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Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist
What is it he's telling you that the PC outrage is avoiding?
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I mean, there's this.
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Originally Posted by Barack Obama, last week
The truth of the matter is that this is an issue that has been sort of manufactured, because there is no doubt, and I've said repeatedly that where we see terrorist organizations like al-Qaeda or ISIL, they have perverted and distorted and tried to claim the mantle of Islam for an excuse, for basically barbarism and death. These are people who kill children, kill Muslims, take sex slaves - there's no religious rationale that would justify in any way any of the things that they do.
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That's been the line from the Democratic party for years. It's utter nonsense, and Obama knows he's completely full of crap when he says this stuff. Of course the rationale for ISIS's actions is religious. ISIS has explicit, clear textual justification for everything they do, from the Qu'ran or Hadiths. Muhammad was a warlord from the dark ages. ISIS is just following in his footsteps; there's nothing they do that their prophet didn't do, or sanction, according to scripture.
However, the reason for this dishonesty on Obama's part is pretty simple:
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Originally Posted by Barack Obama, also last week
What I learned from listening to some of these Muslim families both in the United States and overseas is that when you start calling these organizations Islamic terrorists, the way it's heard, the way it's received by our friends and allies around the world is that somehow Islam is terroristic. And that then makes them feel as if they're under attack. In some cases, it makes it harder for us to get their cooperation in fighting terrorism.
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Basically, most people are stupid, and can't understand that our problem isn't with Muslims generally, but rather the subset of Muslims who either support or carry out terrible acts. So we have to indulge that stupidity and pretend that those other Muslims doing terrible things either are "using Islam as an excuse" and "perverting a great religion" so that we can keep them as allies. That's a pretty cynical and depressing view, but he seems to think it's absolutely the case that the Muslims we need as allies are in fact just that dense and myopic.
Hey, I haven't posted a clip from the West Wing for a while.
But that's an example of what people are frustrated with, as they see it as lying in the name of cultural sensitivity while people are being murdered in nightclubs. Unfortunately, when you fail to speak honestly about the religious motivations of killers, that does frustrate people. And it opens the door for any demagogue to come in and "tell it like it is", even if the message he offers is the product of a mind incapable of thinking about complex issues above a fourth grade level. Obama and Hillary won't speak honestly about the problem, but I'm confident that they at least do
understand it, even if they can't say so owing to their read of the diplomatic landscape. Trump doesn't have a clue.