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cpwm17

(3,829 posts)
51. That's one big old straw man.
Sat Dec 12, 2015, 04:58 PM
Dec 2015

Last edited Sat Dec 12, 2015, 08:01 PM - Edit history (3)

First thing, I'm an atheist. I specifically said I'm condeming "new atheists" which is a particular movement.

On DU, many of us don't like it when people engage in blanket hatred of the world's 1.6 billion Muslims. That's just plain old bigotry.

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Examples of "new atheist" bigotry:

Here's professional liar, "new atheist" and neocon darling, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, an employee at the neoconservative American Enterprise Institute (AEI):

http://www.salon.com/2014/08/04/ayan_hirsi_ali_bibi_netanyahu_deserves_nobel_peace_prize_for_gaza_campaign/

During an interview published on Friday by Israel HaYom, the Sheldon Adelson-backed Israeli daily, public intellectual and author Ayan Hirsi Ali claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for waging the ongoing military campaign by the IDF against Hamas militants in Gaza.

Asked whom she admired, Ali — who once called Islam a “nihilistic cult of death” — included Netanyahu on a list featuring her husband, Harvard professor Niall Ferguson, as well as former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Princeton professor Bernard Lewis. Ali said she admired Netanyahu “because he is under so much pressure, from so many sources, and yet he does what is best for the people of Israel, he does his duty.”

“I really think he should get the Nobel Peace Prize,” Ali added. “In a fair world he would get it.”


Here's an interview of Ayaan Hirsi Ali:

https://reason.com/archives/2007/10/10/the-trouble-is-the-west/1

Reason: Should we acknowledge that organized religion has sometimes sparked precisely the kinds of emancipation movements that could lift Islam into modern times? Slavery in the United States ended in part because of opposition by prominent church members and the communities they galvanized. The Polish Catholic Church helped defeat the Jaruzelski puppet regime. Do you think Islam could bring about similar social and political changes?

Hirsi Ali: Only if Islam is defeated. Because right now, the political side of Islam, the power-hungry expansionist side of Islam, has become superior to the Sufis and the Ismailis and the peace-seeking Muslims.

Reason: Don’t you mean defeating radical Islam?

Hirsi Ali: No. Islam, period. Once it’s defeated, it can mutate into something peaceful. It’s very difficult to even talk about peace now. They’re not interested in peace.

Reason: We have to crush the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims under our boot? In concrete terms, what does that mean, “defeat Islam”?

Hirsi Ali: I think that we are at war with Islam. And there’s no middle ground in wars. Islam can be defeated in many ways. For starters, you stop the spread of the ideology itself; at present, there are native Westerners converting to Islam, and they’re the most fanatical sometimes. There is infiltration of Islam in the schools and universities of the West. You stop that. You stop the symbol burning and the effigy burning, and you look them in the eye and flex your muscles and you say, “This is a warning. We won’t accept this anymore.” There comes a moment when you crush your enemy.

Reason: Militarily?

Hirsi Ali: In all forms, and if you don’t do that, then you have to live with the consequence of being crushed.

Reason: Are we really heading toward anything so ominous?



While Sam Harris was interviewing openly racist and neocon promoter, Douglas Murray, on his podcast, Sam Harris said:

http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2015/11/24/jebus-sam-harris-again/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+freethoughtblogs%2Fpharyngula+%28FTB%3A+Pharyngula%29

"Given a choice between Noam Chomsky and Ben Carson, in terms of the totality of their understanding of what’s happening now in the world, I’d vote for Ben Carson every time. Ben Carson is a dangerously deluded religious imbecile, Ben Carson does not…the fact that he is a candidate for president is a scandal…but at the very least he can be counted on to sort of get this one right. He understands that jihadists are the enemy."


Sample of Sam Harris quotes:

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Sam_Harris

Let's play "Harris or Malkin?":

"Islam, more than any other religion human beings have devised, has all the makings of a thoroughgoing cult of death."

