Why do some people think that Obama is arab but then in same sentence say

[ej510]

that he is Kenyan. They also say that he is a muslim, but then they'd talk about his pastor.

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Because they are ignorant fools?

[LooseWilly]

16. That's the kind phrasing, in my opinion.

I can't help but call them retarded mouth breathers.

I'm not very nice sometimes though...

[begin_within]

2. They don't know what any of those words mean.

[sandnsea]

3. Same reason they say Dems will ban the bible

The actual Democrats in these towns don't do anything to stop it.

[Teaser]

4. The great thing about being stupid

is that no one expects you to be consistent.

[Kali]

5. ignorance

[Clio the Leo]

6. Isn't that a hoot? .......

.... it's the spaghetti approach ... just throw everything at him and see what sticks.

[justiceischeap]

7. I think the woman at the McKlan rally actually meant to say Muslim

and to most Americans, unfortunately, their world view is limited so they think Muslim = Arab. That's the current admin's doing and the media is complicit as well.

[democracy1st]

8. because they're racists bigots who can't come out and say don't vote for this N...r

[Overseas]

9. Because they're gossip types? They listen to this and that.

Don't like to read much. Don't care about checking sources. Used to be able to rely on reporters to do that. They don't realize or care that that has all changed.

[Rincewind]

10. Because

When your head is empty, there is room for any number of contradictory claims.

[TankLV]

12. I thing when you're brain is empty it's easy to build compartmentalized rooms

to house all the mutually exclusive crap and still feel perfectly sane when letting us see it all on display...

[LynnTheDem]

11. Because USA appears to be #1 in the amount of deeply stupid assholes.

[ginnyinWI]

13. It depends what the latest chain email called him

because that's what they will parrot.

I have a problem; I give in to the temptation to these ignorant family members. I've tried to reason with them and explain things but it's fallen on deaf ears and stirred up anger and resulted in nothing but angry emails back at me.

So I now have this sign taped to my computer monitor to keep me from responding:

" Don't try to reason with people who can't get past their fear."

[regnaD kciN]

14. For the same reason they believe a Muslim...

...would have a radical Christian pastor. :crazy:

[Rocknrule]

15. All the crap about him being a Muslim/Arab/terrorist/commie is just code for "I hate blacks"

[Robeson]

17. What country do you live in? That should answer your question.

[anneboleyn]

18. These people are not rational, logic-driven types.

[political_Dem]

19. Because they are stupid, fearful, authoritarian and racist.

And they are too lazy to learn about culture, race and ethnicity. They would rather be enveloped within their boring, bland, homogeneous worlds. They also believe in American Exceptionalism and super-patriotism. Their vision of an American is so narrow that it would cause them to go into deep shock if they discover there are Americans who don't "look like them".

[krkaufman]

20. Possibly my favorite, now, is recent protestations by Right Wing hate radio types ...

... that Louis Farrakhan referred to Obama as "the messiah." The AM chatterhead I was listening to over the weekend then continued ranting against this declaration, expanding it into Obama is the second coming of Jesus, of God himself -- per Farrakhan's statement.

Of course, the hilariously ironic part is that Farrakhan is the leader of The Nation of Islam, and so if he *were* to have referred to Obama as the or a messiah, it wouldn't be a Christian messiah.

They're so ignorant that they can't even keep their smears straight.

[ej510]

21. In Islam Jesus is a prophet.

[krkaufman]

22. But *NOT* God, himself, as the radio host was saying

... and which is a decidedly Christian interpretation.

[DeepModem Mom]

23. They are so ignorant that these 3 words are synonyms: Arab, Muslim, terrorist. That was...

the case, IMO, with the woman who told McCain that Obama was an Arab. She hesitated. I think she for some reason didn't want to say Muslim or terrorist, so she said the less, to her, incendiary "Arab" instead. In her mind and the minds of others, the words are the same.

I don't see "Kenyan" a lot in right-wing e-mails -- and not a lot about Wright recently.