"Obama scares me. I don't trust him; he's a Muslim."

[brentspeak]

Something I overheard some paranoid lady say today in the library, during a political conversation she was having with an Obama supporter. She, from what I gathered, was a Romney supporter who's now supporting McCain -- mostly to protect us from the likes of Obama.

Obama supporter: "I'm not so sure he's an actual practicing Muslim, in any case."

Dimwit lady: "But he hasn't condemned their practices."

Let me point out that this conversation did not take place in some conservative "red state", but in northern New Jersey.

[cloud75]

1. i've heard the muslim comment too. n/t

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

28. the old lady is probably voting for Rush Pimple but anyway

thats about the main place you hear that crap, and he isn't swaying as many
of his "followers" as he used to.

[Bicoastal]

2. Coo hares?

Any one dumb enough to support Romney would never vote for a Democrat in a million years.

[woolldog]

6. I guess Mormons

aren't as threatening as Muslims. lol And he's not even a Muslim for chrissakes.

[bluescribbler]

We need to care

I heard the same thing last night from a Clinton voter in suburban Boston. I couldn't convince her otherwise, and if Obama gets the nomination, she may either stay home on election day or, horror of horrors, vote for McCain. So, we do need to care about this. :wtf:

[totodeinhere]

22. He is not a Muslim, but if he were, what's wrong with that?

[bluescribbler]

93. There is nothing wrong with that

But she believes there is something very wrong with that. She believes any muslim sympathizes with the terrorists, and would aid and abet the terrorists in another attack. For that reason, she will not vote for Obama, as long as she believes he is a muslim. She just doesn't trust him.

[tavalon]

82. No, we do not.

The bigot faction is already voting Republican. They aren't the undecided, they never had two brain cells active enough to decide anything in the first place. They are not many, and they overlap greatly with the fundy whackadoos. We don't get them anymore, since we let black people (I believe they prefer to call them niggers or negras, last I heard) into our Democratic party. These are not the swayables and thankfully, they are becoming a smaller and smaller faction. More strident, but such is the way of a dying, stupid beast.

[bluescribbler]

92. I beg to differ

The woman I spoke to had voted for Clinton in the primary. If any other Democrat, (i.e., Edwards, Dodd, Richardson, even Gravel), won the nomination, she probably would vote for him. But she will not vote for Obama. We need to convince her, and others like her that, 1), Barak Obama is not now, and never was, a muslim, and, 2), not all muslims are terrorists, nor do they sympathize with terrorists.

[Seeker30]

3. Which is exactly the reason the GOP's are hoping Obama wins the nomination

[cottonseed]

10. Embracing ignorance on day 1.

This is not a reason to shy away from supporting Obama.

[Arugula Latte]

71. He's much more electable than Hillary, even with the Muslim smear.

She has much higher negatives than he does, and he's also attracting support from independents.

[Guaranteed]

4. And come September, those folks are going to get the beat-down of

their lives.

[Name removed]

20. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

26. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Guaranteed]

74. OK. Since YOU didn't didn't get deleted, despite calling me a terrorist, let's try again.

Yes, the mods can be OH so fair at times.


Anyway, here's what's going on: your mental faculties are extremely overworked if the idea can occur to you from my post that, from my mentioning September and that McCain racists are going to get their asses beaten, some terrorist activity might be going down.

Yes, you've been watching too much TV, j! Stand up, step away from the cable!

To ease your soft mind, here's what I was trying to assure you of: Obama is going to be taking on all kinds and forms of racism once he has the nomination, on a national level. This GE is going to be a sight to behold. You can thank Obama then.

[AlCzervik]

5. and if he was, so what?

i'm sick to death about hearing how scary muslims are, mt bil is muslim and so are my nieces and they get shit all the time for it.

[tavalon]

83. I grew up Southern Baptist

Very fundamentalist. We need to be concerned about fundamentalists of any and all religions, for the combo of fundamentalism with religion often takes the quick route of violence to get what they see as the right thing at the right time for the right reasons (they're wrong on all counts, but try telling them that) Fundamentalist Muslim, Jew, Catholic, Christian , Scientology- all scary, dangerous people.

[eleny]

7. But magic underware is peachy

:eyes:

[jackson_dem]

15. Same mentality. If folks hate Mormons there are those who feel the same about Muslims

I can't believe how much anti-Mormon sentiment there is here. :wtf: Bigotry is stupid regardless of the target.

