# How many more attacks before the West has to consider the previously unthinkable? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 15, 2016, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-more-attacks-before-the-west-has-to-consider-the-previously-unthinkable/759950 "2016-07-15T02:38:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-more-attacks-before-the-west-has-to-consider-the-previously-unthinkable/759950/81 "2016-07-15T20:35:32Z")
> [@Mr.Natural](#): > > I heard that one after Paris, San Bernadino, Chattanooga, Orlando, Garland Texas, Ft Hood Texas, Boston… Really? I never did. The Paris attacks were assumed from the outset to be an ISIS-inspired highly organized massacre. The US attacks, and presumably the Nice one as well, were the work of homegrown radicals, just like the Planned Parenthood shootings, the Newtown school massacre, and the Isla Vista killings, among others. (Oddly, most people seem not to mind when non-Muslim mass killers are described as having mental illness issues in addition to fanatical beliefs. But when a Muslim mass killer is described in that way, it’s seen as somehow “excusing” his crimes.) ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-more-attacks-before-the-west-has-to-consider-the-previously-unthinkable/759950/82 "2016-07-15T20:41:23Z")
A road rage conviction and a history of mental illness. I believe he may also have been born non-Christian. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-more-attacks-before-the-west-has-to-consider-the-previously-unthinkable/759950/83 "2016-07-15T20:42:22Z")
There are (at least) two big picture phenomena at work here. One is the radicalization of Islam. The other is the Islamicization of radicals. Lists of terrorists claiming to have done bad things for ISIS include both types. Orlando was pretty clearly the latter, and it’s looking like Nice is too. Paris pretty clearly the former. It is sometimes useful to separate them, though in the end, I’m not sure it really matters to what we do about it. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Natural](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a9adbd/32.png) [@Mr.Natural](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Natural)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-more-attacks-before-the-west-has-to-consider-the-previously-unthinkable/759950/84 "2016-07-15T20:43:56Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > And Colorado Springs, Oklahoma City, Pensacola, Brookline, Birmingham, etc., etc. Going way back on some of those. I’m glad you mentioned Birmingham, though, because as a kid I remember white and black alike, often arm in arm, protesting, marching, and some even dying for civil rights for all our citizens. I don’t see those peaceful Muslims doing that. I don’t see them protesting against the radicals that hate so badly that they kill in the name of their God. Not to protest that almost makes it seem that they implicitly support it. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-more-attacks-before-the-west-has-to-consider-the-previously-unthinkable/759950/85 "2016-07-15T20:54:14Z")
Or are afraid of them. How quick would you be to protest radical Islam if it put your family at risk? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Natural](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a9adbd/32.png) [@Mr.Natural](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Natural)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-more-attacks-before-the-west-has-to-consider-the-previously-unthinkable/759950/86 "2016-07-15T20:58:00Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Or are afraid of them. How quick would you be to protest radical Islam if it put your family at risk? Some of those that protested for civil rights were beaten, some even killed. You do the right thing. You’d think that those billions of peaceful Muslims would be offended enough that the radicals are killing in the name of their God that they would protest and end it. Billions of peaceful Muslims, we are told, and relatively few radicals. You tell me that the billions fear the few that much to stand by while the few mock their God, and blame their God for the hate? ---
