Maine State Representative posts anti-Muslim diatribe on Facebook

[jpak]

http://thetippingpoint.bangordailynews.com/2015/10/30/state-politics/maine-state-representative-posts-hateful-anti-muslim-diatribe-on-facebook/

Representative John Picchioti, a Republican representing Fairfield, Mercer and Smithfield and serving on the Insurance and Financial Services Committee, today published an anti-Muslim rant as a public post on his personal Facebook page.

The post was noticed and a screenshot posted to Twitter by progressive activist Steven Biel.

The text, which an online search indicates came originally from a [warning, link goes to the website of a hate group] chain email circulating among white supremacists, reads in part “Have you ever been to a Muslim hospital, heard a Muslim orchestra, seen a Muslim band march in a parade, know of a Muslim charity, ever seen Muslims shaking hands with a Muslim Girl Scout, or ever seen a Muslim Candy Striper volunteering in a hospital? Have you ever seen a Muslim do much of anything that contributes positively to the American way of life?”

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[TreasonousBastard]

1. For most people, the question might be...

"Have you ever seen a Muslim?"

[Shandris]

2. I've seen the last one, and I could probably count the number of Muslims...

...in my area on two fingers.

I guess a 50% success rate doesn't prove his point real well.

[mnhtnbb]

3. I happen to be reading the novel, The Burgess Boys, set in Maine

by Elizabeth Strout, author of Olivia Kitteridge.

It revolves around a true incident that happened in 2006, when

a severed frozen pig's head was also thrown into a Lewiston mosque while the faithful were praying. This was considered very offensive by the town's Muslim community, as swine is proscribed in Islam. The culprit admitted to the act and claimed it to be a joke.

According to Wikipedia

As of 2013, there were around 10,000 Somalis in Lewiston and Portland.

In the 2000s, Somali immigrants in the United States began a secondary migration to Maine from other states on account of the area's low crime rate, good schools and cheap housing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Somalis_in_Maine


So, the racism and Islamophobia has been brewing for some time in Maine.

[mainstreetonce]

4. Show him the stats

on Muslims in the US armed forces.