Presbyterian Grannies in Dubuque
Well, there’s been another terrorist attack, this time in London, and our hearts certainly go out to the British; at least 53 are dead. It could have been worse; two unexploded bombs were found, and the bus blew up right outside a meeting of doctors. Still, this senseless brutality is appalling, and having gone through 9/11 almost four years ago, we can certainly empathize. Our prayers and hearts go out to our friends.
Now, this next comment is likely to earn me some scorn from any liberals reading this post. But I want to make a point, a pretty obvious one, it seems to me, and sometimes the best thing and the most noble thing we can do is to simply point out the truth, and it’s this: the terrorists are Arab Muslims. Earth-shattering, right? Well, judged by some of the ways we’ve responded in this country, you’d think so. I’m talking about our abhorrence to “racial profiling”.
Now…most Muslims, and most Arabs, are categorically not terrorists, nor terrorist sympathizers. I understand this. It’s a ludicrous conclusion to jump to, to think that the Arab man on your plane is probably going to try a hijack. Fair enough. But can I gently suggest that perhaps in America we’ve swung the pendulum just a bit too far? What I mean is this: I’ve flown recently, and the process went fairly smoothly, but there is this obsession, I think, to “not single anyone out”, and so we are completely random in our searching of individuals, and our security precautions. Hmmm…
Let’s recap, shall we? Of the 19 9/11 hijackers, how many of them fit any other description than young Arab male? Uhhh…zero. Oh, wait, you say, there has been some variance…you’re right! Occasionally, the terrorist is a young, Arab female. Oh, wait, you say, there’s Timothy McVeigh. Yes, yes there is…and I think that the term is “the exception that proves the rule”. Sure, in theory, anyone can be a terrorist, but am I out on a limb to say that there is one basic description of today’s terrorists that fits about 95% of the time?
Folks, it ain’t Presbyterian grandmothers from Dubuque who are blowing themselves up and flying planes into buildings. And while I am certainly not advocating anything like a witchhunt against Arabs, at the same time, maybe we’d do well to remember this.
This phrase comes from the 1978 "Jonestown massacre" in which most members of the Peoples Temple cult, blindly following their leader Jim Jones, committed suicide by drinking cyanide-laced Kool-Aid.
Osborne: A Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God
Schlossberg: Idols For Destruction