**Author:** ![Ramira](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ramira/32/344_2.png) [@Ramira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ramira)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-more-attacks-before-the-west-has-to-consider-the-previously-unthinkable/759950/87 "2016-07-15T21:14:40Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Oh…how many sects of Islam allow gay Mullahs? Or allow gay weddings?:How many have liberal interpretations of the dietary laws? Whatcevidence is there that American Muslims are more tolerant than American Christians? Since the term mullah, a term of the Middle east and iranian area, indicates nothing more than being a learned scholar … just about any. Of course since it is only in the past decade that any significant Western christian organization has taken such steps it is a stupid ridiculous faux benchmark advanced to justify the bigotted thinking. > [@elucidator](#): > > A lot of people in the Sufi tradition, which emphasizes compassion, tolerance and mercy. Not much point in telling you that, you’d already know if you gave a shit. Of course he is showing the usual western christian tradition confusion in thinking the title he reads in the newspaper is = to the ordained clerics > [@Mr.Natural](#): > > Some of those that protested for civil rights were beaten, some even killed. You do the right thing. You’d think that those billions of peaceful Muslims would be offended enough that the radicals are killing in the name of their God that they would protest and end it. Billions of peaceful Muslims, we are told, and relatively few radicals. You tell me that the billions fear the few that much to stand by while the few mock their God, and blame their God for the hate? There is no God but the one God. It is not their God, it is God. Of course since there are protests against, and statements and etc. and the hateful bigots ignore and pose this faux question anyway… The hatred of the minorities and the eradicationist instinct of the Western christendom is a thousands years old tradition. > [@elucidator](#): > > Or are afraid of them. How quick would you be to protest radical Islam if it put your family at risk? “Protest radical islam” is a stupid meaningless statement. there are protests all the time against the organizations like the DAESH, as in the Iraq. ---
**Author:** ![Ramira](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ramira/32/344_2.png) [@Ramira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ramira)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-more-attacks-before-the-west-has-to-consider-the-previously-unthinkable/759950/88 "2016-07-15T21:21:03Z")
Of course the faux questions will continue, but the real source is evident enough - it is easy enough to see the gross hypocrisy when if presumed white Christians are killed (even if thhe numbers of Maghrebine origin killed are numerous) you put the colors up on your facebooks, but if Turks or others are killed by the same DAESH, nothing… ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-more-attacks-before-the-west-has-to-consider-the-previously-unthinkable/759950/89 "2016-07-15T21:26:21Z")
> [@Mr.Natural](#): > > I don’t see those peaceful Muslims doing that. Well, you’re not really looking, are you? If you looked, you’d see a bunch of such actions, such as [Muslim Americans rush to condemn Orlando massacre](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/orlando-shooting-pulse-nightclub-muslims-condemn-attack/), and [Muslim Leaders Wage Theological Battle, Stoking ISIS’ Anger](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/09/us/isis-threatens-muslim-preachers-who-are-waging-theological-battle-online.html?_r=0). > [@](#): > > As the military and political battle against the Islamic State escalates, Muslim imams and scholars in the West are fighting on another front — through theology. […] > > Sheikh Hamza Yusuf, an American Muslim scholar based in Berkeley, Calif., has pleaded with Muslims not to be deceived by the “stupid young boys” of the Islamic State. Millions have watched excerpts from his sermon titled “The Crisis of ISIS,” in which he wept as he asked God not to blame other Muslims “for what these fools amongst us do.” > > It is a religious rumble that barely makes headlines in the secular West since it is carried out at mosques and Islamic conferences and over social media. > > The Islamic State, however, has taken notice. > > The group recently threatened the lives of 11 Muslim imams and scholars in the West, calling them “apostates” who should be killed. The recent issue of the Islamic State’s online propaganda magazine, Dabiq, called them “obligatory targets,” and it said that supporters should use any weapons on hand to “make an example of them.” > > The danger is real enough that the F.B.I. has contacted some of those named in the Islamic State’s magazine “to assist them in taking proper steps to ensure their safety,” said Andrew Ames, a spokesman for the F.B.I.’s field office in Washington. > [@Mr. Natural](#): > > Some of those that protested for civil rights were beaten, some even killed. You do the right thing. You mean, like risking your life the way these abovementioned anti-terror imams are doing? Yeah, they **are** doing the right thing. Just like the [many informants and family members who have disrupted planned terror attacks by warning the authorities](http://interfaithcenter.org/archives/2718). > [@Mr. Natural](#): > > You’d think that those billions of peaceful Muslims would be offended enough that the radicals are killing in the name of their God that they would protest and end it. Ah, now we see your real complaint. You’re just whining that the billions of peaceful Muslims haven’t actually managed to **eradicate** radical-Islamist terror attacks so that you can stop worrying about them. You don’t care whether anti-terror Muslims are “doing the right thing” or risking their lives or families; you’re just upset because whatever they’re doing hasn’t actually stopped all terror attacks. How noble and idealistic of you. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-more-attacks-before-the-west-has-to-consider-the-previously-unthinkable/759950/90 "2016-07-15T21:42:38Z")
