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This is something I only learned about today, via this comment under this Facebook thread of a retweet by Wil Wheaton of another guy's tweet.
So, the gist is that, last year, some self-described "patriot" in Georgia planted some pipe bombs in a park along with a Qur'an and a list of "soft targets," with the explicit intention of trying to stir up sentiment against Muslims.
For some reason, it kind of surprises me... even though it really, really shouldn't... that someone would be this vile.
Oh, by the way... the thing about the dumbass Texas GOP state rep saying the stupid shit about Syrian refugees and guns seems to be legit as well, but I'll leave it as an exercise for the reader to look up more info on that. (EDIT) And then it turns out that none of the Paris attackers were even Syrian refugees to begin with, so yeah. (/EDIT)
Also, both in the wake of the recent Paris attacks and just in general, I feel it prudent to point out that not all (or even most) terrorists are Muslims. This is something to keep in mind, despite what most mass market media might otherwise try to have you believe (particularly the likes of Faux Noise and its ilk). This isn't so much me saying #NotAllMuslims, even though I guess I am. Rather, this is me trying (probably futilely) to correct the misconception apparently held by so many other people that #AllMuslimsAreTerrorists or that #MostTerroristsAreMuslims, which actually seems to be a thing, even though it is blatantly, objectively, provably not true.
(That said, however, in most cases, I do still feel pretty much the same about the "#NotAllMuslims" argument/excuse as I do about "#NotAllChristians" and "#NotAllMen" [EDIT] and "#NotAllGunOwners." [/EDIT] No, not all Muslims are terrorists. No, not all Christians are asinine, buttraging shitbags. No, not all men are misogynistic asshats and/or rapists or whatever. [EDIT] No, not all gun owners are psycho/sociopathic mass murderers. [/EDIT] But some are, and those are the ones who are the problem to be dealt with. Just sticking your head in the sand and crying "well, not all <insert maligned group here> are like that" is not helping to solve the problem. It's almost like you're saying "well, I'm a Muslim and I'm not an evil, murdering terrorist" or "I'm a Christian and I'm not a bigoted fuckwit" or "I'm a man and I'm not a scuzzbucket shit-for-brains who irrationally reviles women for no valid reason" [EDIT] or "I'm a gun owner and I'm not an insane killer" [/EDIT] as though saying this means you deserve a medal or a cookie or something, just because you're demonstrating that you are acting within the bounds of what most people consider to be basic, unremarkable human decency. That's why, I think, people have issues with and rightfully belittle most of the "#NotAll<Whatever>" kneejerk reactions. That's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it.
But then, with that said, it does seem to be the case that a lot of people actually do seem to mistakenly believe that all Muslims are terrorists, or even just that most terrorists are Muslims, more so than anyone believes that all Christians are racist, bigoted, douchenozzles or that all men are women-hating shitstains on the underwear of humanity [EDIT] or that all gun owners are insane, evil anus-crust failing to properly rein in their raging murder boners. [/EDIT] So... I don't know. Make of all of this what you will.)
So, the gist is that, last year, some self-described "patriot" in Georgia planted some pipe bombs in a park along with a Qur'an and a list of "soft targets," with the explicit intention of trying to stir up sentiment against Muslims.
For some reason, it kind of surprises me... even though it really, really shouldn't... that someone would be this vile.
Oh, by the way... the thing about the dumbass Texas GOP state rep saying the stupid shit about Syrian refugees and guns seems to be legit as well, but I'll leave it as an exercise for the reader to look up more info on that. (EDIT) And then it turns out that none of the Paris attackers were even Syrian refugees to begin with, so yeah. (/EDIT)
Also, both in the wake of the recent Paris attacks and just in general, I feel it prudent to point out that not all (or even most) terrorists are Muslims. This is something to keep in mind, despite what most mass market media might otherwise try to have you believe (particularly the likes of Faux Noise and its ilk). This isn't so much me saying #NotAllMuslims, even though I guess I am. Rather, this is me trying (probably futilely) to correct the misconception apparently held by so many other people that #AllMuslimsAreTerrorists or that #MostTerroristsAreMuslims, which actually seems to be a thing, even though it is blatantly, objectively, provably not true.
(That said, however, in most cases, I do still feel pretty much the same about the "#NotAllMuslims" argument/excuse as I do about "#NotAllChristians" and "#NotAllMen" [EDIT] and "#NotAllGunOwners." [/EDIT] No, not all Muslims are terrorists. No, not all Christians are asinine, buttraging shitbags. No, not all men are misogynistic asshats and/or rapists or whatever. [EDIT] No, not all gun owners are psycho/sociopathic mass murderers. [/EDIT] But some are, and those are the ones who are the problem to be dealt with. Just sticking your head in the sand and crying "well, not all <insert maligned group here> are like that" is not helping to solve the problem. It's almost like you're saying "well, I'm a Muslim and I'm not an evil, murdering terrorist" or "I'm a Christian and I'm not a bigoted fuckwit" or "I'm a man and I'm not a scuzzbucket shit-for-brains who irrationally reviles women for no valid reason" [EDIT] or "I'm a gun owner and I'm not an insane killer" [/EDIT] as though saying this means you deserve a medal or a cookie or something, just because you're demonstrating that you are acting within the bounds of what most people consider to be basic, unremarkable human decency. That's why, I think, people have issues with and rightfully belittle most of the "#NotAll<Whatever>" kneejerk reactions. That's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it.
But then, with that said, it does seem to be the case that a lot of people actually do seem to mistakenly believe that all Muslims are terrorists, or even just that most terrorists are Muslims, more so than anyone believes that all Christians are racist, bigoted, douchenozzles or that all men are women-hating shitstains on the underwear of humanity [EDIT] or that all gun owners are insane, evil anus-crust failing to properly rein in their raging murder boners. [/EDIT] So... I don't know. Make of all of this what you will.)
