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In reply to the discussion: Many Liberals Defend Islam the Way Conservatives Defend Guns [View all]herding cats
(19,558 posts)18. I suspect part of it is due to innocent people in the US being subjects of hate crimes.
I wonder if the reason we're so quick to defend not all Muslims as being extremist is because there are some in our country just looking for an excuse to declare it Muslim hunting season? Not that you can tell the religious affiliation of a person by looking at them, but things like that don't really matter to someone crazy enough to go shoot someone for looking like something they've been raised to hate.
Reports like this one form the FBI tend to resonate with us more because we're largely more compassionate.
FBI: Reported Hate Crimes Down Nationally, Except Against Muslims
Hate crimes in America dipped across the board in 2014, except in the category of anti-Muslim crimes, which rose about 14 percent over the prior year, according to FBI statistics released today. Given the barbaric Islamic State attacks in Paris last week and elsewhere recently, that latter trend seems destined to accelerate.
The reported drop in total hate crimes of almost 8 percent is probably meaningless, as several studies by the governments Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) in recent years have showed that the FBI numbers are vastly lower than the real level of hate crimes, making year-over-year comparisons of the totals virtually impossible. (The FBIs reported national totals went from 5,928 in 2013 to 5,479 last year.)
However, experts have said that within the larger numbers, it is possible to get a good sense of trends. That means the rise in anti-Muslim hate crimes is very likely real, probably a reaction to reports of murders and other atrocities carried out by the Islamic State, or ISIS. Other categories of hate crime anti-Latino, anti-black, anti-LGBT and anti-Jewish all dropped, according to the new FBI numbers.
The actual totals of anti-Muslim hate crimes from 135 in 2013 to 154 in 2014 were not dramatic for a country of close to 320 million people.
But the BJS studies have found that while the FBI has reported over the last 20 years between about 6,000 and about 11,500 total hate crimes in America each year, the real annual totals in recent years has been nearly 260,000. That suggests that the real numbers are some 25 to 40 higher than the FBI totals, which in turns means the real 2014 total of anti-Muslim hate crimes could be as many as 6,000 or more.
https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2015/11/16/fbi-reported-hate-crimes-down-nationally-except-against-muslims
Hate crimes in America dipped across the board in 2014, except in the category of anti-Muslim crimes, which rose about 14 percent over the prior year, according to FBI statistics released today. Given the barbaric Islamic State attacks in Paris last week and elsewhere recently, that latter trend seems destined to accelerate.
The reported drop in total hate crimes of almost 8 percent is probably meaningless, as several studies by the governments Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) in recent years have showed that the FBI numbers are vastly lower than the real level of hate crimes, making year-over-year comparisons of the totals virtually impossible. (The FBIs reported national totals went from 5,928 in 2013 to 5,479 last year.)
However, experts have said that within the larger numbers, it is possible to get a good sense of trends. That means the rise in anti-Muslim hate crimes is very likely real, probably a reaction to reports of murders and other atrocities carried out by the Islamic State, or ISIS. Other categories of hate crime anti-Latino, anti-black, anti-LGBT and anti-Jewish all dropped, according to the new FBI numbers.
The actual totals of anti-Muslim hate crimes from 135 in 2013 to 154 in 2014 were not dramatic for a country of close to 320 million people.
But the BJS studies have found that while the FBI has reported over the last 20 years between about 6,000 and about 11,500 total hate crimes in America each year, the real annual totals in recent years has been nearly 260,000. That suggests that the real numbers are some 25 to 40 higher than the FBI totals, which in turns means the real 2014 total of anti-Muslim hate crimes could be as many as 6,000 or more.
https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2015/11/16/fbi-reported-hate-crimes-down-nationally-except-against-muslims
I suspect we're not defending the religion, but the people who practice it who aren't murdering people in the name of their god. Even if we don't agree with their religion, or any religion as being sensible, we don't like to see people being harmed for the sole reason that they look like, or even are a Muslim. It makes us too much like the extremist we despise to be comfortable in that roll.
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I know christians who are a hell of a lot more progressive than some of the people on DU.
CBGLuthier
Nov 2015
#4
They were promoting Communism, a secular dogma which happened to be anti-theist
Yorktown
Nov 2015
#153
The discussion centers about Islam?? Xian fundies are regularly pilloried here
Yorktown
Nov 2015
#142
Because every single Muslim is a saud. They all are the same. Yeah, bullshit.
CBGLuthier
Nov 2015
#2
You can't argue with the fact that a LOT of Xtian sects are super misogynistic and repressive.
Arugula Latte
Nov 2015
#134
I suspect part of it is due to innocent people in the US being subjects of hate crimes.
herding cats
Nov 2015
#18
I agree-- we progreessives have become accustomed to defend groups that are discriminated against...
TreasonousBastard
Nov 2015
#32
Congratulations on missing the point. I can see it was a herculean effort on your point.
Scootaloo
Nov 2015
#46
I agree to defend people, Muslim or not, unjustly attacked for whatever reason
Yorktown
Nov 2015
#53
How many examples do you want of this supposedly nonerxistent criticism of non-Xians?
whatthehey
Nov 2015
#120
enough is enough. Your point was made the first time. There is no rule that says someone has to
still_one
Nov 2015
#167
Ten days after bragging about all those "examples" you had and you have NOTHING, LOL?
whathehell
Nov 2015
#172
Did it ever occur to you that's because the religious people doing most of the damage in
Arugula Latte
Nov 2015
#136
The culture of any conservative strain of religion is incompatible with progressivism.
Arkana
Nov 2015
#91
Nope. But it gets the most attention here because it does the most damage here.
Arugula Latte
Nov 2015
#132