By **Mr Natural** ’s reasoning, we could argue that since something over 99% of terror attacks are committed by men, it’s the fault of the billions of allegedly peaceful men that the “relatively few radicals” are still committing terror crimes. Why don’t the peaceful billions just “protest and end it”? Gotta be easy, right? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-more-attacks-before-the-west-has-to-consider-the-previously-unthinkable/759950/91 "2016-07-15T22:51:09Z")
_I stay away from message boards and social media on weekends (between roughly 6 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. Monday), so this will be my last post until Monday._ My good friend Colin is not an atheist like me; in fact, he is a devout Christian, though he is a staunch Democrat like I am. He posted something very wise in response to my Facebook comments, which I am sharing with his permission: > [@](#): > > I continue to be baffled by our inability to approach this issue in a clear eyed and pragmatic fashion. Some ideas are simply wellsprings of violence, atrocity, and destruction. Eurocentric colonialism led to incalculable death and destruction; the philosophies of Nietzche, Hegel, Rand and Marx combined have led to hundreds of millions of dead and untold levels of detestation worldwide; why are we not able to look at the source of the ideas that are fueling this globe spanning wave of murderous (and within the Middle East itself genocidal) violence in the same way we look at other sources of horrific, deplorable, sadistic ideas? The answer, of course, is that there is a taboo against criticizing religion, especially against criticizing any religion not primarily practiced by white conservatives. And that’s got to change. > [@Princhester](#): > > Nothing to do with the people, it’s to do with the situation. Firstly, the favourable land and economic resources split wouldn’t happen. Is that just somehow snatched from the people who have it now? No, it would be the crappy land, and the unsuccessful parts of the economy. Same as everywhere else this sort of thing has been set up. This is a combined dodge, and strawman. You won’t address my actual proposal, as you say “no, it wouldn’t be what you suggest, it would be like the Trail of Tears”. Yet even that atrocity (which, BTW, worked out pretty well for white folks) was not as bad as the Nazis’ “Final Solution”. Point being, things are done differently in different times and places. It can happen! > [@iiandyiiii](#): > > As for tolerance, at least for homosexuality, American Muslims are [more tolerant of homosexuality](http://reason.com/blog/2016/06/13/in-america-muslims-are-more-likely-to-su) than evangelical Christians or Mormons, on average. That’s not much of a bar to clear. Sam Harris cited the following polls on his podcast: > [@](#): > > We’re not talking about only jihadists hating homosexuals and thinking they should die, we’re talking about conservative Muslims. The percentage of British Muslims polled who said that homosexuality was morally acceptable was zero. Do you realize what it takes to say something so controversial in a poll that not even 1% of those polled would agree with it? > > There’s almost no question that extreme that you will ever see in a poll that gets a zero, but ask British Muslims whether homosexuality is morally acceptable, and that’s what you get. And the result is more or less the same in dozens of other countries. It’s zero in Cameroon, zero in Ethiopia. 1% in Nigeria, 1% in Tanzania, 1% in Mali, 2% in Kenya, 2% in Chad. 1% in Lebanon, 1% in Egypt, 1% in the Palestinian territories, 1% in Iraq, 2% in Jordan, 2% in Tunisia, 1% in Pakistan. But 10% in Bangladesh. > > Bangladesh: that bright spot in the Muslim world where they are regularly hunting down and butchering secular writers with machetes. > [@Inbred\_Mm\_domesticus](#): > > Hasn’t the terrorism in Israel, or at least the deaths caused by terrorism in Israel declined by a huge amount since the West Bank and Gaza were effectively shut off from the outside world? I’m not saying I would aspire to follow Israeli government policy because it’s vile, but isn’t it effective? Yes, and clearly life in Tel Aviv for a feminist woman, or a gay man, or a