"Some propositions are so dangerous that it may even be ethical to kill people for believing them. This may seem an extraordinary claim, but it merely enunciates an ordinary fact about the world in which we live. Certain beliefs place their adherents beyond the reach of every peaceful means of persuasion, while inspiring them to commit acts of extraordinary violence against others. There is, in fact, no talking to some people. If they cannot be captured, and they often cannot, otherwise tolerant people may be justified in killing them in self-defense. This is what the United States attempted in Afghanistan, and it is what we and other Western powers are bound to attempt, at an even greater cost to ourselves and innocents abroad, elsewhere in the Muslim world. We will continue to spill blood in what is, at bottom, a war of ideas."

"I am one of the few people I know of who has argued in print that torture may be an ethical necessity in our war on terror."

"The people who speak most sensibly about the threat that Islam poses to Europe are actually fascists."

"To say that this does not bode well for liberalism is an understatement: It does not bode well for the future of civilization. We are at war with Islam. It may not serve our immediate foreign policy objectives for our political leaders to openly acknowledge this fact, but it is unambiguously so. It is not merely that we are at war with an otherwise peaceful religion that has been hijacked by extremists. We are at war with precisely the vision of life that is prescribed to all Muslims in the Koran.”

"We should profile Muslims, or anyone who looks like he or she could conceivably be Muslim, and we should be honest about it."

"Unless liberals realize that there are tens of millions of people in the Muslim world who are far scarier than Dick Cheney, they will be unable to protect civilization from its genuine enemies."

"In their analyses of U.S. and Israeli foreign policy, liberals can be relied on to overlook the most basic moral distinctions. For instance, they ignore the fact that Muslims intentionally murder noncombatants, while we and the Israelis (as a rule) seek to avoid doing so (LIE). Muslims routinely use human shields, and this accounts for much of the collateral damage we and the Israelis cause; the political discourse throughout much of the Muslim world, especially with respect to Jews, is explicitly and unabashedly genocidal."

