Archive for September 2, 2010

No Mosque At Ground Zero – For Starters, Because Nobody’s Proposing One

Update 1/4/11: Additional discussion of the potential basis for the East Mountain Tea Party’s apparent bias against Islam can be found in our article East Mountain Tea Party Officials and Islam.

by John Weckerle

We had initially thought not to address the construction of a Muslim community center in downtown Manhattan (the Park51 Project, or Cordova House, commonly but mistakenly called the “Ground Zero Mosque), but since the East Mountain Tea Party has apparently decided to make this an election issue, we’ve decided to add some thoughts to the debate.

We’d like to begin, though, with a caution regarding a particular set of practices of discussion that seem to have become popular in certain quarters.  The first is the device by which those who disagree with a particular position attempt to turn the argument back on the originator as some sort of personal critique.  In spoken conversation, we often refer to this as the “I know you are, but what am I?” method, and have little use for it.  The second is to just outright attack the person originating the position or those who agree with it in general.  We’re not big on that one, either.  We invite our readers to post whatever comments they like, but be aware that we will probably ignore these two literary devices where responding to comments is concerned.

We also have something to say to the nebulous “teapartynm” who posted the article: We don’t think you should have to put your money where your mouth is, but you should certainly put your name there if you truly believe in what you’re saying.  To twist a line from the movie “Beetlejuice:” “Never trust the unidentified.”

»» No Mosque At Ground Zero – For Starters, Because Nobody’s Proposing One