To the mouth-breathing bigoted colostomy bag in my building:

The BBQ Pit
1

Fuck you with a freshly felled oak tree. Branches first.

Wait, let me rewind a few scenes.

So I had to go to the mall to pick up a package at the post office, and while there pick up a few sundry items and a bit of something for dinner. No big deal, I live five minutes from the mall on foot. The package turned out to be larger and heavier than I was expecting, and the plastic bag I took to carry it was woefully inadequate to the task. Nevertheless I yanked it around on one handle while I did a little shopping and picked up dinner, then headed back to my building.

As I wait for the elevator on P1, a large guy and his girlfriend wander in and wait beside me. The guy is one I recognize as being a resident in the building. He and his girlfriend are of the larger pursuasion, though still young, certainly not more than early 20s, and he always tends to look extremely scruffy. Black T shirt, jeans, greasy near-mullet, and a hideously unkempt face full of bramble that reminded me of nothing so much as the Cheers episode where Frasier, Cliffy and Norm engage in a beard growing contest. This guy’s looked like Cliff’s in the intermediate stage, when Frasier and Norm, already sporting impressive growth, kept making fun of Cliffy’s sparse but wild facial shrub. Except unlike Cliff’s, this guy’s beard never matured into a full-bodied and highly absorbant mass, instead opting to remain the patchy, asymmetrical collection of keratinized crabgrass he perpetually sports; it’s been like that every time I’ve seen him. If ever there was a Canadian version of the prototypical Redneck, he would be its leader.

I don’t know his name, so I’ll just call him asshole.

The elevator arrives and we shuffle on. Asshole and his SO engage in a bit of conversation. It goes up to G, where it stops to let others on. I’m standing to the left of the door, while asshole and his li’l woman are standing by the door. An Indian fellow begins to walk on with his wife in tow. He’s wearing traditional earth-tones and a white circular cap. He appeared to be the Imam of his mosque. His wife is covered head to toe in a hijab and a sari. As they entered I heard asshole mutter, “Hurry up, al’Qaida.”
“What did you say?” asks asshole’s girlfriend – not in the incredulous manner of one who can’t bring themselves to believe what just came out of the other person’s mouth, but in the manner of one who just didn’t hear properly.
“Hurry up, al’Qaida.” he repeated in the same tone, just loud enough to hear, possibly even by the two it was directed at, but not loud enough to be a directed slur. If they heard, they didn’t give any indication. I hope they didn’t. Asshole’s girlfriend did though, but didn’t seem to care – as though this was every day vomit that came from his festering gob. She just picked up the conversation where it left off as if he hadn’t said anything.

You ignorant, racist, fetid pile of rancid abbatoir slurry. If you had a single brain cell in your head that wasn’t being strangled by your neck bush you might just have some glimmer of understanding that he’s a fucking Imam. That’s like a pastor. He’s a prayer leader. He has nothing whatsofuckingever to do with al’Qaida or the twisted neo-Muslim bullshit terrorist factions spew. If your head contained anything more than putrefying adipose tissue you’d be able to see the difference like a civilized human being instead of a jiggling pile of last week’s blancmange. I hope that one day you say just the wrong thing at just the wrong time to just the wrong person and they turn around yank that oily mass of linguini on your head so hard you’ll be sneezing pubes for the next month.

So, fuck you with a freshly felled oak tree. Branches first.

2

At least a colostomy bag serves a useful if unglamorous purpose.

3

Geez, what an asshole. I hate people like that.

4

I would thank you not to insult my grandfather’s prosthesis, thank you much. Even used, his butt-bags (as he calls them) are nicer and more intelligent than the pseudo-human described by the OP.

5

Too bad you couldn’t have discretely dropped ass in the elevator and blamed it on the festering pussbag of bio-mass.
And hey!! There’s plenty of open mouth breathers that have more than one brain cell and some are even Dopers!

