As individuals, Muslims might be your nice neighbors,
but in groups...Allahu akbar.
This reminds me of the various kinds of American shorthand we use to dismiss ideas we don't like. I probably do it myself; after all, the idea that anyone is or should be completely "open-minded" --another shorthand-- is ridiculous. An open-minded man of deep conviction....
Anyway, if you think, for instance, that boys and girls could benefit from being educated in same-sex classes for part of their schooling, all someone has to say is, "Yeah, separate but equal."
This evokes the (officially, as opposed to unofficially) segregated education system of the South before the Supreme Court famously dismantled it. The shorthand tars you with the burden of proving that you are not a segregationist. Apples and oranges, but it usually brings the discussion to a halt. As it should. Because anyone who uses these phrases has zero interest in discuussion.
Another one, connected to my theme here, workplace jihad, is the old line, "Some of my best friends are..." Here again, we are supposed to understand immediately that it is rank hypocrisy to befriend individuals of a group that you may not have, as a group, a high or even friendly opinion of.
Dopey.
Individuals and friends ought not be treated or thought of in the same way as groups or strangers. I know this is heresy to the (talk about hypocritical) high-minded assumptions of our cultural betters, but it is a simply human truth.
An idiosyncratic friend who is an armchair Marxist is one thing; Marxists in groups and therefore able to exercise power...another thing entirely. A Muslim colleague or associate here or there is one thing. But Muslims in groups...
-------------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment