If you have not been living under a rock for the past couple of weeks, you might have noticed that a duo of radical Muslims attempted to crash a makeshift art exhibit… in Texas. Apparently public education in the subject of American Social Studies is worse than we thought if these now deceased punks thought they could pull off a coup d’état in Texas. What is even worse is that after the dust settled, we are seeing the proverbial lines drawn on the issue of Free Speech. On one side, we have “I believe in Free Speech” and on the other side we have “I believe in Free Speech, but…” For the first time in history, we are beginning to see clearly who the true lovers of liberty are and who among us prefer the serenity of despotism.
The event in question was sponsored by “a New York group that had promised $10,000 for the best cartoon depicting Muhammad. Drawing or otherwise depicting Muhammad is largely forbidden under Islam.”
Well, for the record, Chris Matthews is not happy. On his highly rated show “Hardball”, Matthews criticized the anti-Islamic group for setting up a “mouse trap” for Muslims to react violently. The attitude that Matthews was able to project in a very short amount of time was an unspoken presumption that not only is this a more evolved form of racism but the newest threat to Freedom of Expression.
Salman Rushdie once said that any time he hears the word “but” after the phrase “I believe in Free Speech” he automatically checks out of the conversation. For those of you who do not know, back in the 90’s a fatwa was put on Rushdie’s head for the despicable act of publishing a book. Needless to say, Rushdie was championing the virtues of Free Speech before it was hip and fashionable.
However, the term “but” is a very subtle indicator of the politically correct left of center and it shows us that the racism of yesteryear never went away, but, like Marvel’s Hydra, it evolved and infiltrated into the ranks of the very people who fought the hardest against racism.
This new racism is called White Privilege. No, it is not the White Privilege that you hear bandied about around academic circles and lily-white universities; it is the privilege of dual standards of behavior.
Instead of placing the blame on the two failed Islamic Terrorists, Matthews’ ire is aimed at the very people participating in what he does for a living every night (even if no one is there to see it): Free Speech. The veil of racism is finally lifted. People like Chris Matthews treat Muslims like a desperate absentee parent treats their estranged child. Yearning to make up for lost time, these parents desperately want to be back in the child’s good graces. Thus, their tolerance level for bad behavior is much higher than of other parents who are not crippled by neurotic guilt. Matthews sees Muslims as neglected children, not as free agents of moral responsibility.
Matthews would not tolerate such behavior from white Christians. I bet he is still up in arms about the abortion bombing that happened over 20 years ago because, you know, those people who were involved with those bombings were white and white people know better. Perhaps it will take Islamic terrorists blowing up a Planned Parenthood for Matthews to direct his righteous indignation at Islamic terrorists.
If Matthews actually saw Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi (the shooters) as his equal, he would be projecting spittle at them for falling into the mouse trap that these people set in Garland, Texas.
When a toddler falls into a well, our natural instinct is to save him/her even if the well was marked with big red warning signs. But if an adult swan dives into the very same well, we might just want them to figure their own way out.
White Privilege means having a different behavioral standard for whites and a different standard for anyone else who is perceived as an aggrieved victim. Matthews exudes this new racism. He sees brown-skinned Muslims as helpless victims of circumstance who could not help themselves. They had no choice but to attempt to mass murder people. It is that Pam Gellar should have known better. She is a white person. White people have much more nuance and depth than these disenfranchised Muslims. They should not have triggered them. They cannot help it!
When you hold a different set of standards for a certain sect of people you immediately strip them of their humanity and treat them as a rescue off the streets who desperately needs your intervention. Instead of a fellow citizen, liberals, in general, see a project.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali said that you cease to treat people as your equals when you try to avoid offense.
Photographer: Gianluca Colla/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** Ayaan Hirsi Ali
When you subject people to this soft racism, they eventually get used to it. They learn to exploit misfired guilt to their advantage, and why shouldn’t they? But try to treat Islamic terrorists like everyone else and the cries from the likes of Chris Matthews abound. And when Chris Matthews lectures you, bring a raincoat.
Thomas Sowell described what would happen if you treated people less than equals in saying that, “When people get used to preferential treatment, equal treatment seems like discrimination.”
Instead of inviting his fellow Muslims into the modern world, Matthews keep them in a state of perpetual childhood. He thinks that because patronizing makes him feel good, he is doing a noble thing, but what he is really doing is handicapping people from functioning in a cruel world. The real racists in America have handed in their cross-burning for condescending accommodations.
Ever notice what happens when supposed art mocks Christianity? You usually don’t have to worry about flying bullets or decapitated heads. Instead, Christians are called unwashed rubes for not wanting tax money to fund art that can be done by Marilyn Manson in the private sector. At least when Manson mocks Christianity, it is far more entertaining and creative.
This new racism will die in America when liberals look upon radical Muslims with as much disdain as they do fundamentalist Christians.