6

You should have spoken up. He wasn’t your boss, father, or anyone to whom you owe deference. It was chickenshit not call him on it at the time, and doubly so to come here and tell the story so you can feel smugly superior. Evil triumphs because good men confine themselves to bitching about it on the internet.

And since someone will ask: yes, I have publically called out racists, including ones bigger than I.

7

Mindfield I take it your aware that the Islamic guy isn’t actually a radical islamic preacher who actively advocates and preaches jihad against the west?

The arsehole may well have simply been a racist, bigot with limited social graces or understanding with a lower worth to society that a bag that collects shit.

On the other hand he may well have been making a comment based on knowledge of what the Imman preaches. The comments whilst not exactly subtle social commentry may well have been founded on knowledge the ‘arsehole’ had. If arsehole knew that Imman was preaching such a course then I could see that he might well have felt he had a justified grievance that he expressed to the Imman.

8

I’d like to have spoken up. I have a confrontation phobia however – always have – and if that makes me a chicken shit, so be it. But just because I “allow” shit like this to happen by way of inaction doesn’t mean I condone it, nor does it mean I can’t bitch him out by proxy. Not everyone has the wherewithal to call people out on their bullshit, and it doesn’t make me any less a human being for being one.

Yes, I’m quite aware, which is the reason for the rant. If somehow I had knowledge that he was involved with al’Qaida or at least had leanings in that direction I might not have been quite as annoyed – and frankly I don’t have that knowledge, and I’m quite certain neither did asshole. It was clear he was just being a racist fuck spouting shit because the guy was muslim.

I don’t think he has that level of sophistication, nor do I think he has any knowledge, or desire to gain knowledge, about the Muslim religion at all. I’m far from being any expert and will freely admit ignorance to most of that subject, but even I know there’s an entire galaxy of difference between radical terrorist “muslims” and real practitioners of the faith, and am well aware that the Quran does not actively preach the kind of sick shit terrorists twist the words of Allah into. It really doesn’t take much to learn that, either, but the willfully ignorant won’t even bother to figure that much out, preferring instead to comfort themselves with their own bigoted view of the world and think they have it all nailed down.

9

I do believe that is the definition of condoning it.

10

Condone (k&n-'dOn): to regard or treat (something bad or blameworthy) as acceptable, forgivable, or harmless <a government accused of condoning racism> <condone corruption in politics.>

So sayeth Merriam-Webster.

To condone it I would have to consider it acceptable, forgivable, or harmless. It is D) None of the above. (Well, it may be forgivable depending on your ability to do so under the circumstanes, the it is in no way acceptable or harmless)

11

Jeez, some of you guys are hard core. If I got in the face of everyone who made an ass-holish statment in my hearing, I’d be getting into fist fights every day. Hell, I’d have to tape up just to go to the local Wal Mart.

12

I am offended by such senseless brutality toward oak trees. Karana created large double-ended dildoes, available in a variety of colors, for your intended purpose. Spare the trees!

13

What other people said. I presume, then, that if you aren’t constantly working against all injustice, you condone whatever it is you leave out. Even I have to sleep and shit at some point.

I mean, come on - apparently the attacked gentleman and his wife didn’t speak up either. I suppose that means they condoned their own mistreatment?

The person we should be criticizing is the asshole. He’s responsible for his own racist conduct. Let’s not forget that.

14

Look, this is easily resolved. Mindfield, simply encourage the folks who feel you are responsible for the asshole’s behavior to PM you. You will supply them with Asshole’s home address. They will then assume responsibility for driving or flying out to said address and administering the justice of “good men”.

To do anything less would be to confine themselves to be merely bitching over the Internet!

Sailboat

15

Oh, I’m *so *sorry, I was under the impression that it was a cowardly act to remain silent while someone was making racist statements in front of me. Apparently that isn’t the case. Carry on, then.

16

I didn’t say Mindfield was right to remain silent. I merely point out that if it’s wrong for HIM to gripe over the Internet, instead of taking on the bad guy in potentially physical confrontation, it’s wrong for the rest of us to gripe about THAT over the Internet, instead of going to the source ourselves for a (potentially physical) confrontation.

