# Guess what happens when you dress in Muslim garb and go out in a tiny Alabama town. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 10, 2009, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-happens-when-you-dress-in-muslim-garb-and-go-out-in-a-tiny-alabama-town/485264 "2009-02-10T19:41:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-happens-when-you-dress-in-muslim-garb-and-go-out-in-a-tiny-alabama-town/485264/61 "2009-02-12T00:01:31Z")
> [@CaerieD](#): > > I went to school with Muslims who were perfectly willing to eat pork. I had some Hindu classmates in college who ate beef. I remember one of them saying “I would never eat this at home, but in the US it’s too hard to avoid it.” I thought that was pretty funny, since I’m an American and I’ve managed to avoid beef for many years! > [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > The story I heard was that it was supposed to be spelled “Arad”. Maybe the water tower painter was dyslexic. > > We get a kick out of the fact that their high school mascot is the Arabian Knight. Dressed in robes with a scimitar, right? Nope, it’s a knight in shining armor. Maybe he’s a crusader. Then again, I guess you of all usernames would know a crusader when you saw one. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-happens-when-you-dress-in-muslim-garb-and-go-out-in-a-tiny-alabama-town/485264/62 "2009-02-12T00:21:45Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Why not? If Sturgeon’s Law means anything at all, it means that 90% of the population is going to be \*\*pig-\*\*ignorant about pretty much anything you could name. That is insulting the pig. They are quite smert, actually. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-happens-when-you-dress-in-muslim-garb-and-go-out-in-a-tiny-alabama-town/485264/63 "2009-02-12T00:34:41Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > That is insulting the pig. They are quite smert, actually. So, I guess by not knowing that, **kaylasdad** is himself pig ignorant? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-happens-when-you-dress-in-muslim-garb-and-go-out-in-a-tiny-alabama-town/485264/64 "2009-02-12T01:20:29Z")
Did anybody see The Colbert Report when Colbert went to Colbert county (opening a Stephen Colbert museum and having a scene from MIRACLE WORKER [Colbert County is the birthplace of Helen Keller])? He also got a friendly reception. (True he’s a white southerner, but only tangentially on the latter part- his parents moved to South Carolina from non-southern states; so far as I know he’s white, though Sally Hemings had some relatives named Colbert so it’s possible that in some states he’s not.) ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-happens-when-you-dress-in-muslim-garb-and-go-out-in-a-tiny-alabama-town/485264/65 "2009-02-12T02:41:41Z")
> [@sulawesi](#): > > Sure. She must have known something was going on when three provocatively-decorated cars, with different messages no less, all pulled in to the parking lot at once and someone got out to film the scene. What could that have been, from her perspective, but a set-up to see how she would react? > > “Harassed” might be too strong a word, but seeing if you can get a rise out of people because they’re stupid bigots with poor impulse control is insulting, at best. Too bad she gave them the response they wanted. Yeah, they were trying to get her to react, but I still think that if someone’s dumb enough to call out the boys because of some fairly inoffensive stuff, then it’s their own fault. If I saw some stereotypical Southerner driving a car in NYC that says “BILL GRAHAM ROCKS” and “HOMOS SUCK (get it?!),” I’d think they were asinine, but I wouldn’t dignify them with a response, especially if they had a camera. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-happens-when-you-dress-in-muslim-garb-and-go-out-in-a-tiny-alabama-town/485264/66 "2009-02-12T03:43:20Z")
> [@](#): > > **Freudian Slit** : If I saw some stereotypical Southerner driving a car in NYC that says “BILL GRAHAM ROCKS” and “HOMOS SUCK (get it?!),” I’d think they were asinine, but I wouldn’t dignify them with a response, especially if they had a camera. That is your idea of the "stereotypical Southerner’? How bizarre. I wouldn’t think the stereotypical Southerner would have an “obscenity” on a bumpersticker or shorten Billy Graham’s name. And in real life, the two concepts wouldn’t be paired together. > [@](#): > > **Bridget Burke** : Some folks in The Bible Belt might be upset by nuns! (Even though most nuns don’t dress that way may more.) Very true. My grandchildren have been upset by nuns from time to time, but you have to expect that in Catholic schools. I’m Protestant and think they’re all like Ingrid Bergman and Julie Andrews. I have always wanted to check out the exit on !