Breitbart "News" Reacts to Arabic Calligraphy Lesson With Horrifying Deluge of Hate Speech https://t.co/nINY4X1EYG
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) December 19, 2015When the world geography class at Riverheads High School in Staunton rolled around to the subject of major world religions, homework on Islam asked students to copy religious calligraphy. It read: “Here is the shahada, the Islamic statement of faith, written in Arabic. In the space below, try copying it by hand. This should give you an idea of the artistic complexity of calligraphy.”…. The illustrative classical Arabic phrase was the basic statement in Islam. It translated to: “There is no god but Allah, and Mohammed is the messenger of Allah.”…. When students took it home, it was like a spark hitting a powder keg. Some of their parents saw the homework as an attempt to convert their children to Islam. Calls and emails flooded the school. Some of them demanded the teacher be fired for assigning it. Cheryl LaPorte had not designed the assignment herself, but took it from a standard workbook on world religions, local newspaper The News Leader reported.
It seems there are few things more thoroughly American than the willingness to hate and fear something because trying to understand it is just too damned much effort. So many Americans react to anything even vaguely Muslim as if it’s about destroying America and the Christianity guaranteed by our Holy, Inviolable, and Sacrosanct 2nd Amendment. If they could be bothered to learn something about Islam, they’d understand that it’s about peace in the very same way Christianity is. They associate Islam with terrorism, even as they conveniently ignore the truth that the Homeland faces a far greater threat from Christian terrorists than those of the wild-eyed radical Islamofascist variety.
And Heaven forbid that we should teach our children anything about Islam or Muslim culture…because if they understand something, it’s SO much harder to teach them to hate it, right?
Of course, if the lesson had involved an aspect of Christian doctrine, nary a word would have been uttered in opposition…which is about all you really need to know about the hypocrisy in play here. Then again, if you (incorrectly) believe all Muslims to be terrorists, even the mere mention of Islam should be considered a danger not only to the impressionable minds of our precious snowflakes but to the Homeland itself.
When you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, one can safely err on the side of overreaction in His name when it comes to protecting the sanctity of the faith, no? Otherwise, who knows when The Black Guy in the White House ©- that closet Muslim, baby Jesus-hating, terrorist sympathizer- might betray ‘Murrica and hand this great land over to ISIS/ISIL?
The school district has decided that in the future, this lesson will be taught using an example of non-religious Muslim calligraphy. This probably won’t completely mollify the haters who resent the mere mention of anything not explicitly endorsing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but at least it doesn’t represent the total caving to ignorance, rage, and overreaction.
‘MURRICA!!!
In her desire to condemn what is, essentially, a drawing exercise, Herndon conflates all Muslims with jihadists, claiming that the shahada is “the chant that is shouted while beheading those of Christian faith, or people of the cross as being called by ISIS,” before proceeding to issue a chant of her own, concluding her Facebook post by writing “Blessed be the name of THE LORD. THE LORD OF LORDS AND THE KING OF KINGS. THERE IS POWER IN HIS NAME AND HE IS WORTHY OF ALL PRAISE.”
Because of the media attention [Kimberly] Herndon’s ignorance has brought down upon the school district, “the school division began receiving voluminous phone calls and electronic mail locally and from outside the area…communications have significantly increased in volume today and based on concerns regarding the tone and content of those communications, Sheriff Fisher and Dr. Bond mutually decided schools and school offices will be closed on Friday, December 18, 2015.”
This is about far more than religious zealots taking stupidity and doctrinaire intolerance to new heights (or depths, more accurately). It’s about people so stunningly ignorant that, as John Cleese once said, they’re too stupid to recognize their stupidity. Not only do they not know the first thing about that which has their panties in a wad, their Christianity has little to do with the teachings of Jesus Christ. It’s about elevating their ignorance and reaction over the truth, which to them is but a mere inconvenience. I suppose this is what happens when your intellectual curiosity dies on the vine in the 10th grade and you get your news, information, and opinions from Fox News Channel.
That may sound harsh, and perhaps it is, but it happens far too often in this country that ignorance, prejudice, and reaction are expected to carry the day. The belief that “my ignorance is equivalent to your knowledge” is as offensive to those who actually try to use our brains as it is dangerous. There was nothing remotely offensive or redolent of anti-Christian indoctrination in Ms. LaPorte’s lesson. What it represents is an opportunity for the ignorant, intolerant, and intellectually flat-lined to air their prejudice and calumny for all to see.
Greetings from ‘Murrica, where fear is the dominant reaction to anything not understood by the masses, and where the media and those who benefit from the sowing of hatred and intolerance find fertile ground.
Granted, using Arabic calligraphy with a religious (Islamic) theme may not have been the best choice…though in Ms. LaPorte’s defense, she didn’t design the curriculum herself (And would a lesson with a Christian theme have generated controversy? Exactly.). To argue that she was heavily invested in the indoctrination of young children is as laughable as it is untrue. The calls for her to be fired are little more than an example of an enraged mob mentality striking out against something the mob doesn’t understand and refuses to learn about. That many are calling for Ms. LaPorte to be fired should be taken as proof of what happens when reaction and rage overwhelm rationality and reason.
Of course, once Fox News Channel decided to weigh in on the “controversy” by fanning the flames of ignorance and reaction, any hope of having a rational discussion was lost. There was simply no convincing those when KNEW in their heart of hearts that Ms. LaPorte hates the baby Jesus and was acting as a willing shill for ISIS/ISIL that the lesson was artistic- not religious- in nature.
It’s no wonder Donald Trump has such a large base of support. These are exactly the sort of people rallying to his cause, and he’s sufficiently adept at demagoguery to be able to exploit this sort of fear and ignorance.
Welcome to our new idiocracy, eh?
