By the way, I DO divide the world into "good guys" and "bad guys".

[xiphias]

Just so you know: if you're against the building of an Islamic community center in Downtown Manhattan, you're one of the bad guys.

If you are saying, "well, sure, they have the LEGAL right to do it, but by putting it there, they're just being provocative," then you may not be particularly evil yourself, but you're intimidated by the evil people into being one of their henchmen. People doing completely normal things like building community centers aren't being provocative. The people who you are afraid they will provoke? Those are the bad guys. And if you are saying that they should modify their behaviors to do what the bad guys want, then you are saying that you support the bad guys.

And that means that you're one of the bad guys.

And THAT means that I find you a danger to me, personally. I'm Jewish. Right now, Jews are mostly considered more or less white. But that could change. And the second it does, people will start saying things like, "Well, sure, they COULD build a synagogue there, but wouldn't that just be asking for trouble?"

Everything that people are saying about the downtown Manhattan community center, I just automatically hear people saying that about something that I might want to do someday. If you're against them, then you're against me, and you're also against justice, freedom, and every ideal that this country stands for.

Just so we're clear on that.

Comments

[goljerp]

Another thing which makes me annoyed is the way that the outsiders who are frothing at the mouth about this thing keep saying that it's at "ground zero". Um, no. It's two blocks away -- that's 1/10th of a mile. Sure, it's close, but in Manhattan (especially downtown) two blocks away is not "right on top" of something. And don't give me BS about a 2 block radius being "sacred ground". You know what else is 2 blocks away? Burger King. Mom & Pop stores. A strip club. This is not a giant shrine; it's a living, breathing city.

OK, I think I'm done ranting (for the moment)

[vvalkyri.livejournal.com]

Part of the foaming is that one of the landing gear fell through that building. only learned that today.

[goljerp]

Interesting, but...

There was smoke from 9/11 that I could smell as far north as 97th street in Manhattan. (It stank enough that I fled to New Jersey, but that's another story.) That smoke was from the destruction, that included bodies! So is all of manhattan up to 97th street sacred ground? There were scraps of paper from the WTC that flew as far as Brooklyn. Is Brooklyn sacred ground?

I personally don't think that a piece of landing gear makes a difference.