BERRY: No, Tony, you can’t build a mosque at the site of 9/11.
TONY: Why not? Why not?
BERRY: No, you can’t. And I’ll tell you this: If you do build a mosque, I hope somebody blows it up. … I hope the mosque isn’t built, and if it is, I hope it’s blown up. And I mean that. … It’s right-wing radicals like me that are going to keep this country safe for you and everyone else from the people who are flying the planes from the country you fled from. If you want to identify with those people, go live with them.
From where I sit, there are far too many people WAY too worked up over the idea of a mosque being built near Ground Zero in lower Manhattan. Their arguments tend to verge on laughable variations of “I’m not a bigot, but….”, and then everything that comes after the “but” reveals them to be Grade A bigots.
Let’s just pretend, for the sake of argument, that we accept the theory that a mosque shouldn’t be built near Ground Zero because Muslims flew the planes into the Twin Towers. If you accept that theory, then you’d also need to argue that no Christian churches should be built near the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. Of course, no REAL American would accept the logic of this argument…because White Christians by definition can’t be terrorists. Right…and what, exactly, was Timothy McVeigh?? An atheist PETA activist? A Packers fan?
(While we’re on the subject of Timothy McVeigh, surely I’m not the only one who finds it disconcerting that Michael Berry bears a striking resemblance to the Oklahoma City bomber? Just sayin’….)
I could go on like this for quite some time, but just as I was contemplating doing that along comes Michael Berry, a former Houston city councilman. Now a Right-wing loon with a radio talk show, Berry has his knickers in a knot over the idea of building a mosque near Ground Zero. The reason behind his barely-under-control, vein-popping rage? Well, from what I can tell, Berry’s argument is pretty simple (and pretty laughable):
“BUT…BUT….ISLAM!!! TERRORISM!!! MUSLIMS!!!”
I could going into great detail about what a cowardly mental midget (and bigot who’s caught up in trying to compensate for his, um, “shortcomings”) Berry is, but I’ll leave that to mi compadre, John Cobarruvias, who lives in Houston and gets to experience Berry up close and personal. Besides, I think he’s pretty much nailed what Berry is truly all about:
I really dislike Michael Berry. He has no problem shooting his mouth off about fighting terrorists or supporting the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, but he isn’t willing to join the service and shoot a gun to fight in the war. Instead he cowers behind a microphone and shoots his mouth off like so many other conservative chicken hawks. He is perfect draft bait, young, no kids, and ultra mega-conservative.
But instead of fighting his way to the front of the line at the recruitment office, he would rather pump his fist in the air to encourage others to fight in his place. He is a perfect example of a republican chicken hawk.
CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) has filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission. Good for them. The caller, Tony, told Berry that he was just as bad as the terrorists when calling for violence.
I agree, but terrorists aren’t chicken.
This sorry episode is hardly the first time that Berry has fired from the lip from behind the safety of a microphone. Yes, to his credit, Berry did apologize, but offering an apology carries no corresponding obligation that it will be accepted. And an apology doesn’t magically erase the hatred and the ignorance he expressed in the first place. In this case, Berry needs to be held accountable. Having a soapbox doesn’t mean that one can and should spout whatever hateful diatribe happens to hatch in his pointy li’l haid.
Perhaps even worse, at least from my perspective, is Berry’s insultingly juvenile and indefensible argument. I can handle the fact that Berry has an opinion different from my own. What I find so offensive is his willingness to insult the intelligence of his listeners with an argument that could be roundly shut down by any second grader with a learning disability. Then again, bluster, bigotry, and hatred are a great way to deflect attention from the reality that the emperor isn’t wearing any clothes.
Listen to Michael Berry and vote Republican. It’s a helluva lot easier than thinking.
