Retired Lt. General Tom McInerney appeared on Fox News to offer his own proposal for making air travel safer: strip search all Muslim men between 18 and 28. That’s right, strip search every Muslim male at the airport.
Here is how the General explained how we need to “be very serious and harsh about the profiling:” “If you are an 18 to 28-year-old Muslim man then you should be strip searched. And if we don’t do that, there’s a very high probability we’re going to lose an airliner.”
I think that the General has the right thought but the wrong conclusion. What does every airline bomber have in common? Clothes. No clothes means by definition no shoe bombs, no underwear bombs, no explosive vests. People could appear naked at security points and be given those paper gowns used by hospitals.
Of course, Osama Bin Laden could still fly without stripping as would Richard Reid. It would delay things for such athletes as Ramzee Robinson (Cleveland Browns), Abdul Raheeda Hodge (Cincinnati Bengals), Usama Young (Saints), Husain Ibn Muhammed Abdullah (Minnesota Vikings), Kareem Brown (Jets), and others. Congressman Keith Maurice Ellison and Elias A. Zerhouni (Director of the NIH) made it over the line and can keep their clothes on.
Gyges,
I do not agree with you on this. Jill stated something I found very offensive. She was called on it and proceeded in this manner. Rather than own it she started by stating that this was Hate Speech. Come on, that was bull shit then and it is now.
I do not wish for Jill to leave and if she were attacked I would more than likely defend her dependent on who it was that did the attacking. I have no ill will towards her. End of discussion.
By the Way, did I miss an apology to SW mom? That was what started it this time.
In my opinion by taking the position that you are it is ok for Jill to Attack a regular but not a troll? Help me distinguish this and make sense of it?
I have stated that if she found something I said offensive I apologize. But when you spot it you got it, I have been told. Maybe the person that told me that was wrong too. I have taken some pretty lame advise and most of it my own.
I feel as if BDAman is winning, and it makes me incredibly sad.
Yea, I saw your response so that’s really weird. I didn’t think I said anything that deserved being deleted. Particularly considering some of the other comments in here.
ThirtyPercenter I saw it thats why I posted this at
Bdaman
1, January 6, 2010 at 2:29 pm
Thats because he’s a bully who’s always right and if you don’t believe me just ask him.
He probably complained that he was being attacked and it got deleted.
Ok, this is odd. I just posted a comment and now its vanished.
Ok, one more time. After reading the comments it seems to me like this Buddha is Laughing character is the instigator here, apparently along with a few others. I’ve read Jills initial comments and the responses and I frankly don’t see what every one is so worked up over. It seems like this Buddha character wants to bully her to drive her away or something and some others seem to have issues with her that are unrelated to her comment to Swarthmore Mom. I don’t see anything in her comment that is so “over the top” as some are suggesting.
And I don’t know what happened to my previous comment so hopefully whatever happened to it won’t happen to this one.
Cont. from above (toddler+keyboard=premature submission):
…overlooking the fact that the goal isn’t conversion, but disruption. We’ve certainly been disrupted, and in the process are loosing something that was unique to this blog, our manners.
I’ve explained before, my name isn’t a comment on the main point of the story of The Ring of Gyges, but instead a reminder of one of it’s premises. Anonymity brings with it a sense of freedom from filters we put on our behavior.
I’ve been trying to stay out of this one, mainly because I feel that all currently (see my parenthetical statement below about Swarthmoremom) involved share the blame pretty much equally. There have been several instances where any of the three (I exclude SmM, because she did walk away) primary parties could have all just walked away, and it would have died down. Anything I have had to add, I’ve already stated in the past.
However, I feel inclined to use this to comment on the tone of the comments here in general. Quite frankly, I feel as if BDAman is winning, and it makes me incredibly sad. We’ve become so used to dealing with him scornfully we’ve started dealing with every new dissenter and even more recently each other that way. I’ve even found myself doing it (which is partially why I took that break over the holidays). We’ve all had some pretty fundamental disagreements with just about everyone here, and I can say that until recently they hardly ever reached a personal level. Heck, at one point I felt obligated to apologize to Wayne for making fun of him being a 9/11 Truther. That’s just the way the atmosphere of the community was, we disagreed, but tried to stay civil.
We all like to claim that the trolls here have failed because their rhetoric is so transparent, over looking the fact the point isn’t generally conversion,
bdaman Do you realize that in the fifties and early sixties……
Yea, I realize all of that, I realize that there were many many sacrafices back then but all that still doesn’t change right here, right now. Those are memories, like the corners of my mind.
“Even if you believe what I did was wrong, the level of hatred and cruelty in your attacks on me has been astounding.”