[eleny]

21. Heck, my mother wore a scapular pinned to her bra every day

And I rolled my eyes at her over it, too. Everyone knew she was already a saint!
......................:rofl:.........................

[ElsewheresDaughter]

31. hahaha mine does too and I have 10sibblings..she keeps those damn rosary beads in her pocket too

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[eleny]

68. Oh gosh, I used to tease my mom all the time

She used to read the lives of saints on a daily basis. And when she'd want to tell me one of the stories, I'd ask her if this was one where they tore out fingernails or boiled the saint in oil. She took it in great stride. If you only knew my mom, such a good sport.

And she always said she didn't believe in hell. She just wasn't taking any chances. So sweet that she taught us kids not to worry about getting into heaven. If they don't let you in you just got to Mary's side window, tap on it and she'll let you crawl over her window box full of petunias and into heaven.

My grandma always had a pair of rosaries in her apron pocket. We laugh but it's good memories. I'm just grateful that I didn't have to wear magic underwear.

[Clovis Sangrail]

8. the Obama supporter didn't know that he's not a muslim?!?

wow

[brentspeak]

11. He didn't say for certain that Obama is a Christian

I'm not sure why he didn't say that. He did point out how Obama has been the victim of some bogus email smear that claims Obama is a practicing Muslim. The lady said she hadn't heard of the email smear, but stuck to her story that Obama was nevertheless a Muslim.

[Clovis Sangrail]

43. that muslim smear is huge

I don't know if people realize just how big it is.

I've run into a bunch of people that think Obama is a fundamentalist muslim, attended a madrassa, blah blah blah
(then again I live in any area with an unnatural abundance of stupid fuckin' rednecks)

[LoZoccolo]

9. I'd just shrug my shoulders and say...

"See you next Tuesday!"

[dcindian]

12. Pretty sad

Fear is a strong tool on weak minds. Religion and politics use such tool to control the weak this country has been a cornucopia of stooges and is ripe for the picking.

[bluestateguy]

Deleted

Delete

[bluestateguy]

13. Does New Jersey have a vote challenger law?

Because if they do, you should challenge this woman's right to vote on election day at the polls on the grounds of sheer stupidity.

[NJObamaWoman]

24. We need to challenge many in this state because they voted for Corzine :(

[Marie26]

14. 50% of people are idiots.

Why else did Bush do so well?

[laconicsax]

39. I think the actual number is much higher

[southlandshari]

16. I honestly don't get it

Everyone keeps talking about this mistrust of Barack Obama because of his alleged Islamic roots.

I live in Alabama. I have not heard one single person say this. And I meet dozens of new people (and dozens of their family members) on a daily and nightly basis through work and school. I frequently discuss politics with people whose views differ from mine. But this whole "Obama is a Muslim" meme just doesn't seem to have made it here.

Are you guys really running into this attitude among your everyday friends, family and/or random people you meet on the street?

Weird.

:shrug:

[NJObamaWoman]

27. Yes I heard it the first time back in Jan. by my boss. At the time

I never heard of the e-mail and she informed my that I was supporting a radical muslim. One who she wont vote for. Northern NJ has some issues because of the 9/11 attacks. There is a big Muslim community in a certain cities in Northern NJ. Some of these people cheered out in the street when 9/11 hit. This was played all over our local news. :(

[w13rd0]

36. I have heard it, but from two groups of people...

...racists that are nominally supporting Clinton because they want to return to the economy of the 90s (for them, not anyone else), and GOP idiots that wouldn't vote for Jesus if he ran as a Democrat. So friends, no, family, no, random people, a couple here and there that usually don't manage to roll out of the larder to go vote anyway.

[Liberal Veteran]

38. Sadly, I have a friend in Georgia who dropped the "Obama is a Muslim" line on me a few weeks ago.

Of course, it went quite a bit further than that. I ultimately determined that her real problem with Obama is his race.

Sad, but it is one of the reasons I no longer live in the deep south.

[southlandshari]

49. I'm sorry you don't live in the South for that reason

I've lived all over the country - all over the world, really - and I find less racism in the South than in just about other region.

I'm not saying it doesn't exist here. It does. But not at the levels imagined by non-Southerners. Not by a long shot. The Deep South was forced - and rightly so - to address institutionalized racism in ways that no other part of this country was. And we are better off for it. Maybe one day others will give up their stereotypes, too.

