The EDL wishes it had the support and coordination the KKK does/did.
But yes, the tea-and-biscuit thing was a brilliant bit of PR. In general, however, the EDL are facing a huge amount of heated opposition in the public, in the media, and even in the military (Help for Heroes, for example, has recently refused a large donation from the EDL). They’re always shown as a bunch of racist yobbos and, as far as I can tell, it’s not an inaccurate portrayal.
My first impression is that it’s a very good idea. There are caveats however. If it’s a mosque that breeds terrorists then it’s a stunt. I would be inclined to believe that a bunch of towel heads (TM insult for evil doers of Islamic participation) aren’t going to be able to pull it off so my second impression is that it’s a very good idea.
In my area we had a local Mosque invite the public in for a Q&A immediately following 9/11. It was well received but I have to tell you I was taken aback by an answer to my question. I asked about the giant statues of Buddha that were blown up in Afghanistan. The answer to that was that Islam objected to idols of false gods and it was justifiable.:dubious: I then asked them about the great pyramids of Egypt and was met with a blank stare.
So tea and biscuits are a great ice breaker where one shouldn’t be necessary but not everything is going to be received well regarding the religion.
I liked this bit, it would seem the decision to picket might have cost the EDL members:
Way to go. Maybe I should start using the word nigger a lot with a (TM insult for criminals of the black persuasion), kikes with a (TM insult for Jews who undermine the nations they live in) and spics (TM insult for lazy wetbacks of the Hispanic persuasion). I mean it’s not hate speech if it has a trademark and a qualifier, right?:rolleyes:
I thought it was an object lesson regarding his point about how, no matter how hard they try to appear superficially reasonable, the truth will always out when one is dealing with bigots and other irrational types.
I thought I was clear who I was calling a towel head. apparently not. It was MEANT to be insulting to those who use Islam as a means to justify terrorism. I used the term just as I would use bible thumping jackass in reference to Fred Phelps or redneck crackers in reference to the KKK. My apology to Muslims if it was taken any other way.
Yes, we got that. But racist slurs can’t be redefined at will to insult only a subgroup of their usual target group.
As Dissonance points out, it’s offensive to say “kikes” even if you intend it to mean only Jewish criminals, it’s offensive to say “niggers” even if you intend it to mean only black criminals, and it’s offensive to say “towel heads” even if you intend it to mean only Muslim criminals.
Here’s a thought: if you want a word to insult Muslim criminals and terrorists, why not call them “criminals” or “terrorists”?
Like others in this thread, I think this is a very good idea. It gains the respect of the wider audience (the people watching this at home on TV) while at the same time shows contempt for the opponent in a way that they can’t really respond to. It says, ‘you are so far beneath me that I’m going to pretend you didn’t say those things, because I am so strong and so secure that I can afford to do that.’
I meant a bit more than that; he used towel heads right after talking about mosques as breeding grounds for terrorists, itself a stereotype about Muslims/Arabs (towel head only really makes sense as a slur to Muslims from the Mideast, not that most people using the term know that there is a difference between Arab and Muslim), so nigger is ‘okay’ if it’s applied to the stereotype of blacks as criminals, kikes okay when applied to the Jews who seek to undermine their host countries like the vermin they are, and spics to describe those lazy wetbacks which Hispanics are. Adding a trademark symbol and explaining you don’t mean all of them, just the Muslim terrorists, or the criminal blacks, or the Jewish vermin, or the lazy Hispanics doesn’t cut it, especially when the speaker likely imagines these characteristics describe most of the group’s members.
Care to take a guess on what percentage of mosques in England or the United States “breed” terrorists? Do you know of one in particular with the sole purpose of “breeding” terrorists? Have they also served tea and cookies? What other such stunts have they pulled?
I can understand why you were met with a blank stare. Your question was a non-sequetur. My opinion is that your questions immediately following 9/11 were designed to be abrasive.
My husband and I had lunch at a local Arab restaurant on 9/12/01. We had eaten there before, but I don’t know if any of the small gathering of people there recognized us. The saffron ice cream was divine! The atmosphere was peaceful and pleasant.
Sorry no. It was an open house specifically to answer questions regarding the religion so people who didn’t know about it could better understand. I asked about the position the religion took regarding the Buddhas that were destroyed in Afghanistan. The question was answered honestly. He said they were justified to destroy the statues because they were idols. I then asked about the pyramids. That caught him by surprise. But the idea of tearing them down has been brought up in Egypt since the Arab Spring came about. so there you go. The same group who destroyed the Buddhas would like a crack at the Sphinx and surrounding pyramids.
couldn’t tell you if there’s one or one thousand. I do know the Ft Hood shooter took his advice from from Imam Anwar al-Awlaki of the Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Falls Church, Virginia. I know that Abu Hamza al-Masri was an Imam at the North London Central Mosque and was arrested/convicted of inciting murder and race hate. It was quite the hangout for troublemakers until a change of leadership.
I don’t think there are a thousand but I don’t think there are zero. You pick whatever number you feel comfortable with.
Islamists have previously called for the destruction of the Sphinx and the pyramids and with ancient Egyptian monuments, statues and mummies, etc. in general.
Heh. Unless they’re unable to figure out how to put a pillowcase on their head and are constantly denouncing themselves, there’s pretty much no way to have less support and coordination than the KKK.
It’s a subtly different flavour of crass stupidity, as far as I can tell. I’ve watched interviews with representatives of the EDL - they don’t even seem to have the capacity to present a version of their viewpoint that sounds mildly coherent.
In the interviews I saw, each time the interviewers asked any question, both of the EDL guys seemed to need a couple of seconds to screw up their faces into a rictus of rage and hatred before starting to answer - even when the question was quite benign or mundane.