“Muslim is the new gay” - Mark Steyn, Macleans Magazine
The writer than goes on to make a case for a conspiracy theory that TV and Movies are being used to make Muslims seem not as dangerous, a strategy used in the past:
“The intent is the same: to make Islam, like homosexuality, something only uptight squares are uncool with” - Mark Steyn, Macleans Magazine
This is coming from a magazine that describes it self as “Canada’s weekly current affairs magazine”
Lets put aside the “freedom of speech” argument here, Macleans has the right to be as Islamophobic & Homophobic as the law permits but ask your self this, what if this same article was about Jews or African Americans?
The left & the centre left has come out against these attacks but why haven’t the right, conservatives, libertarians, etc. come out against this strange conspiracy that is offensive to both Muslims & Homosexuals?
Majority of conservative thinkers & bloggers would cry foul, rightly so, if someone denied the holocausts or argued about a Jewish media conspiracy, that type of hateful behavior should have no place in Canadian society.
Majority of conservatives also (at some level) embraced the cause of African Americans and speak out against bigotry and attacks that put down that community. (except when a black man tries to run for President, reducing one’s politics to racial generalizations seems to be the norm on Fox News)
However, when Muslims are being put down, its freedom of speech…etc.
In this case, Mark Steyn shows his talent of being hateful in an indirect way because he manges to try to play off people’s homophobia as well by associating the two together and claiming some mass conspiracy, a crazy thought to even imagine and smells similar to the “Jewish mass media takeover” conspiracy that first raised its head in the 1930’s. Back than it was acceptable to discriminate against certain religions & races. Today, it isn’t or at least it shouldn’t. So why are claims made to put down Muslims, simply for the fact that they are Muslim, being accepted as valid opinions?
If anything, Muslims are the new Jews & African Americans because its now acceptable to directly & indirectly put down Muslims and if the Muslim community cries foul, people all of a sudden discover freedom of speech.
This type of double standard is becoming so blunt that its no wonder many Muslims feel like they are being discriminated against by those who claim to champion the cause of “freedom of speech” when all they ask for is to be treated with the same respect and dignity as other religions.
To Muslims, I say, keep fighting for your rights as Jews & African Americans had to in the past. This is not a question of freedom of speech, its a question of basic respect and decency. Most Canadians know the difference and they are on your side.
Ha ha … Godwin’s Law comes into play right in the first post :)
“”As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one.”"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law