Tens of thousands of white people in states like Alabama and Georgia voted for Obama on Super Tuesday. Go figure.

:hi:

[Bongo Prophet]

48. This is part of a coordinated whisper campaign. I have been to some sites where they laugh about it.

"Go email this and call radio stations, spread the word!"

Old tricks.
Many are here right now, stirring up shit.
They have an identifiable MO, and a traceable line of "arguments"

I and others have been tracking them for a few weeks.
We are in debate about how much to out them, and when.

They are NOT real Hillary supporters, either. I think that is important to keep in mind.
Their goal is to create rancor between us, splitting us, and it has been pretty damn successful.

[southlandshari]

50. I don't doubt it is on websites all over the internet

What I'm saying is that in the real world, most folks don't visit political discussion websites. I see this "Obama is a Muslim....oh noooos!" business all over the internet, but not once have I heard it offline. Even from people who can't stand him, whatever their reasons. It just doesn't seem to be an issue at all here.

[Bongo Prophet]

51. We are in agreement here as to whether it is an organic fear. Hence the campaign to sow that doubt.

The memes that work here on DU are tailored differently, but many are ground troops that are increasing rancor here.
I could go into great detail here, but my wrists are killing me. ;)

In time, the talk radio, phone tree and gossip mills will catch hold, and start to bleed over into "the real world"...
We are not in disagreement at all.

Remain watchful, and when you see something so weird as to give you pause, like the "Obama is Urkel" meme, or the "Someone faints at every event" gossip, know that they have both history and willful perpetrators behind them.

[southlandshari]

52. You had me at

"Obama is Urkel"

:spray:

[southlandshari]

59. P.S.

Thank you for your sigline.

Frederick Douglass got it. So do you.

:thumbsup:

[Bongo Prophet]

67. Principles matter, sucha simple thing. Peace to you southlandshari!

:hug:


I wonder if there will be a Lounge Lizard invasion tonight...
They are good allies to lighten this place up.

Kinda like ewoks.

[ginantonic40]

17. Hell, I had the same conversation

with a woman at the Washington State caucus. A woman in my precinct. Claimed she couldn't vote for Obama because he swore his oath on the Koran and refused to salute the flag. Neither Obama, Clinton supporters could convince her otherwise. She read in an e-mail from a friend. Stupidity is everywhere.

[Iceburg]

64. I had a young woman tell me she was worried about his use of drugs/nt

[MADem]

18. It proves one thing, and one thing only--there are stupid people EVERYWHERE.

Even this forum isn't a refuge. You'll come across idiots here as well.

They're part of society. There's not much to be done about them, except perhaps pity them.

[liberal N proud]

19. When I hear that sort of ignorance, I can't keep my mouth shut

I get in trouble with people like that every time.

[samplegirl]

Rightwing media........

People like Laura Ingram & Coulter who have repeated that statement several times. Sometimes you have to wonder what happened to make Americans quit thinking for themselves.

[NJObamaWoman]

23. OMG did you hear it at my job. I'm a librarian and we had the same convo

recently. I think many people in NJ have hard feelings about muslims because of the 9/11 attacks and some of the muslim people in Paterson cheering. Paterson is a strong Muslim area and after that happened it was all over the news in NJ.

But your right many NJ people are uninformed about issues IMHO. My boss said the same thing recently that she wont vote for Obama because he's a muslim. Then during the primary here I heard many young voters say that they didn't vote because they thought they would automatically be signed up for the draft.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

25. it's rampid here in upstate NY too

[southlandshari]

53. Damn those stupid Blue States

:eyes:




































;)

[smoogatz]

80. Rampid?

:wtf:

[Name removed]

29. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[NJObamaWoman]

46. Islam is not evil. Many Americans need to get their heads out of there

asses. Radical Muslims are a different sect of people and most muslims aren't radicals. As a christian I respect Islam and I think its a beautiful religion. A religion that should be respected.

[DiamondJay]

61. i know its not, but for the sake of politics, it is

as in if obama wins the nod and people think he is a muslim, he will lose. joe sixpack is too dumb to ever in 100 years know that islam is not truly evil, but just one sect. joe sixpack will always think they all are, and the only way to once and for all shake the idea Obama has a connection IS to comdemn islam in a way which is not completely blanket, but to the average american sounds blanket

[maximusveritas]

30. It's mostly people who don't pay attention to politics

and are gullible enough to believe whatever they read in their e-mail.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

32. which is 90% of the voters

[maximusveritas]

41. Pretty much; that's why Obama needs to continue fighting back against it

It's not hurting him in the primaries, but it might in the general unless he continues to stay on top of it.