Jill,
You define disagreement with you as hatred and you have used this tactic continuously. Yet you lack the insight to see the cruelty of your own attacks and that is the problem.
“If you wanted to make things better, you should have tried to help resolve things by being rational, clam, decent and direct.”
I have always been so in responding to you, but my thoughts have been unfairly “twisted” in your mind and that is your problem.
“It is exactly like playground bullies who pick on a person who is different.”
You have been the “bully” here Jill and then when stood up to have resorted to crying victimization.
“Instead of channeling that rage into it’s proper course or proper perspective, the rage is taken as an excuse to perform the worst possible actions against those whom one considers different and who will not conform to your will.”
What you interpret as my “rage” is nonsensical if one goes back and looks at the posts I’ve written directed at you. I’ve never felt “rage” towards you, nor have I ever treated you as an object of bullying. I don’t do bully Jill. It is in your mind Jill and to the extent that you can dish out, but not take criticism, it is something you need to work on.
“swarthmore mom,
I feel your posts are often condescending towards people who have a different opinion than you do.”
Jill, this is known as projection psychologically, since in your goodbye post you attempted to dabble in psychology, where one accuses others of behavior they themselves do. It is also insulting and condescending, but since you are the one doing it I guess then it’s fine with you.
Let’s face it Jill, you went overboard, got smacked down, again played the victim, made baseless accusations and then since these tactics failed you play out another tactic by saying you’re leaving. I have never, since my time posting here, told anyone to get lost or be banned, despite the fact that some have clearly gone way over the top. I would be saddened by your loss to the blog, but at the same time I will not ignore it when you make false and hurtful charges against myself and others. Calling me sexist Jill and a bully, is akin in my lexicon to calling me racist. Since I was on the line struggling against these wrongs since probably before you were born.
However, in Jill’s world you feel free to spew odious characterizations of others and then claim foul when people respond to your denigration of them. While I would urge you not to leave, I would also ask you to examine your own behavior, which seems to contain large components of denial.
Thats because he’s a bully who’s always right and if you don’t believe me just ask him.
Jill:
Why are you leaving? Seems all this is much ado about nothing. Just some disagreement among friends with strong opinions.
You and I dont agree on anything but it would be boring to argue with Gyges and Buddha all the time. So at least save me from that fate (your ass whuppings are less harsh as well).
Jill,
I’m with all those above who want you to stay!
Swarthmoremom:
it was bad and white people sucked pretty badly. Our parents and grandparents should be ashamed of themselves for what went on. Slavery wasnt the stain on our country so much as what was done to blacks after slavery.
When I hear some of the stories it makes me want to cry. The fact that blacks prevailed against that type of oppression is a testament to their character and strength as human beings. It would have destroyed a lesser people. I for one am amazed that most are as decent as they are, I doubt I would have been.
I omitted the “committed, intelligent” part of SM’s quote. Jill’s “voice” was one of a few which drew me to this blog. It certainly won’t be the same without her — it will be a significant loss. Enough said.
I, too, think that it would be a significant loss if Jill were to leave this blog. I’m often forced to skim and, thus, may miss a lot of what goes on here but, as SM says, we need “strong” voices.
I expect to be challenged when I say something that is wrong, unclear, or insensitive. I spend a lot of time with my foot in my mouth, unfortunately, but I keep plodding (on one foot), nonetheless. I was not, perhaps, precise in some of my comments and, for that, I apologize.
I see Buddha now where is empirecookie. All hell is breaking loose again..
Swartzmore mom,
The Texas Legislature was mostly men until the mid 50’s. I have pictures of the secretary pool. It was kinda funny to look at and realize that today, men do not stand a chance of employment in the Texas Legislature unless connected.
As I said, her choice.
I’m fine with it either way.
Jill,
I have not degenerate the Blawg. I only asked that you apologize to swartzmore mom. You have not, nor do I see any others that you have to either.
If you perceive my statements to you as Hate Filled Speech then, it is not I who has the issues to look at.
Ever since that Patty thing I have threaded lightly the thread that has been sown. There are some things that I would have said and I did not.
It would be a loss to see you go. But please do not attack people who you do not know. It was uncalled for and unwarranted. Can you say if I offended you, I am sorry?
You have played the Scarlett O’Hara role again. Please do not take this as condensing, nor hate filled speech. Take it for what it is worth.
In as much, stay, don’t attack posters and when you do, quickly apologize rather than let this get blown out of proportion again. What is your degree of culpability?
Swarthmore mom said: “I do not want Jill to leave because this blog needs some strong committed intelligent females.”
I’ll second that!