I don't know what I've done to piss you off...

Stay strong.

a reply to: CharlieSpeirs

Bigots will hate whoever they can get away with hating. That's usually whatever minority demographic is most conveniently used as a scapegoat.

The most obvious ones are easiest to deal with because they will say over-the-top racist/bigoted things and get in trouble for it. That problem takes care of itself.

It's the other fear-filled, pitchfork-wielding, witch-burning zealots out there who need to bully people but want to feel justified in doing so. These people are smart. They know which slurs they can get away with and which implications they can assert so, when they are accused of their vile ignorance, they can turn around and play victim.

I am sorry the focus is on your demographic right now. It really sucks. Just wait and they'll move on to hating somebody else.

a reply to: CharlieSpeirs

Charlie, I was also thinking about regardless of religion, you are a shining example of how accepting God into your life can help people. You inspire all theists...including myself.

Wow I'm sorry I haven't had time to respond to you all, I've been pretty busy this evening.

I must say the supportive words from all of you has been remarkable to read and really cheered me up.



To Phylli, my intention isn't to say "poor me", it's more a point to say what can I do to change attitudes.



Overall, I'm humbled completely and appreciate all of the time you've gone to express yourselves in this thread.


I love this place, and you guys.

X

Charlie, you are nothing short of a role model on here. You are kind, you are patient, you listen, you offer support. You're a loving person with an enormous heart. If some refuse to see you for you, they're only seeing what they desire-- a scapegoat. You are NO ONE'S scapegoat.

As for the "woe is me" Christian posters getting their whining in, nobody's calling for YOU to be nuked til you glow. Every human demographic is mocked for one reason or another at some point. A select few have to listen to continuous calls for being snuffed from existence en masse. You're not one of them, but thanks for playing the pity party card anyway.

a reply to: CharlieSpeirs

Rock on Charlie.
Pay no attention to the idiots behind the curtain.

The true ATSers know a good guy when we see one.
And you are one of those.

a reply to: Nyiah

What do you mean ... "Woe is me Christians?"

We are simply pointing out that it is a part of parcel of faith. Today, it's the Muslims. It has been Christians, and it is always the Jews also. It has been the Buddhists at times too. Anytime you take a belief, people will seize on it to hate ... as you have.

a reply to: CharlieSpeirs

In the past 24 hours I've made a number of posts referring to peace-loving Muslims. I want you to know that you are at the head of those comments Charlie, I've read enough of your posts to know that you are the voice of reason within the Islamic community, and just like the rest of us, you want to live in harmony with all of your brothers and sisters who also share a desire to live in peace - irrespective of whether they follow a religion or not.

Keep fighting the good fight and hold fast.

originally posted by: Sublimecraft
a reply to: CharlieSpeirs

In the past 24 hours I've made a number of posts referring to peace-loving Muslims. I want you to know that you are at the head of those comments Charlie, I've read enough of your posts to know that you are the voice of reason within the Islamic community, and just like the rest of us, you want to live in harmony with all of your brothers and sisters who also share a desire to live in peace - irrespective of whether they follow a religion or not.

Keep fighting the good fight and hold fast.

Exactly. I don't care what my neighbors are so long as they are going to live and let live.

I may not agree with them. I may not believe the same. I may not even live the same.

But, if we can live and let live, then a lot of problems will be solved. Too bad so many people need the security blanket of having neighbors who look, think, act exactly like they do.

a reply to: CharlieSpeirs

I thought you are a hard core Christian and homosexuals collapse sociaty and non believers have no way to stop you when you get going about your private believes..

I don't get into it but I see it causing Extreme devision people get outraged

But I said it before I like that you bring faith to the table

So when and why did you convert?

Sadly, we live in a scary, scary time in terms of tolerance imho.

There was recently a poll in some state (Iowa I think?) in which 1/3 of voters responded to a survey saying they would support banning Islam outright.

People have a powerful, at times difficult to override or short-circuit, tendency towards binary, 100% all-or-nothing thinking. Cognitive dissonance is unpleasant for people, so many quickly arrive at a blanket conclusion which protects them from this feeling of nuanced ambivalence. Too often, that conclusion is one which ascribes the category of "other" or "enemy" wholesale to an entire subset of the species.