freethinker, is far superior to what it would be anywhere else in the Middle East. Believe me, I have no love for the Israeli right, but I think overall, Israel actually serves as a point for my side. > [@iiandyiiii](#): > > No, I mean in a big picture percentage sort of way – It’s a very small percentage overall, but there are still more Muslims who support violence than members of other religions. I think this will change in the long term, since there’s no deep difference between the religion and any other, and is best explained by economic and geopolitical circumstances. And at the same time that we’re (hopefully) helping to improve the economic and political opportunities in countries with less, then hopefully we will be open and tolerant to Muslims and other immigrants to continue to prove that Muslims are equally capable of living peacefully and tolerantly (like Muslims in America, who are more tolerant and peaceful than Christians, on average). I think this is the best way to reduce this kind of violence, in addition to good law enforcement and intel. This narrative just isn’t supported by the facts, as much as the regressive left wishes otherwise. Research has found radical Islamic extremism at least as prevalent in families with high education and good economic circumstances as anywhere else. And Latin America is full of people who have been screwed over by Western colonialism, but who don’t use that to motivate them to engage in terrorism (thank “god”). It’s clear that the actual doctrines and culture of Islam are to blame here. As for the fact that U.S. Muslims seem less inclined to extremism, there are some who believe that this is in part because Americans are less secular than Europeans, and therefore less offensive to Muslims, who tend to be more devout than the average religion. If this is the case, it’s even more appalling to me as a progressive, highly secular atheist. > [@Mr.Natural](#): > > Going way back on some of those. I’m glad you mentioned Birmingham, though, because as a kid I remember white and black alike, often arm in arm, protesting, marching, and some even dying for civil rights for all our citizens. > > I don’t see those peaceful Muslims doing that. I don’t see them protesting against the radicals that hate so badly that they kill in the name of their God. Not to protest that almost makes it seem that they implicitly support it. Yes, good point. Although to be fair, a lot of them are keeping their head down because of fear. (Ah, now I see \*\*elucidator \*\*made the same point.) > [@Isosleepy](#): > > At what point? Your post contains the answer: > At such a time, an action affecting all Muslims in France would be appropriate, since all would in fact be guilty. The action most likely would be to expand the existing judicial system to handle all these criminals - a task I would indeed have a hard time thinking through. > > I find the notion of “2 million are trying to kill you” interesting. So far, less than 100 seem to have actively tried to kill anyone as an act of Muslim-on-non-Muslim terrorism in France in the recent past. How the hell do you extrapolate that to a number 4 orders of magnitude higher? Some special “because Muslim” math? I said it was a thought experiment, and was asking where the threshold is. I could not have been more clear. > [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > **OP** : > > I’ve said this before, but you come across like a high school senior who has only read Noam Chomsky and wants to lecture people about US foreign policy. You need to broaden your horizons beyond entertainers and polemicists and read some books by people with actual expertise in Islam, religion, and sociology. I majored in history in college and took a graduate seminar on Islam, taught by a Muslim. My mother is a retired professor of sociology, and my wife has a master’s in sociology. Thanks all the same, though! (I can’t stand Chomsky, but I’ll try not to be too insulted by that line.) > [@Peremensoe](#): > > In fact, your odds of meeting a violent end are reduced by spending as much time as possible in France, versus staying in the States. France could have a Bataclan-scale massacre _every month,_ and this would still be true. As I said in the OP, this actuarial approach just won’t fly. A situation where secular French people see Muslims and instinctually feel their hearts racing, wondering if an attack is immiment, is just not tenable. It’s not fair to the nonviolent Muslims, but it can’t be eradicated just by preaching probability. > [@elucidator](#): > > Was thinking that last part, maybe the truck attack was improvised on the spot. That’s a sickening thought, because now others around the world know they don’t have to go through all the trouble of acquiring guns and explosives. ☹ > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > This is a new low for you, Slacker, and you’ve hit some lows before on this board. Well, aren’t you sweet? \<3 > [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Nice job drumming up that strawman so you could project your racist. Calling me “racist” just doesn’t wash. I’ve a long history of cheering for the U.S. to become less white, of supporting reparations for slavery, of dissing on the Deep South, etc. By some definitions you could call me a “bigot” and have an argument. ---
