Different day, different point. You will note that I do not spare Christianity nor Judaism from the charge that they are religions essentially founded on the basis of culture wars and ethnic cleansing.PuerAzaelis wrote:Oh, for the Namdrol of old.Malcolm wrote:I think that you are not properly distinguishing the power differential between ourselves, and those who live in muslim nations, most of which are second and third world nations.
For example, if a white person is biased against black people, this is a more powerful kind of bias than one group of black people having bias against another, for example, the frequent bias black people raised in American express against black people raised elsewhere, and vice versa.
One can expect bias against Muslims from Jeff Sessions. The fact that Harris so shamelessly promotes his bias against Islam is nothing short of appalling.
I suspect it is extremely aggravating for people (such as Sam Harris) to have their words proof-texted. But, well, c'est la vie, once that mud starts flying, things tend to spiral out of control. Hell, before you know it, you're living in some place called Moscow in 1934 and there's no court of appeal and that court officer with the jackboots and revolver is making you nervous.
But I forget myself. One man's bigotry is another man's subtle postmodernist critique. As we all know. Since we are all enlightened post-enlightenment whatever-we-ares-based-upon-our-present-whim. Indeed, one man's bigotry may be another man's championing of the downtrodden and the oppressed, who all, I have no doubt, would unhesitatingly appreciate all of his sentiments without question. And if they did question these sentiments, well, no need to take the noble savages at their word. They are oppressed, therefore delusional, so our words can be safely uttered in order to liberate them, after all. As long as you are preaching to the correct choir. Or talking about the perfectly appropriate topic, "power differential", as opposed to, I dunno, cultures, or books, or ideologies, or belief-systems or ... well whatever topic it is that makes your points valid and the other man's invalid.
What we are witnessing now is a fundamentally Christian exercise of power over the Muslim world. Terrorism against Western populations is a direct consequence of US wars of aggression the Middle East, and the failure of an anti-Commiunist foreign policy that made crucial policy errors in the 50's, not limited to the CIA's replacement of Mosedeq with the Pahlavi family in Iran.
I fully understand the anxiety of Europeans who are fearful. I also think that the Harris response, i.e., to try and blame Muslim terrorist behavior on books absurd.
The difference between what I am saying and what Harris says is that I am saying is that monotheism itself is the problem, not any of its particular expressions.
I am not apologizing for Islam, I saying that Harris is a bigot who has problems with Muslims based on their belonging to a religion. For example he claims:
"While the other major world religions have been fertile sources of intolerance, it is clear that the doctrine of Islam poses unique problems for the emergence of a global civilization...The only future devout Muslims can envisage—as Muslims—is one in which all infidels have been converted to Islam, politically subjugated, or killed."
This statement is such absolute bullshit coming from a person who lives among Fundie Christians in the US. His laughable defense of the Second Iraq war is equally pathetic.
He summarizes, "It is not at all clear how we should proceed in our dialogue with the Muslim world." Yes, it is not at all clear when one engages in dehumanizing and humiliating others based on what you imagine they believe.
The entire point is reform. How do you not get that?!
