tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-480763369736326403.post7456750038974873530..comments2023-06-08T18:12:39.596-04:00Comments on Water Over Rocks: Kristof v PeretzAndy Bachmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12793260246107995501noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-480763369736326403.post-23966586906886702052010-09-14T08:37:42.015-04:002010-09-14T08:37:42.015-04:00And who brought in Britney Spears? The White Man!...And who brought in Britney Spears? The White Man!DP Greenbergnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-480763369736326403.post-12430315891594379602010-09-13T23:35:40.783-04:002010-09-13T23:35:40.783-04:00David--I think Peretz's point was your last po...David--I think Peretz's point was your last point, only he said it less elegantly.Andy Bachmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12793260246107995501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-480763369736326403.post-60491401934598666312010-09-13T21:26:18.059-04:002010-09-13T21:26:18.059-04:00In his characteristically venal screed against Mus...In his characteristically venal screed against Muslims, Peretz writes that "Muslim life is cheap, most notably to Muslims." If you've ever seen the Vietnam era documentary, "Hearts and Minds," you know that General Westmoreland couldn't have said it better himself. Like all warring people's we Americans have a way of casting the worst kind of global, racist aspersions on whatever group we are presently in conflict. Nobody likes terrorism [okay Yitzak Shamir and Manchem Begin kind of did], but where is the basis for singling out Islam in contrast to any other religion for this kind of scrutiny.<br /><br />The United States of America, a predominantly Christian nation, has started or barged its way into one conflict after another around the world since the end of WWII. The result has usually been death, destruction and hatred of our country. But are Christians as a group ever called upon to defend their faith against imprecations of this sort? Were the Bosnian Serbs? Are we Jews, whose sacred text, the Torah, may be the birthplace of irredentism, routinely called upon to defend the validity of our religion in response to the horrid actions of our own terrorists (again, Begin Shamir, Jabotinsky and Goldstein come to mind) and a forty year occupation? Okay, we are sometimes are, at least in the Middle East, but a lot of us don't like it very much, so why turn around and do it to others?<br /><br />I'm not denying that Islam is the primary religion of some of the more backward societies in the world. But, as you well know, the history of religion coincides with the history of using religion to perpetrate atrocities, war and hegemony over others. That's not necessarily a reason to condemn religion since those who are willing to do these things would find some other ideological underpinning were religion not such a handy one.<br /><br />Don't buy into this stupid way of framing complicated issues. It's not a conversation worth having, which I realize is all you are suggesting. If there are Muslims who do bad things or don't raise enough questions about other Muslims who perpetrate atrocities, it isn't because they belong to a particular religion. It's because they are willing to desecrate their own religion by using it as an excuse to do bad things.DP Greenbergnoreply@blogger.com