**Author:** ![Ramira](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ramira/32/344_2.png) [@Ramira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ramira)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-more-attacks-before-the-west-has-to-consider-the-previously-unthinkable/759950/92 "2016-07-15T23:01:42Z")
So we learn you believe the rhetoric phrase “just won’t fly” as an assertion is effective. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-more-attacks-before-the-west-has-to-consider-the-previously-unthinkable/759950/93 "2016-07-15T23:15:13Z")
> [@Ramira](#): > > So we learn you believe the rhetoric phrase “just won’t fly” as an assertion is effective. But if it won’t fly, will it wash? Or vice versa? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-more-attacks-before-the-west-has-to-consider-the-previously-unthinkable/759950/94 "2016-07-15T23:25:47Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > This narrative just isn’t supported by the facts, as much as the regressive left wishes otherwise. Research has found radical Islamic extremism at least as prevalent in families with high education and good economic circumstances as anywhere else. And Latin America is full of people who have been screwed over by Western colonialism, but who don’t use that to motivate them to engage in terrorism (thank “god”). It’s clear that the actual doctrines and culture of Islam are to blame here. Comfortable people are a lot less likely to risk their lives for extremist ideology than desperate people, and this easily shows up in the statistics – wealthier and more stable Muslim countries (and wealthier countries in general) experience less extremist violence than poorer and less stable countries. > [@](#): > > As for the fact that U.S. Muslims seem less inclined to extremism, there are some who believe that this is in part because Americans are less secular than Europeans, and therefore less offensive to Muslims, who tend to be more devout than the average religion. If this is the case, it’s even more appalling to me as a progressive, highly secular atheist. “There are some who believe…” LOL, Mr. Trump. You hear things? People say? I think it’s probably because most American Muslims are relatively affluent and comfortable and rate highly on assimilation measures, including how ‘American’ they feel. > [@](#): > > Calling me “racist” just doesn’t wash. I’ve a long history of cheering for the U.S. to become less white, of supporting reparations for slavery, of dissing on the Deep South, etc. By some definitions you could call me a “bigot” and have an argument. I don’t know if you’re a racist, but all those things don’t necessarily mean you are not. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Natural](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a9adbd/32.png) [@Mr.Natural](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Natural)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-more-attacks-before-the-west-has-to-consider-the-previously-unthinkable/759950/95 "2016-07-15T23:54:31Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Well, you’re not really looking, are you? If you looked, you’d see a bunch of such actions, such as [Muslim Americans rush to condemn Orlando massacre](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/orlando-shooting-pulse-nightclub-muslims-condemn-attack/), and [Muslim Leaders Wage Theological Battle, Stoking ISIS’ Anger](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/09/us/isis-threatens-muslim-preachers-who-are-waging-theological-battle-online.html?_r=0). > You mean, like risking your life the way these abovementioned anti-terror imams are doing? Yeah, they **are** doing the right thing. > > Just like the [many informants and family members who have disrupted planned terror attacks by warning the authorities](http://interfaithcenter.org/archives/2718). > Ah, now we see your real complaint. You’re just whining that the billions of peaceful Muslims haven’t actually managed to **eradicate** radical-Islamist terror attacks so that you can stop worrying about them. You don’t care whether anti-terror Muslims are “doing the right thing” or risking their lives or families; you’re just upset because whatever they’re doing hasn’t actually stopped all terror attacks. How noble and idealistic of you. Oh, ok. They’re protesting the actions of the “radicals” on Facebook, Twitter,and Video chats. Well gee. Excuse me. I’m sure this is going to change the entire culture! ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2016, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-more-attacks-before-the-west-has-to-consider-the-previously-unthinkable/759950/96 "2016-07-16T00:01:37Z")
