to an extent) what the video is implying towards the beginning. I can appreciate multi-culturalism insofar as it works like a sort of cultural secularism - a neutrality towards cultural background which results in everyone getting treated fairly and equally. However some imperatives that present themselves under the 'multi-cultural' banner can be more segregating than unifying. Sometimes 'multi-culturalism' does mean putting a dome around different cultural groups and saying that different standards apply. A good example of this being the establishment of separate, sharia courts here in the UK - an ugly idea in my opinion.

I think you're absolutely right, however, in everything that you've said to your father. Hopefully he'll get over it.

Edit: realised I'd used a word that didn't exist.

[YaarghMatey487]

@Melmoth- I absolutely agree with you. Most of my rage came from the fact that (here in the US any way) people are terrified of diversity in any form. The simple of existence of Muslims living any any area makes people want to run for the hills. Another incredibly frustrating issue I run into is that since the US is so geographically isolated we don't have to deal with the amount of/type of "problems" that exist elsewhere. Since the vast majority of Americans only speak their native English they have no real drive to investigate the happenings of the rest of the world (unless it's presented to them by an English only news source). I was also amused/annoyed by the fact that the story was about France. Most people here still (at least jokingly) hate France. I think we inherited that mindset from you Brits . My point is that, in order to create a fantasy about a marginalized white Christian "minority", the "news story" left out the usual jabs at French sissiness. I think I would rather listen to conservatives bitch about "freedom fries" than trying to completely trivialize what is considered an otherwise complex issue in a country that many Americans know little to nothing about. Blah. I know I'm ranting. I think I'll go make dinner....

[Melmoth]

Most people here still (at least jokingly) hate France. I think we inherited that mindset from you Brits

Haha probably. I've been watching this very annoying but funny anime called Hetalia that's good for summing up that kind of thing. Not a bad idea. If you personify nations and their attitudes towards one another, we all look pretty bloody stupid:

[youtube:star8sqr]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGUQfJ7xfME[/youtube:star8sqr]

[DrArkaneX]

In my area, Middle Tennessee, there was a mosque going up in Murfreesboro, TN.  The locals went apeshit.  Luckily, some people from Nashville got involved and well... sorta smacked the locals and the council that was voting on it.  It really shouldn't have been an issue.  I personally don't care if they build a church, mosque, whatever... fine with me..  But you know what the ironic part about this was, Murfreesboro, TN has one of the highest populations of Asian Buddhists in the South East.  Hell, they have a monestery on the outskirts of town and the moment you walk in, you'd swear you were not in Middle Tennessee.  All this hatred towards one another when both religions speak of peace.  The way I read the scriptures (both Bible and Koran) are yes, they are peaceful religions, unless you are not part of their religion, then it gets messy..

But on the issue with your Dad, go easy on him..  Some people aren't wired the same and able to take reality very well.  This also reminds me of a joke.

Family was sitting at the dinner table and the two sons told their father that they are gay...  the father stood up and said "Seriously?  Who in this family likes pussy!"  The sister responded, "I do!"

[YaarghMatey487]

Yeah I live outside Nashville. I remember that whole debacle. Silliness all around. Speaking of religious diversity in Middle TN... The Frist gave a tour of the Sri Ganesha Temple this morning. I missed it but I hear it's rather nice. I've been to a buddhist "temple" in Nashville...what's the name of the one you're talking about?

[Tom62]

I think that the 700 Club gave a fairly objective presentation of the facts. I lived in Paris for 3,5 years. The situation in the Parisian suburbs (Banlieues) is a bad as reported. These suburbs can be best described as lawless North African territories, which are a breeding grounds for hate, violence, crimes, drugs,  intolerance and Muslim fundamentalism. Basically, generations of politicians can be blamed for escalating the situation to a point of no return. Similar situations can be found all over Western Europe, because politicians didn't want to hear about any problems that were in the making. The arrival and success of the popular "right wing" parties was a kind of wake-up call for the traditional liberal, socialist and conservative parties, because the old parties started to loose votes. So nowadays, the major question here (in France, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, etc.) is how can we defuse this ticking time-bomb, without causing a civil war.  Forbidding the wearing of veils and burkas in public doesn't seem to be the answer; nor the idea that you can continue to stick your head in the sand and pretend that everything is OK.

[OldGit]

In the UK things haven't yet got quite so bad, but I recognise a lot from that video.