[NanceGreggs]

33. Got an email from my sister in Arizona last night ...

... after a twenty-year long friendship, she has cut ties with her Republican girlfriend because the woman keeps insisting that not only is Obama a Muslim, he's an Al Qaeda plant plotting to take over the country once elected to the presidency.

Jesus, people are stupid.

[Bongo Prophet]

58. Stupid and manipulable, Nance. Sad, but true.

[Liberal Veteran]

34. A girl I work with dropped that line on me and I disabused her of that notion, but...

...she also said she wasn't registered to vote, and for once, I decided not to encourage her to register. Most of the time, anyone who says they don't vote around me is largely met with an encouragement to vote, but this time, I just couldn't.

[BooScout]

35. People easily dismiss the ignorant.........

Unfortunately in America..........the ignorant vote. And the GOP will be spreading this particular little lie as fast as they can.

[NJObamaWoman]

47. True but it doesn't mean that Obama shouldnt get our ticket because

of fear of the GOP. If ALL dems stand together and clear those lies than no matter what the GOP does it wont work.

[goclark]

37. Clinton scares me. I don't trust her, she's American

He is as American as she is ~

[TexasObserver]

40. This is a slur that should be corrected aggressively any time encountered.

When I get one of those outrageous emails about Obama, I always reply to all, and correct it, giving cites to appropriate debunking sources. Then I ask them why they're trying to help Hillary Clinton's campaign, and ask them if they are aware it is the Hillary Clinton campaign that put all these LIES out last year after Obama announced.

I never let that slur go unopposed, and it doesn't matter how well I know the person, what position they hold, or whether I like them otherwise.

I consider it similar to the inappropriate use of the N word. Say it around me, and you're going to get THE SPEECH.

I've chewed out several church members about it.

[JimGinPA]

42. It Began With That Email Hoax...

I know both the RNC & the Clintons are perpetuating it.

[goldcanyonaz]

81. Right, because no one would have come up with that on their own.... Hussien??

[kestrel91316]

44. One does not become a Muslim simply by being in proximity to them,

like Obama was for three years or so as a small child while living in Indonesia. Islam is not some sort of contagious disease.

OBAMA IS A MEMBER OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST. And has been been for decades. What part of this do people NOT get????

[MercutioATC]

45. "Obama turned me into a Muslim!!!"

...I got better...

[southlandshari]

55. LMAO!

:rofl:


Finding someone with a sense of humor in GDP has given me renewed hope in Amurika!

:woohoo:

[no name no slogan]

54. I've heard it too, and I'm in the bluest state in the union

And guess what? The person who told me Barack was a Muslim was a Ron Paul supporter. Go figure.

[Yael]

56. The Manchurian Muslim meme

The bleating call of the 25%ers

[CJCRANE]

57. And yet they trust Bush

who is best buddy to the oil sheikhs and tried to sell American ports to Dubai!

:shrug:

[riverwalker]

60. They confuse him with Keith Ellison

Congressmen from Minnesota. You would think by now, people would know the difference.:shrug: Maybe Keith could make a commercial "Hello, my name is Keith Ellison, and I am not Barack Obama and he is not me."

[muck17]

62. This is what Obama supporters are going to have to fend off in the GE

And despite the stuff that exists on hillary, all of her dirty laundry has been aired already. This muslim stuff is going to really hamper obama. The "facts" really don't matter. Kerry had facts on his side, look at how that helped him.

[ronnykmarshall]

63. I've had to lecture a lady I work with about that shit.

She's a democrat and handed me one of those fucking e-mails. I didn't go OFF on her TOO much. But I pointed out that this shit is republican crap. She felt bad and I told her that even thought we support Hillary that Obama could be a great candidate for our party.

This shit makes me :puke:.

[fedupinBushcountry]

90. Good for you

and that is what every Democrat should do no matter who they support.