-65 in Alabama that says “Ava Maria Grotto.” > [@](#): > > **Hentor the Barbarian** : IF appeals to racism work to win voters in one part of the country and not in others, how could we not conclude that that part of the country is more racist than others? When people vote, how do we know that they voted based on the racial issue? I know that I heard Republicans try to tie Barack Obama to the word _terrorist_ and to Middle Eastern and Muslim roots to the point where some people (even in Northern states) were afraid of him. If that kind of misinformation changed a vote from Obama to McCain, then that vote would have been based on bigotry of a different nature, but not exactly on race. I didn’t hear any blatant appealing to “Don’t vote for the African-American; “they” can’t handle the Presidency.” I did hear African-Americans ridiculed in many ways including musical CDs and cookies.) I don’t deny that some of the voting was based on “race.” I just don’t know these people except at SDMB. Or maybe they just remain silent. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-happens-when-you-dress-in-muslim-garb-and-go-out-in-a-tiny-alabama-town/485264/67 "2009-02-12T03:55:53Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > That is your idea of the "stereotypical Southerner’? How bizarre. I wouldn’t think the stereotypical Southerner would have an “obscenity” on a bumpersticker or shorten Billy Graham’s name. And in real life, the two concepts wouldn’t be paired together. No, but it’s the type of thing someone would do if they’re trying to bait a super liberal Manhattan type. I’m just saying that if someone did something that was clearly designed to push my buttons to get a reaction out of me, I wouldn’t take the bait. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-happens-when-you-dress-in-muslim-garb-and-go-out-in-a-tiny-alabama-town/485264/68 "2009-02-12T04:42:29Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > No, but it’s the type of thing someone would do if they’re trying to bait a super liberal Manhattan type. I’m just saying that if someone did something that was clearly designed to push my buttons to get a reaction out of me, I wouldn’t take the bait. Wonderful; you’re a good person. Is \*everyone \*in Manhattan so tolerant? If you drove the “HOMOS SUCK” car through Manhattan all day you wouldn’t get at least one response like they did? ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-happens-when-you-dress-in-muslim-garb-and-go-out-in-a-tiny-alabama-town/485264/69 "2009-02-12T04:45:02Z")
> [@furt](#): > > Wonderful; you’re a good person. Is \*everyone \*in Manhattan so tolerant? If you drove the “HOMOS SUCK” car through Manhattan all day you wouldn’t get at least one response like they did? You’d probably get weird looks and maybe someone coming up to you to ask you what you’re doing. But rocks? IMHO, once you think it’s permissible to throw rocks at someone just because they criticize NASCAR and Country/Western or have liberal politics or are gay, then you’re officially an asshole. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-happens-when-you-dress-in-muslim-garb-and-go-out-in-a-tiny-alabama-town/485264/70 "2009-02-12T05:02:50Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > You’d probably get weird looks and maybe someone coming up to you to ask you what you’re doing. But rocks? IMHO, once you think it’s permissible to throw rocks at someone just because they criticize NASCAR and Country/Western or have liberal politics or are gay, then you’re officially an asshole. OF COURSE. The fact that they are assholes is the point. Are there no assholes in Manhattan? If putting on a McCain T-shirt and carrying a sign can get crowds of people to curse and give you the finger, is it such a stretch to think that an explicitly anti-gay message might not get you a punch in the mouth from at least one angry manhattanite? Actually, I shouldn’t be asking it as a question. I’m from New Jersey, and I damn well KNOW that if you go around deliberately trying to insult/offend New Yorkers, sooner or later one of them will lose it. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-happens-when-you-dress-in-muslim-garb-and-go-out-in-a-tiny-alabama-town/485264/71 "2009-02-12T05:13:06Z")
> [@furt](#): > > OF COURSE. The fact that they are assholes is the point. Are there no assholes in Manhattan? If putting on a McCain T-shirt and carrying a sign can get crowds of people to curse and give you the finger, is it such a stretch to think that an explicitly anti-gay message might not get you a punch in the mouth from at least one angry manhattanite? Okay, so there are assholes all over. I still think it’s pretty scary that a pro-gay message could get someone to throw rocks. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-happens-when-you-dress-in-muslim-garb-and-go-out-in-a-tiny-alabama-town/485264/72 "2009-02-12T13:54:11Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Okay, so there are assholes all over. I still think it’s pretty scary that a pro-gay message could get someone to throw rocks. You could probably get rocks (okay, hot dogs due to a shortage of rocks) running around saying "new york sucks! " in new york, and thats pretty much a meaningless statement. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-happens-when-you-dress-in-muslim-garb-and-go-out-in-a-tiny-alabama-town/485264/73 "2009-02-12T14:32:56Z")
