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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsBest sign ever
Last edited Sun Jun 11, 2017, 06:11 PM - Edit history (1)
Best sign ever!
Link to tweet
Best_man23
(4,907 posts)We've had a religious freedom law on the books since the country was founded, its called the First Amendment.
This point should be made every time the argument for a "religious freedom law" comes up.
Wounded Bear
(58,711 posts)to them it is a "Freedom to Discriminate because of religion" law.
Initech
(100,103 posts)They're literally playing chicken with the first amendment, and it's a game that they're going to lose every time.
zentrum
(9,865 posts).our history!!!
FairWinds
(1,717 posts)in fact, the Pilgrims were fleeing freedom of religion, and there
was widespread discrimination against religious minorities
for most of our early history.
(the Pilgrims landed about 170 years before the
First Amendment was adopted . .)
WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)Wounded Bear
(58,711 posts)most of the people fleeing religious persecution in Europe set up their own religious discriminating societies.
The founding fathers were smart enough to know how to counter that with the 1st Amendment. They purposely did not mention a specific religion or sect to prevent what modern RW "Christians" are now trying to do. The religious wars of the 17th Century was still pretty fresh in their memories. Hell, their parents could probably remember the Salem witch trials, a great home-grown example of religious extremism gone wild.
iluvtennis
(19,872 posts)Mosby
(16,357 posts)-snip-
But Linda Sarsour, the former executive director of the Arab American Association of New York who CUNY invited to speak at its June 1 graduation ceremony, is anything but stupid. She is a brilliant tactician who manipulates the media to gain attention and sympathy for her cause. She labels herself a progressive, perpetuating the disturbing idea that being a progressive and supporting Israel are somehow mutually exclusive, a notion which only muddles the label for those who truly seek to constructively advocate on behalf of legitimate and necessary issues. She is presiding over an ever-expanding effort to project an anti-Israel message within the context of human and civil rights causes. She has thrown down the gauntlet, challenging Jews and the world at large to choose between either a criminal and illegitimate Israel or the righteous and wholly innocent Palestinian underdog.
Last September, I stood along with many of my colleagues at a New York City Council Public Hearing on that bodys resolution to officially condemn the BDS movement a hearing at which all those in favor, including myself, were shouted down as Jewish pigs and Zionist filth from provocateurs strategically placed in the audience. It was Linda Sarsour who was at the forefront manipulating the camera shots and sound bites. It was Linda Sarsour who sat for hours listening with great satisfaction to the libelous rants and screamed obscenities alleging that Israelis murder Palestinian babies. It was Sarsour who nodded approvingly and congratulated individuals who were kicked out of the hearing room for being out of order, for walking in front of individuals providing testimony in support of the resolution, and for shouting down our supporters with anti-Semitic slurs all in the name of protecting free speech.
I know what CUNY has stood for in the New York Jewish world as I, myself, am a graduate of its undergraduate and graduate schools. My father, my sister and my wife as well are CUNY graduates. CUNY has long been a bastion for the worlds largest Jewish community in the diaspora to feel safe in their pursuit of a higher education.
However, we look to the many anti-Semitic and anti-Israel acts in a number of its treasured schools over the past year, including Medgar Evers College and Brooklyn College and wonder how much longer proud Jews and supporters of Israel will feel safe on campus. To its credit, CUNY has taken some steps to combat these incidents and at schools specifically, such as Brooklyn College, we have seen progress.
However, inviting an obvious antagonist of the worlds largest Jewish community outside of Israel, an individual who doesnt shirk from using controversial tactics against Israels supporters, to speak at CUNY is a bewildering act by its leadership sure to inspire only more hate, harassment and confrontations perpetrated against the Jewish student body. CUNYs invitation to such an individual, an invitation I remind you not requested by students but rather by the administration itself, will provide cover to those seeking to legitimize her message. Her commencement speech belies CUNYs stated commitment to fighting anti-Semitism.
http://forward.com/opinion/372714/linda-sarsour-is-an-arsonist-in-our-midst/
Rustyeye77
(2,736 posts)Hortensis
(58,785 posts)People need to understand that many on the far left are far more like the nasties on the far right than they are more mainstream people, and vice versa. Some of them are both far left and far right at the same time, depending on the issues and who they want to attack most.
What far left extremists are NOT is just a stronger version of mainstream liberals. They are very different, most particularly in their natural bent to hostility and aggression and rejection of tolerance and cooperation. Very like the far right.
It's extremely unfortunate and troubling that antisemitic troublemakers are taking over so much of the Israel dialog. The last thing the Palestinians need is yet more escalation of divisiveness and hostilities. I no longer even view this as Jew versus Palestinian or Judaism versus Islam conflict -- rather as the many people of good will on both sides versus the hateful troublemakers on both sides. Many times the good people have come together for peace, only to have it destroyed by the others.
lillypaddle
(9,581 posts)She IS a bigot, and I can't fucking stand her.
dchill
(38,537 posts)OnlinePoker
(5,725 posts)Many Native American religious rights and rites were completely banned under federal laws for 80 years (sun dance ceremonies and sweat lodges, for instance). Children were forcibly removed to American Indian Boarding Schools where they were taught good Christian ideals such as sodomy and torture. This discrimination continued into the 1970's.