:patriot:

[Alexander]

65. Hell, some Shillbot racists were spreading that shit here.

I specifically remember a DUer who posted days ago that Obama was "raised in Muslim ways"....:wtf:

[Bongo Prophet]

66. Alexander, in the spirit of community, can you chill on the name calling?

That just doesn't help.
Indeed, it only aids the FALSE notion that supporters of each side must hate each other.
It is being flamed by players that are NOT real dems.
Some of us are getting sucked into it - that is the nature of a mob.
DU is not a mob, it is a community of caring people, and yes, some are jerks sometimes.

ALL GOOD PEOPLE should stand up against the slurs against EITHER candidate.

So simple, but we need to listen to each other more.
Either candidate will need ALL of our help in the general, and we need to avoid that 100 year war, I am sure you agree!

Peace

[Alexander]

72. Calling Obama a "muslim" is racist. I won't apologize for the truth.

When a Hillary supporter says it on DU, that means they don't deserve the title "Hillary Clinton supporter" but rather "Shillbot", since they've shown they will troll around to no end for Hillary.

Don't ever ask me to refrain from pointing out racist comments when I see them. Because I won't.

[Obamanaut]

76. Is "Muslim" a race? nt

[Zorra]

69. I've heard this also, but it came from the mouth of an ignorant fascist. n/t

[Hill_YesWeWill]

70. I ignore you

[Historic NY]

73. Doesn't anyone here check out SNOPES.com..........

http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp

[bigtree]

75. Overe and over, in conversations I find myself arguing against some idiot who insists

Obama's a Muslim, mostly from his name.

[smoogatz]

77. My neighbor thinks Hillary's a lesbian who wants to garnish

his paycheck to give health insurance to black people. My neighbor is a total fucking moron. I'm actually kind of glad that people like him vote for Republicans: it means that ultimately we're on the right track.

On edit: it's amazing to me that the "stupid racist assholes won't vote for Obama" voices of concern are still cropping up on DU. It really is the stupidest argument ever.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

91. I actually used to be worried about that too.

But over the last several weeks of Primaries in the South, I am extremely pleased to note that Amerikans are not as racist as I thought they were. :)

[Vinca]

78. It's a shame the vast majority of Americans are idiots.

They are too lazy to learn about the candidates or the issues and just absorb the BS oozed by talk radio and television talking heads. I'm sure none of them have heard of the late King Hussein of Jordan - our great ally - or know that Hussein is a common name meaning "handsome one." This is the same crowd that will be convinced Bill will entertain lady friends in the Lincoln bedroom while President Hillary is out of town.

[NJmaverick]

79. Biogtry and ignorance knows no boundries

It can be found in every state of the Union.

[rucky]

84. Dimwit lady is a racist.

It's still socially acceptable in the USA to hate Muslims - the perfect cover (if only it were true).

I'll wager that most people who repeat the lie know it's not true, but don't let that stop them.

[barbtries]

85. ok correct me if i'm wrong

but doesn't obama identify himself as a christian? just saying; if i'm the ignorant one so be it.

[mzmolly]

86. I've heard this SEVERAL times from various people and have gotten more than one email

asserting "Obama is Muslim LOOKOUUUUUT!"

:eyes:

I correct this nonsense everywhere I can but, make no mistake, there is a concerted effort to paint Obama as a "terrorist".

[Medusa]

87. You wouldn't believe the right-wing trash emails my family has sent me

most of them are Republicans. I--obviously--am not. And they know it so they can't resist sending this kind of crap to me. Even when I redirect them to Snopes to debunk something, they keep at it.

[fedupinBushcountry]

88. What is your point ?

Are you another Hillary supporter who just stood by and did not speak up to the swiftboating of a Democrat? Do you think you are going to change minds with this crap? Sheesh! :eyes:

[smalll]

89. It's a problem, because the truth that counters this is just as troubling for the general voter --

What can the Obama camp say? No, he's not a Muslim; in fact, both of his parents were atheists. And Barack himself has been an active member of a black supremacist church for many years now. :shrug:

[CyberPieHole]

94. His father was an "atheist"? Why would an atheist name his son "Hussein"?

That doesn't pass the smell test.

[stillcool]

96. I guess they can say...

he is a human being who chose his faith? Novel, yes? I really believe that if people choose to remain ignorant and fearful of all that they are not, then this country will remain exactly what it is today. Nothing ventured nothing gained. I just wish people would not eviscerate other human beings with such glee. But...I guess that's just me.

[watercolors]

95. GET A LIFE!

NT