Have to warn you, **Mr. Natural**. If you’re trying to out-stupid the OP it’s probably not gonna work. Damn valiant effort though. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Natural](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a9adbd/32.png) [@Mr.Natural](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Natural)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2016, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-more-attacks-before-the-west-has-to-consider-the-previously-unthinkable/759950/97 "2016-07-16T00:05:37Z")
> [@xenophon41](#): > > Have to warn you, **Mr. Natural**. If you’re trying to out-stupid the OP it’s probably not gonna work. > > Damn valiant effort though. Intelligent response. Maybe you can answer why the billions don’t protest against the supposed few that are making their religion look bad, because your buddies sure haven’t yet been able to explain it. I mean real protest, and not a facebook or twitter comment or two. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2016, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-more-attacks-before-the-west-has-to-consider-the-previously-unthinkable/759950/98 "2016-07-16T00:07:29Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Okay, I’ll try answering rationally. I seriously doubt that anyone suggesting or supporting the things the OP suggests/supports is interested in (or even capable) of rationality. > [@SlackerInc](#): > > _I stay away from message boards and social media on weekends (between roughly 6 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. Monday), so this will be my last post until Monday._ > > My good friend Colin is not an atheist like me; in fact, he is a devout Christian, though he is a staunch Democrat like I am. Is he an utter moron like you, too? > [@](#): > > The answer, of course, is that there is a taboo against criticizing religion, especially against criticizing any religion not primarily practiced by white conservatives. And that’s got to change. This is complete rubbish. There is no taboo against criticizing religion. What you’re getting roasted for is (a) your equating the membership of an entire religion with the violence of an incredibly small minority of members of that religion. > [@](#): > > Calling me “racist” just doesn’t wash. I’ve a long history of cheering for the U.S. to become less white, of supporting reparations for slavery, of dissing on the Deep South, etc. By some definitions you could call me a “bigot” and have an argument. Just because you’re not a racist does not mean you are not a bigot. The facts in evidence show that you actually are a bigot, just a different flavor of bigotry than racism. > [@Mr.Natural](#): > > Oh, ok. They’re protesting the actions of the “radicals” on Facebook, Twitter,and Video chats. Well gee. Excuse me. I’m sure this is going to change the entire culture! There are Muslims protesting IRL and in public. Your stupidity, prejudice, and willful blindness do not discount that fact. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Natural](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a9adbd/32.png) [@Mr.Natural](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Natural)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2016, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-more-attacks-before-the-west-has-to-consider-the-previously-unthinkable/759950/99 "2016-07-16T00:08:44Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > There are Muslims protesting IRL and in public. Your stupidity, prejudice, and willful blindness do not discount that fact. Where are these protests? Are there any in the Atlanta area this weekend? If so, I’d like to join them. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Natural](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a9adbd/32.png) [@Mr.Natural](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Natural)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2016, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-more-attacks-before-the-west-has-to-consider-the-previously-unthinkable/759950/100 "2016-07-16T00:12:58Z")
Well, this protest was in 2014, though not exactly the type that is going to quell the terrorists… [http://conservativepost.com/muslims-invade-atlanta-to-protest-against-israel/](http://conservativepost.com/muslims-invade-atlanta-to-protest-against-israel/) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-more-attacks-before-the-west-has-to-consider-the-previously-unthinkable/759950.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-more-attacks-before-the-west-has-to-consider-the-previously-unthinkable/759950.md?page=6)