Flada Blog

You hear the words “extremist Islamic terrorists” thrown around a lot these days. The people who use this terminology will be quick to point out that they don’t believe all Muslims are extremists or terrorists, but implied in their original statement is the idea that all terrorists and all extremists are Islamic. To those of us on the sidelines, it’s often difficult to discern a difference between them and the people they hate so much.

Boca Raton Republican Debates

While talking about “extremist Islamic Terrorists” it’s impossible for me to not think about this past week’s Republican debate in Boca Raton, Florida which was broadcast on MSNBC. All but one candidate is running and campaigning on voters’ fear. The fear that we will be attacked by some massive army of radical Muslims. They remind me of the anti-WalMart crowd or the anti-corporation crowd that is so fearful of Walton’s ghost hiding in their closets or the Microsoft under their beds.

The problem with such fear is that corporations grow large for one of two reasons (or a combination): they produce goods or services that many people want at prices many people are willing to pay, or they are propped up by government welfare. (I should note that welfare does not mean “letting people or businesses keep more of their own money” but means things like laws that don’t apply universally, subsidies, and grants. Calling tax breaks “welfare” is simply a rewriting of definitions in order to confuse the masses reminiscent of Orwell; thanks, Ralph Nader.

Redefining Terms

In the same way, those who thrive off of the public’s fear of terrorism come up with new definitions for old words in order to confuse the masses. Surrender, which the online Free Dictionary defines as the act of giving up one’s person, one’s possessions, or people under one’s command to the authority, power, or control of another is redefined. Unless we accept that we possess or hold legal authority over Iraq and the sovereign Iraqi people, to leave Iraq can not be called “surrender” without a redefinition.

They also use the word “insurgent” as if it were a negative thing. An insurgent is one who stands up to an established authority. So initially, who were the “insurgents” in Iraq? And now, there really isn’t an established authority, unless you count the sham puppet government we’ve put there.

Then again, redefining terms to suit your ends is nothing new. Propaganda has existed for a long, long time.

Heath Ledger’s death

The morning after Heath Ledger’s death, a few of the instructors where I teach were discussing it. One of them said, “Good! I’m glad he’s dead.” Then he proceeded to call Mr. Ledger a few derogatory terms that are often used to reference homosexuals.

I told them that I had been a Heath Ledger fan since the first time I saw The Patriot. Ledger struck me as a wonderful, fresh young actor with a lot of potential. The few other movies I’ve seen in which he acted confirmed my initial opinion. So I asked the instructor in question why he disliked Heath Ledger so much. It pretty much boiled down to the kiss in Brokeback Mountain, which is what I had suspected. Homophobe Instructor explained that, “God hates queers,” and that what they do is unnatural and sinful. At one point in his diatribe, he also stated that he (and presumably God) would be happy if all homosexuals were dead. I didn’t push my counter (and far more rational) views because I have to work with this extremist Christian Terrorist on a daily basis.

Yet, I was immediately reminded of something Mahandas Ghandi once said: “I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”