"We cannot let our qualms over collateral damage paralyze us because our enemies know no such qualms. Theirs is a kill-the-children-first approach to war, and we ignore the fundamental difference between their violence and our own at our peril. Given the proliferation of weaponry in our world, we no longer have the option of waging this war with swords. It seems certain that collateral damage, of various sorts, will be a part of our future for many years to come."
we cannot give these religious ideas a pass edhopper Dec 2015 #1
I always wonder why we as liberals give Muslims a pass on things like this. Makes you wonder. yeoman6987 Dec 2015 #101
He actually makes a fair point. Nye Bevan Dec 2015 #2
It could be that only one of those things is taking place under the aegis Crunchy Frog Dec 2015 #64
+1000 smirkymonkey Dec 2015 #83
No body gives them a pass on such things. mmonk Dec 2015 #3
Many liberals hold back from criticizing Islamic fundamentalism to the extent it deserves. Nye Bevan Dec 2015 #4
+1 840high Dec 2015 #5
+1 FLPanhandle Dec 2015 #15
I have noted some New Atheists had little mmonk Dec 2015 #28
A number of them actively supported it. Crunchy Frog Dec 2015 #66
Neither of those things is true of Sam Harris oberliner Dec 2015 #70
Not enough time to dig up references to debate this. Crunchy Frog Dec 2015 #74
From his website: "I think that torture should remain illegal" oberliner Dec 2015 #76
Actually, another poster on here has a far more comprehensive post on this aspect of Harris. Crunchy Frog Dec 2015 #78
Maybe you could link to it, since you claim it exists. trotsky Dec 2015 #110
"A number"? Marr Dec 2015 #118
+1000 rollin74 Dec 2015 #53
Perfect post leftynyc Dec 2015 #67
It's not a zero sum equation lapislzi Dec 2015 #88
Exactly n/t arcane1 Dec 2015 #102
Actually we give all the major religions a pass Warren Stupidity Dec 2015 #6
well edhopper Dec 2015 #7
Except when Christian pizzeria owners refuse to cater gay weddings. Nye Bevan Dec 2015 #19
Only because the Christian bigot ran Warren Stupidity Dec 2015 #44
50,000 posts and new to DU? Democat Dec 2015 #26
That's self serving bullshit. Many on DU issue passes to other anti gay activist clergy as well. Bluenorthwest Dec 2015 #32
I don't think any DUer is happy with the Pope's view of homosexuality. Nye Bevan Dec 2015 #41
The pope is routinely lauded here. Warren Stupidity Dec 2015 #45
He frowned at capitalism, so he's cool now. Throd Dec 2015 #46
And Barack Obama was routinely lauded even when he opposed marriage equality. Nye Bevan Dec 2015 #48
"Despite the fact that..." rather than "because of..." seems to be the relevant qualifier. LanternWaste Dec 2015 #98
I agree. The revolting ability to compartmentalize, Warren Stupidity Dec 2015 #103
So we go from serious question about Islam to bashing Catholics. yeoman6987 Dec 2015 #104
Actually this whole Pope-bashing subthread kind of proves the OP's point. Nye Bevan Dec 2015 #113
And there you issue Francis yet another pass. A mitigation for the facts of his actions and words. Bluenorthwest Dec 2015 #50
Can you at least praise him for moving in the right direction, Nye Bevan Dec 2015 #55
I knew as soon as you mentioned the Pope you were going to get a taste of your own medicine kcr Dec 2015 #58
I find it amusing leftynyc Dec 2015 #68
It isn't just that he's not 100% in favor of equal rights for LGBT people skepticscott Dec 2015 #112
"Regressive left" LittleBlue Dec 2015 #8
I don't see why we can't walk and chew gum at the same time treestar Dec 2015 #9
But do you do that when it comes to Christianity? davidn3600 Dec 2015 #13
It's not one wingnut causing misogyny and hate in xtianity. cleanhippie Dec 2015 #34
Which country is it leftynyc Dec 2015 #69
Are you fucking kidding me? cleanhippie Dec 2015 #86
That is so freeking weak leftynyc Dec 2015 #87
No I know there are good Christians treestar Dec 2015 #56
Just for the sake of accuracy, it's more like 1.7 billion muriel_volestrangler Dec 2015 #18
Wahhabi Islam needs to be excised from mosques worldwide Dems to Win Dec 2015 #10
It looks like Richard Dawkins has gone full Sam Harris. cpwm17 Dec 2015 #11
"Liberals support liberal values". Islam isn't very liberal. Throd Dec 2015 #12
+1 FLPanhandle Dec 2015 #16
Liberals don't support blanket hatred against 1.6 billion Muslims. cpwm17 Dec 2015 #20
Well I'm just an "old school atheist" who finds all religion to be silly at best. Throd Dec 2015 #23
I've been an atheist for 40 years. cpwm17 Dec 2015 #27
Dawkins is often correct and always a dick. Throd Dec 2015 #31