Yeah, the definition of New York is ‘you got all kinds here’. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-happens-when-you-dress-in-muslim-garb-and-go-out-in-a-tiny-alabama-town/485264/74 "2009-02-12T14:46:41Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > You could probably get rocks (okay, hot dogs due to a shortage of rocks) running around saying "new york sucks! " in new york, and thats pretty much a meaningless statement. Yeah, but it does make me think that someone is a bigot if they react that way to a declaration of being gay. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-happens-when-you-dress-in-muslim-garb-and-go-out-in-a-tiny-alabama-town/485264/75 "2009-02-12T15:25:29Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > The lady at the filling station was out of line. And the funny part is that she was obviously _not_ Southern. Sounded like a Midwestern accent. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-happens-when-you-dress-in-muslim-garb-and-go-out-in-a-tiny-alabama-town/485264/76 "2009-02-12T15:25:57Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Yeah, but it does make me think that someone is a bigot if they react that way to a declaration of being gay. :rolleyes: And the point, which you seem determined to miss no matter how many times it’s explained is **there are bigots everywhere.** Thus, while she may be a bigot, it’s unfair to make her out to be a typical Alabaman, any more than it would be fair to label the punch-you-in-the-face-because-you’re-conservative people typical of their home. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-happens-when-you-dress-in-muslim-garb-and-go-out-in-a-tiny-alabama-town/485264/77 "2009-02-12T15:29:30Z")
> [@furt](#): > > :rolleyes: > > And the point, which you seem determined to miss no matter how many times it’s explained is **there are bigots everywhere.** Thus, while she may be a bigot, it’s unfair to make her out to be a typical Alabaman, any more than it would be fair to label the punch-you-in-the-face-because-you’re-conservative people typical of their home. I never said she was a typical Alabaman or Southerner. Just that she was hardly being harassed. Showing someone a sign with a message you don’t agree with and setting up a video camera isn’t harassment. I just think it’s her own damned fault she came off as an ignorant creep. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-happens-when-you-dress-in-muslim-garb-and-go-out-in-a-tiny-alabama-town/485264/78 "2009-02-12T15:31:09Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > How it _is_ and how it _votes_ are two different things. Although do note that Louisiana elected Bobby Jindal (R) as Governor in 2007, the first Indian-American to hold that position anywhere in the country. Louisiana also elected David Duke to its state legislature 20 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![sulawesi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@sulawesi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sulawesi)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-happens-when-you-dress-in-muslim-garb-and-go-out-in-a-tiny-alabama-town/485264/79 "2009-02-12T17:16:58Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Yeah, but it does make me think that someone is a bigot if they react that way to a declaration of being gay. And what I’m arguing is that she wasn’t reacting a gay pride message. No one paints “I’m bi” on their hood and means it. She was reacting to the correct assumption that people were coming in from out of town to mock stereotypical southern behavior. Yes, she handled herself extremely poorly. No, that probably wasn’t the first or second gas station they stopped at. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-happens-when-you-dress-in-muslim-garb-and-go-out-in-a-tiny-alabama-town/485264/80 "2009-02-12T17:23:45Z")
> [@sulawesi](#): > > And what I’m arguing is that she wasn’t reacting a gay pride message. No one paints “I’m bi” on their hood and means it. She was reacting to the correct assumption that people were coming in from out of town to mock stereotypical southern behavior. > > Yes, she handled herself extremely poorly. No, that probably wasn’t the first or second gas station they stopped at. Exactly – it was a deliberate attempt to make fun of and insult the people there, and they knew it. Surprise! You go around insulting people based on your bigotry, and they get pissed. Who knew? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-happens-when-you-dress-in-muslim-garb-and-go-out-in-a-tiny-alabama-town/485264.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-happens-when-you-dress-in-muslim-garb-and-go-out-in-a-tiny-alabama-town/485264.md?page=5)