Hmm. My Pakistani stepdad said the following about the Mumbai shootings:

[Smith_3]

That it is a shame that of course everyone is gonna blame Pakistan for this. That there is no telling who did this since India has so many suppressed minorities that they treat very bad, including christians.

[DiverDave]

1. The Indian dude at

the local little store told me it WAS the Pakistanis, and he nearly spit that name out.
I told him it was MUSLIM extremists, and that nationality really didn't figure into it.

He's pretty convinced...

[JI7]

3. the ones involved in international terrorism come from certain Muslim nations more than others

for example Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

not many or any from Iraq or Afghanistan.

[Selatius]

4. Sadly, I expect the situation with Iraq will change. What we did there will create Iraqi terrorists.

A lot of Iraqis lost family members, some their entire families. For some, that's more than enough reason to strap on a bomb and go for a walk.

[tom_paine]

10. I am reminded of the old sci-fi series "Bablyon 5".

If you haven't seen it, it was, IMHO, the smartest sci-fi series ever, and I like Star Trek, too, but it simply cannot compete with the large intellectual perspectives that Babylon 5 brings to the table.

To say it was a show about a "Space U.N." is incredibly facile, but it is a basic description nonetheless.

There was an episode about a Mad Bomber radomly setting off bombs on the space station. It turned out to be the proverbial lone nut, and a human. But I am reminded of the mock "CNN Interviews" of two warring races, the Centauri and the Narn, who used the opportunity to proclaim the barbarism and certain cuplabiliy of their hated enemy.

Which leads me to my point and what I believe to be an axiom of human nature: When something horrific happens, people's first inclination is to blame their emeies for it, regardless of what the facts say.

[JI7]

2. so maybe it was the suppressed Christians who did this

but seriously, minorities are treated worse in Pakistan than India .

[crispini]

5. Did you hear that they caught one of the guys?

and he was Pakistani.

[annabanana]

6. Have your stepdad take a look at this post

and tell us what he thinks:


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=4554548&mesg_id=4554548

[Dorian Gray]

7. Wow.

I agree that it's terrible that the Pakistani government will be blamed for the actions of insane terrorists.

The second statement, however, is untrue. India does not suppress its minorities. There have been skirmishes among the people in certain areas, but the government does not treat people badly. The terrorists attacks were perpetrated by militant islamists who intended to cripple the city of Mumbai.

[blondeatlast]

8. Especially Christians? Is what you are enjoying available over the counter?

If not, can you provide your doc's contact info?

There is plenty of ethnic unrest, but the Indian government is pretty proactive on it.

[ThomWV]

9. It was an interesting assertion, wasn't it?

I believe that the majority of Christians in India are located in just a few northern provences (states), but that within those provinces they are in fact the majority. I do not have a reference for this, just what my Indian-born and partially raised daughter-in-law has told me.

[blondeatlast]

11. My husband is Punjabi and we follow the area intently; he still has

siblings there as well.

I'd love to see Mike's "evidence" from a credible source (fwiw; I'm a Cchristian and he was raised Hindu but is now non-religious).