I used to like him. cpwm17 Dec 2015 #37
There's no need to pretend that all religions are equally bad, however. (nt) Nye Bevan Dec 2015 #43
But liberals also do not characterize advocacy for LGBT and women as blanket hatred aginst Bluenorthwest Dec 2015 #36
That's one big old straw man. cpwm17 Dec 2015 #51
We are talking about Dawkins. You attack him by quoting others? Bluenorthwest Dec 2015 #95
This atheist agrees with you kcr Dec 2015 #59
I'm glad you agree. cpwm17 Dec 2015 #60
Dawkins is nothing but a bigoted hack. AlbertCat Dec 2015 #120
Hatred of stupid, harmful religious beliefs isn't the same as hatred against people. Arugula Latte Dec 2015 #82
you don't have to hate people to condemn ignorant mythology snooper2 Dec 2015 #85
Dawkins criticized Islam.. not Muslims in general True Earthling Dec 2015 #52
Here's the thing. backscatter712 Dec 2015 #109
Fuck that creepy, sexist, islamophic jerk mwrguy Dec 2015 #14
No they don't. Tierra_y_Libertad Dec 2015 #17
Actually some do just that. nt. FLPanhandle Dec 2015 #22
Who? Tierra_y_Libertad Dec 2015 #24
Aren't you like an older white male? Because you are so super wrong about this. Bluenorthwest Dec 2015 #38
I wouldn't consider the pope a "liberal". Tierra_y_Libertad Dec 2015 #39
Who said that he was? I said he's an anti gay activist and gets a pass issued to him by liberals Bluenorthwest Dec 2015 #40
I was responding to the OP. Tierra_y_Libertad Dec 2015 #42
I'm just sick of the subject. So very many people just sound roilingly anti gay to me as they Bluenorthwest Dec 2015 #47
As a pacifist, I couldn't agree more. Tierra_y_Libertad Dec 2015 #49
I've never seen it on DU. cpwm17 Dec 2015 #29
He's right WestCoastLib Dec 2015 #21
Liberals don't defend Islam's homophobia/misogny any more than dictators' repression/torture. pampango Dec 2015 #25
They either ignore it leftynyc Dec 2015 #84
And it's not just ISIS, or the Taliban, either. Archae Dec 2015 #30
Who are these liberals? Deuce Dec 2015 #33
that's what I'd like to know Doctor_J Dec 2015 #80
kick. PM Martin Dec 2015 #35
Organized religion only serves the PTB. Everyone else gets fucked over. valerief Dec 2015 #54
This is useful to remember re Dawkins: Spider Jerusalem Dec 2015 #57
I really like that. Crunchy Frog Dec 2015 #71
lol, yes. Apply the same model to so many people here, and closeupready Dec 2015 #99
His first name is Richard, not "Atheist". MindPilot Dec 2015 #61
If they didn't put that, no one would know or care who he is or what he thinks. nt Erich Bloodaxe BSN Dec 2015 #79
Richard Dawkins is an asshole who does not speak for all atheists. 6000eliot Dec 2015 #62
^^That Orrex Dec 2015 #114
I have a real problem with liberals who defend... Crunchy Frog Dec 2015 #63
sort of agree but calling out the woman hating seems ironic for him to do. JanMichael Dec 2015 #65
Richard Dawkins is 10 years older than his current wife oberliner Dec 2015 #73
Google "elevatorgate". Crunchy Frog Dec 2015 #75
I've read about that oberliner Dec 2015 #77
Ageist much? Codeine Dec 2015 #92
Dawkins is right. I agree with him rollin74 Dec 2015 #72
I think Islam and Christianity are horrible as belief systems. I do not Arugula Latte Dec 2015 #81
So when is Dawkins going to condemn Russia's homophobia and misogyny? closeupready Dec 2015 #89
Oh, for fuck's sake. Act_of_Reparation Dec 2015 #90
Snark is all you got? Typical, I suppose. closeupready Dec 2015 #91
Not snark. Disgust. Act_of_Reparation Dec 2015 #97
Okay, great - have a nice day. closeupready Dec 2015 #100
Russian cultural homophobia is to a huge degree a product of Orthodox Christianity which Bluenorthwest Dec 2015 #93
But then, he should denounce it publicly, using his own guidebook closeupready Dec 2015 #94
My grandpa was from Northern Ireland and I used to be profiled and deeply interviewed going Bluenorthwest Dec 2015 #96
No it's not snark, and you should know my history on DU well enough to know that. closeupready Dec 2015 #105
Yes, us atheists are all baby-eating Communists. backscatter712 Dec 2015 #107
K, you missed the point, but oh well. closeupready Dec 2015 #108
No, we got your point. Act_of_Reparation Dec 2015 #111
No, we didn't miss the point, mr blur Dec 2015 #115
Bye bye! closeupready Dec 2015 #116
modern atheism's motherland. AlbertCat Dec 2015 #119
This message was self-deleted by its author philosslayer Dec 2015 #106
Why is nobody calling him '"atheist" author Richard Dawkins'? whatthehey Dec 2015 #117
Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Atheist Richard Dawkins a...»Reply #51