You are, regrettably, a member of the scapegoat of the decade (possibly century.) I hate to say it, but while I will lament it and decry it profoundly, I will not be at all surprised if Muslims end up like Japanese Americans during WW2 at some point in coming years/decades. Or worse.

None of this is to diminish what some Muslims - or, if you prefer, some who claim to be Muslims - have done. They have wrought horrendous losses of life and the deaths of countless innocents, and the world is, predictably and understandably, incensed and inflamed to outrage by these acts. Less understandably and less acceptably however, anyone anywhere near the target of that ire is going to get blasted, too.

I don't agree with it at all, and it breaks my heart frankly. But I've seen it coming for some time. I hope I'm wrong and it gets better. I hope people cling to their humanity in the face of such horrors instead of tearing one another apart. I always hope that. But it's not how things tend to go, alas.

I'm agnostic. I respect all faiths. I do not subscribe to guilt by association. I wish everyone peace.

That's all I can say. Best of luck.

I know the subject matter is a little different, but as a police officer when I get generalized and lumped into the same category with the "bad" officers it deeply upsets me.

Especially when I know how much I care about people and how hard I work to make my community a better place.

I can only imagine how you feel and have been treated just because of your religion. I always hear people say "a bad apple can spoil the bunch." In response to that I read somewhere that, "the last time I checked, we are humans and not fruit."

I know not all Muslims are bad, nor do they support such atrocities.

I am sorry and I do wish you the best.

a reply to: IAMTAT

Trust me...EVERYTHING you've said in your OP, can absolutely be applied to Christians and Jews, as well. I KNOW you've seen the hatred, insults and derogatory comments other people here experience regarding other religions they embrace....OR, for that matter, nasty sh!t thrown out here daily against people who believe ANY God.

And this is exactly why I have no stomach for religion.

The religious are the ones constantly going on about how wonderfully amazing, and loving their God is, yet their god hates anyone that is not in their particular religion, he curses and promotes killing of those that don't share the same religion. It doesn't matter if the different religions are worshiping the same god, they have to worship exactly the same way. There is no one with 2 working brain cells that can make any kind of rational sense sense out of some of the crap people use to justify their religion.

They will tell you we are a step above the other critters on this planet, and god loves us so much more, that he gave us free will, but they turn around wanting to kill members of the other religion, if someone chooses to enjoy that little gift from god.

They want you to believe that god loves you better than all living things, because we are his creations. But wait a minute..... didn't he create everything? I am trying to keep it simple. If the religious thinks that a person believing in Unicorns should be checked for mental impairment, they should try sitting down and reading their religious text with an unbiased eye, heart, and mind, and without making up excuses for the deliberate untruths that permeates the religious texts.

Religion has been a dividing chapter throughout history, yet throughout history if you follow the money, you always end up back in the lap of the guy carrying the biggest army and swords. Nothing has changed. Not then. Not now. We just keeping walking down the same path to destruction, time after time.

a reply to: CharlieSpeirs

Oh god I am such a dick

you have changed your avatar I mixed ur username with someone else here


MY BIGGEST APPOLOGIES

I am so used to ur orange dog avatar and location

God you are one of the coolest people on Ats... no no no no ..I am banging my head

No way ...you are so good .. I like you and your views... my bad my bad my bad.. I went for a walk then I am like hold up ...ran home yep wrong person..

yeah never in million years would I think This thread belonged to you
Forgive me I am so so dumb.. Not cool sorry Charlie

Hi Charlie, another well written thread buddy.

I think the first thing we can all do is stop calling these terrorist ISIS, ISIL or any other connotation connecting them to Islam or giving them a name that legitimises their so called Islamic State. Lets start calling these terrorist ‘Daesh’ just as the French and US are now doing.

Since they are a terrorist group, and not a state, the term DAESH has started to become popular since it’s believed using the other terminology indirectly legitimises them. I prefer DAESH because the Muslims terrorists hate the term and what they don’t like has an instinctive appeal to me.

So what does Daesh mean? In fact, it is extensively used among Arabic speakers across the Middle East - in the media and on the street - to represent IS. It is an Arabic acronym derived from the phrase "al Dawlah al-Islameyah fi Iraq wal-Sham" - literally "Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham".

