Maggie's Farm

Please! It's one thing to hunt down vicious terrorists, and prosecute criminals of all sorts. But this tarring of all Muslims with the same brush as Al Qaeda is unworthy of you all.

We all have our own prejudices and passions. Mine are as arbitrary as the next person's. My favorite graffiti ever was the spray painted sign on a Charles River bridge that said "Castrate rapists!" In real life, having worked with abused kids, I'd like to institute the death penalty for people who molest kids, to name one. A bleeding heart, yes, but not liberal when it comes to just punishments for evil deeds.

But this sneering at Muslims offends me. It's as vulgar as that picture of those revolting illegals you posted a while back, making rude gestures at the camera. I do not believe that the only good Muslim is a dead Muslim. As Christians, aren't we supposed to have grown beyond an eye for an eye? My English ancestors believed that about some of my other dead ancestors (the Indians). We are supposed to have advanced?

If you made the kinds of sweeping generalizations about Jews or gays that you do about Muslims, you would be pulverized by the rest of your Maggies' contributors. I'm not so bothered by what you say about feminists, liberals, tree-huggers, etc. because those are abstractions, not real people. All of us can insult the excesses of particular political agendas. But to suspect and insult an entire category of people on the basis of the core of their identity, their religious faith, that seems loathsome to me, especially coming from a bunch of otherwise admirable, God-fearing guys.

Do you know any Muslims? I do. Same mix of good and evil as we Christians. God calls us all, Christian, Jew, Muslim, etc. alike to fight evil, whatever clothes it is wearing. I think the Devil wears many masks.

I write this not because I am soft on terrorists. I grew up in countries where one was constantly at risk of bombs, kidnappings by terrorists. I'd never be sentimental about anyone who was prepared to blow civilians up. But being Christian didn't make the IRA any the less vicious than any Muslim suicide bomber. But people happily collect for them in American bars. I always used to hope someone would ask me so I could spit in their eye.

Enough. Still upset by the Delta pilot's story, but not so upset, I hope, that I lash out in blind rage at an entire religion.