With the Ground Zero Mosque controversy and this recent Gallup poll, liberal pundits are knee-jerking again and calling conservatives haters. Chris Matthews, for example, referred to this graph to claim that a majority of Republicans are bigots.
Respondents were asked if they have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Islam. Unless you give a dishonest, feel-good answer, why would someone say they have a favorable impression of the Muslim world? Are they famous for their charity? Their dynamic, innovative societies? Their humanitarianism? Their widely imitated cultural practices? Their advances in medicine? Their impressive international relations?
Of course not. They're famous for killing innocent people.
If Muslims don't like that reputation, then change it. Don't ask us to lie.
What jumps out at me is there is not one group in which the majority have a favorable view.
ReplyDeleteI would count those who "don't know" as cowards who really do know that they are scared of them and scared to say so.
My interpretation of the data:
ReplyDeleteThe older and wiser one gets, the more one properly holds Muslims in suspicion.
The more educated one gets, the more advanced one becomes at rationalizing stupid thinking about Muslims.
"The more educated one gets, the more advanced one becomes at rationalizing stupid thinking about Muslims."
ReplyDeleteGood point. We need to discern the difference between educated and credentialed. The BA degree is a credential. It is possible to obtain the credential without the correspondingly implied education.
Also, with 60% of college students women, we need to remember that "college" in polls will increasingly represent females disproportionally.
"Are they famous for their charity? Their dynamic, innovative societies? Their humanitarianism? Their widely imitated cultural practices? Their advances in medicine? Their impressive international relations? "
ReplyDeleteThey were, about 1000 years ago. ;)
The one good thing about this mosque going forward is it'll prove to the rest of the country that (a) NYers aren't all liberal idiots and (b) it might get the rest of the country to start thinking about immigration.