Most of what Americans know about history, government, politics, and current events they learn from watching television. And most of that is not from watching news or public affairs program but from watching television dramas or even comedies. That television dramas have enormous power in influencing opinion very nearly goes without saying. That’s not just true in the United States. An astonishing number of Britons learned all they know about criminal law by watching Law and Order. The police in the UK frequently have arrestees demand that they be “read their rights”, something not nearly as significant in the UK but a staple of U. S. police procedurals.
One of the freshman network television dramas this season is Conviction. It’s about a task force of young, attractive lawyers with the job of determining whether convictions were just or unjust. It’s also sort of a re-imagining of Chelsea Clinton in the same way that The American President or The West Wing were re-imaginings of the Clinton Administration or Madam Secretary is a re-imagining of Hillary Clinton. But that’s irrelevant to my point in this post.
Last night’s episode centered around the bombing of a mosque and, frankly, it bugged me. To the best of my knowledge no mosque in the U. S. has ever been bombed. Promoting the idea that American Muslims have a legitimate fear of having their places of worship attacked by anti-Muslim bigots is IMO irresponsible and may spill over into propaganda. It’s particularly irresponsible in the light of the “defending Islam” excuse that radical Muslim extremist terrorists provide as a justification for their crimes.
Here’s the ACLU’s list of “anti-mosque activities”. Many of them, while obnoxious, are legitimate expressions of freedom of speech, e.g. threats on Facebook, dropping burned copies of the Qur’an on doorsteps. And no bombings. The closest activity to a bombing they list is the detonation of a couple of pipe bombs outside a mosque.
The United States is a country of 320 million people. In a country of that size there are bound to be a few nutcases or drunken fools. Promoting that as an actual threat is irresponsible. Even when a major party presidential candidate is a blowhard given to making anti-Muslim remarks or remarks that may be construed that way.
Do you know who has a legitimate fear? Jews. Synagogues have actually been bombed and every year or so a plot to blow up a synagogue is disrupted. According to the FBI’s latest statistics, hate crimes against Jews outnumber hate crimes against Muslims nearly 10 to 1. This despite the fact that there isn’t even a pretext of a rational basis for it. At least not among Americans.
And, of course, there have been many, many more bombings of Christian churches in the U. S. than there have been of mosques or synagogues. Just not in proportion to the number of Christians in the country.
No way. Pretty soon you will be telling me that a Republican campaign office was bombed and the “news” media hardly covered it. Or the FBI looked the other way on a SoS and their illegal/irresponsible conduct with national security implications.
At least we’ve been bludgeoned with the obvious, that Trump is boorish.
Hardly surprising. Once you’ve decided that political action by people you disagree with is the moral equivalent of war, the next step is bombing their command and control centers.
The worst mosque attack I’m aware of is the arson attack on Omar Mateen’s (of Pulse nightclub Massacre infamy) mosque from several weeks back. Done when the building was empty. I don’t recall hearing anything about the alleged arsonist’s motivations.
Get used to writers relying on deranged Trump supporters as stock villains. It’s a gold mine, as far as plotting goes. Trump’s campaign was basically lifted from a rejected West Wing season arc.
Of course 3 men were just arrested for planning to bomb a mosque and there’s a lot of arson on that list of harmless speech acts against mosques.
And this is a country of 320 million people. That there has not been a rash of mosque bombings means that it’s just the incidental crackpot.
But, please, why? Why does the left raise up antisemitic, homophobic, pedarests who hold women as despised property, deny them even exposure to sunlight, or conversation, or education. Are they really that desperate for minority groups to exploit?
Or maybe it’s got to do with who they hang with, and funds them. Saudi Arabia, Huma Abedin,Vallerie Jarret.
I think it’s foolish to dissmiss claims this Government has effectively been infitrated by the Muslim Brotherhood.
… Republican campaign office …
Let me translate for the unenlightened:
Republican = deplorable
campaign office = basket
bombing = exterminating (pest/vermin control)
exterminating “Basket of Deplorables” = righteous act
(Actually, any non-progressive is deplorable, and yes, that means the toady Republicans. It also means the classic liberals. If you cannot understand why somebody would bomb a Republican campaign office, or exterminate the “Deplorables in a Basket”, you must be deplorable.)
There has not been a rash of bombings of GOP HQs. In a country of 320 million this one incident is just an incidental crackpot.
Wish we had been bludgeoned with the even more obvious, that Trump is a crook.
Steve
Trump is a crook? Yeah, he’s the only one running, LOL! AND he’s Worse Than Hitler ™!