Sure, it’s more work for us to make the trip, but on the other hand, we don’t have to live next to the angry mouth-breather for the next fifteen years after confronting him, so I’d say we’re getting the sweeter end of the deal.

More seriously…

Although this story does not sound especially complex, I can certainly imagine more complex circumstances where remaining silent is not cowardly so much as it is wise. It’s a simplification, perhaps an oversimplification, to say one should always confront angry idiots who’ve demonstrated poor reasoning. Perhaps not every such confrontation will lead to violence, but, by definition, few will lead to better reasoning, eh?

Imaginary example: Schulz the Nazi guard is watching Herr Jones lead his small family past the checkpoint. Schulz mutters “Death to all Jews!” I angrily confront him for his racism: “Don’t you know, Herr Jones and his entire family are Jews! It’s rude to say that in front of them!” Schulz, who didn’t know they were Jews, shoots all of us.

Okay, that was an extremely silly example. But…in my silly story, Herr jones has, for his own reasons, chosen not to confront the hater. Is it right for me to force Jones into tis confrontation because of my own moral indignation? That seems mildly parallel to the OP’s Muslim Imam choosing to say nothing…is it right to wage war on the hater in front of the Imam abnd drag him into it?

I hate racism and have contempt for pea-brained racists too. I also know someone who has anger management problems, hates racism to an even more exaggerated degree, and is awaiting a suspended judgment for assualt – pending good behavior, and completion of anger management class, the charges will be dropped.

Should I force an angry confrontation if I see racism when I am walking with my friend? It is an almost certain jail sentence and criminal record for my friend if I do.

Your mileage may, and probably does, vary.

Sailboat

17

I think this is a very important point. Going after the racist under these circumstances might end up with repercussions for the people who are already getting the ill-treatment–the Imam and his wife. We have the responsibility to combat racism, but that doesn’t include starting fights or getting innocent people hurt.

18

You may well have been under that impression; however, by misdefining “condone” you chose a strikingly poor way of relaying that impression.

19

Okay, once again, I’m quite an anti-confrontation sort of person. If I find myself suddenly in the midst of one (that I did not instigate) I will certainly argue my point, but otherwise I try my utmost to avoid potential conflagrations. I’m not a fighter and never have been; growing up a under five-and-a-half-feet with muscles of pure pipe cleaner and the preferred target of bullies everywhere has a way of doing that to you. If your belief leads you to think me a lesser human being for it then that’s your perogative; I do not need or want anyone’s approval for my actions or lack thereof. Certainly if I were a more forthright and assertive (and preferably larger) individual then perhaps I should have stood up and made my objection known whatever the consequences. But I am not, and I did not.

Furthermore I did not know if the Imam or his wife had heard, so even if I was given to throwing down the gauntlet at every injustice I encountered, the last thing I wanted to do is drag them into an altercation for a slur they may otherwise not have been aware of. Cluing them in would not have benefitted them in any way, and may have done more harm than good however much or little effect my objection would have on asshole. (For the record, being that he was about three neuron misfires from becoming a drooling meat sack, it is unlikely that anything short of recreating the last half hour of A Clockwork Orange on him would have any appreciable effect)

20

I wouldn’t have said anything to the guy, either. Anyone who’d say something like that might not mind punching a dissenter in the face, and it’s just not worth the risk. A bigot like that ain’t going to be shaken from his opinions in a 30 second elevator ride anyway. I can imagine how that conversation would have gone.

Mindfield: “You know, it’s not nice to call someone ‘Al-Qaeda’ just because they are Muslim.”

The Colostomy Bag: “Why don’t you shaddup, you commie pinko homo.” punchs Mindfield in the face so that his head ricochets off the walls of the elevator a few times

And then everyone stands around watching blood stream out of Mindfield’s face and head.