But as well as being an Arabic acronym, "daesh" means a person who creates disunity. In addition, it sounds in Arabic like the word "daas", meaning someone who crushes something underfoot - with overtones of humiliation and a lack of dignity.

Arabic speakers are fully aware of the negative connotations of Daesh when they use it, and of the implied insult to the organisation.

"I don't know what i have done to piss you off"..........

Well, apart from the usual "everything is the Tories fault".......... (kidding)

Don't worry about it. Many many people are decent but then some are just idiots. Muslims are evil seems to be the popular cry of the times.......the people spouting this off don't seem to realise they are showing the same type of blind hatred that ISIL (and others of their ilk) are so fond of.

ISIL are not representative of Muslims. They are representive of kiddy fiddling, slave taking and dealing, thieving, murdering scumbags. If someone happens to fit this bill, then fantastic - they have perfect role models and idols.

Hate begets hate and is therefore completely pointless. More so when aimed at completely innocent people just because they happened to share the same religion.

Are we as a society going down the guilt by (weak) association route? Well, if so, im a lefty and other famous left handers include Alexander The Great, Emperor Tiberius, Rameses II, Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, Otto Von Bismarck and Jack the Ripper - you had all better watch out cos im coming for you!

It is clear from his OP, that Charlie is feeling very unsafe, insecure and threatened here on the ATS campus...and that must not stand!

Therefore, in the name of Social Media Justice, I propose the following changes take place immediately:

1.) ALL perceived Microagressions against Charlie and all like-minded ATS Muslims must end now

2.) THIS thread should immediately be designated a 'SAFE SPACE', where only Charlie and other like-minded ATS members of the Muslim faith may exclusively gather to share their feelings of fear, insecurity and persecution...(all members of the media, as well as members not of the Muslim faith, will be forcibly ejected from this designated 'SAFE SPACE')

3.) The President of ATS must resign and be replaced either with Charlie, or another like-minded ATS member of the Muslim faith

4.) ALL discussion on ATS of the ISIS terrorist attacks in Paris be immediately suspended, so as to not detract from the attention due this much more important issue

More demands to follow...

The time for change now!

#charliespearslivesmatter

Je suis Charlie!

a reply to: IAMTAT

Not sure if you were trying to be funny in your last post but if so then stop being facetious.

I assume (after reading your previous posts) that your response was connected to what is happening in that US campus at the moment. If so you're off topic and this thread is not the place for that debate.

a reply to: flammadraco

It was ON topic. Get off your high horse.
If you're trying to keep me from posting my ideas to help Charlie, you should probably call for some muscle.

originally posted by: flammadraco
a reply to: IAMTAT

Not sure if you were trying to be funny in your last post but if so then stop being facetious.

I assume (after reading your previous posts) that your response was connected to what is happening in that US campus at the moment. If so you're off topic and this thread is not the place for that debate.

Wrong. The post was COMPLETELY RELEVANT in all respects. Here Charlie is saying, in effect, "Oh, woe is me, somebody doesn't like what I said and now they're picking on me." And then comes everyone supporting poor Charlie, the Muslim, saying, "Stick to your guns, Charlie. Don't let the haters get to you!"

And yet, if you're in a Muslim-dominated country and expressed the exact same views as Charlie here while saying you are a Christian, what kind of tolerance do you think would be afforded you? You actually know what would happen, don't you? You would be accused of blasphemy and stoned or beheaded.

Why? Because Muslim cultures are completely intolerant. There's no such thing as free speech. You cannot get away with your life if you do anything save praise Allah. People get killed simply for BEING Christian or Gay or any of a number of other things even if they say nothing at all.

Now you'll say "Not all Muslims are that way" and I agree. But ENOUGH are that the situation, when you reverse it, is intolerable. So if it's not the Muslims, then who the hell is it? You guys are going around with your fingers in your ears and your eyes shut loudly proclaiming there is no such thing as radical Islam. And it's great that a few Muslims are protesting ISIS with #notinourname and all. I applaud this, but it is a trickle against a tide of prejudice and bigotry and intolerance as expressed by Muslim-dominant cultures where every freedom you hold dear would have its throat slit. Why don't you get that? Your denials will ultimately result in more deaths, for which you can take some of the responsibility.

Whining that you are not well treated coming from a culture that puts no limits on ill treating others is hypocrisy at its finest.