From: Steve Grammont (islander@midmaine.com)
Date: Thu Aug 14 2003 - 08:11:20 PDT
Glenn,
Glad you finally got someone lined up to transport your trucks. Sounds
like you had far more fun doing that than actually finding and buying the
stuff they are moving :-)
William,
>
>Really? What has the US done to Muslims? You can't just make a general
>statement like that and expect it to be accepted as fact.
Don't take my word for it... read some books on the subject, then decide
for yourself. But here are some topics you can look into... check out
who put Saddam in power and kept him there. Look at who put the Shaw of
Iran in power and tried to keep him there. Dip into some research about
who has supported Israel, to the hilt with military and economic aid, no
matter how badly it has flaunted UN Resolutions (you know, the things
American governments launch wars over when it involves Arab states).
Check up on how well thought of the Saudi royal family is in Saudi
Arabia, then see who is largely responsible for keeping that government
afloat. I'm sure if you look even haphazardly you will find lots and
lots of other well documented tidbits about how great America has been in
the Arab world, explaining (in part) why they are far less than happy
with the US.
I'm not saying everything bad in the ME is the fault of the US' flawed
policies, but the mess Europeans made there can not be cleaned up by
making more messes. Americans would never stand for someone messing with
their internal politics. Difference is, America can (and does) and they
can't. Doncha think that might breed a TINY bit of resentment?
>The whole
>region distrusts us because they don't like the way we live.
No, they don't trust Americans because US foreign policy has been
deliberately, and with great effort, unfair to them.
>They don't
>like the fact that our wives can drive cars, that women can vote.
Depends on what country you talk about. There are many Muslim states
that allow women to drive and vote, yet a decent chunk of their
population still hates the US.
>They don't like the way we've set up our country.
No, they don't like the way Americans have set up its country to actively
export its culture and cultural values to other nations by way of
military force and/or military forces. If the US just left them alone
(i.e. not supporting Israel, local tyrants, etc.) there would be a good
chance they'd not have a problem with it. At least not to the degree
there is right now.
>It's not in keeping with their version of their religion.
And the Muslim faith is in keeping with the predominant religion of the
US? Yah don't think that all the support of Israel is just a tad bit
influenced by that? There was a wonderful piece on the US Religions
Right's support of Israel on a couple of months ago. They think Jews
will all go to Hell, but if they can be used to get Muslims there
first... great! Ah, but only Muslims use their religion to cause harm to
others... I forgot.
Final thought... Americans are thought of better by Muslims than right
wingers and the media would have you believe. Everytime I read, here, or
talk with someone who has been there 1st hand, this notion is reinforced.
Muslims, and Arabs in particular, are like anybody else... they just
want to live a comfortable life. And like any other group (obviously
Americans included) hate, ignorance, and religious intolerance are to be
found. But most are able to seperate Americans from US government. If
they couldn't, we would be seeing 9/11s on a monthly basis.
Steve
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