I was hanging out in the drama lounge of Hutchinson Hall over at the UW one day, waiting for my class, when a classmate, and drama/chid double major (CHID stands for Comparative History of Ideas) came storming into the room and threw down her bag.
I said to her, "What's wrong?"
She replied, "I cannot believe that they have actually declared this week link"
I frowned, curious, having never heard of this before, but my jaw slowly dropped as she explained what was going on around campus.
"The Muslim Students Organization have had link! Ann Coulter is actually going to come to our campus to give a speech about how the liberals are using universities to brainwash America's youth, and how universities are a breeding ground for Islamic terrorists."
"You have got to be kidding!" I declared. "Can they actually do this?"
"There's a petition you can sign in the CHID office," she told me. "Also online. It basically explains how we're all for open-discussion, but not for black-sheeping of an entire race and religion. We don't want to stir up unneeded fear or mistrust in our fellow students. We're against the so-called 'Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week' because of its clearly fear-mongering title, and an attempt to associate all of Islam with the actions of a few extremists."
But for the rest of the day, I was angry. At one point I said I wanted to dump a bucket of red paint on Ann Coulter if she tried to talk on our campus. A girl I know (named Ann) told me to use balloons, and that she'd help, because "Coulter gives 'Ann' a bad name." Another girl (named Lisa) told me to calm down, told me maybe it wasn't all bad, and I explained that Coulter is not someone who is willing to discuss openly, to compromise, or to even listen to or respect anyone with a different opinion than she has, so I was not going to respect or listen to her either. Even in class, the discussion continued.
"Islamo-Fascism" is a term that demonizes an entire group of people and feeds on latent fears that already exist in today's society. People do not need to be reminded of the attacks of 9/11, they remember it. We know that there are terrorists, and we know that they are out to take down our country, but the term "Islamo-fascism" is uncalled for. As my friend said, "I haven't been this outraged since they had 'White Power Week' two years ago."
This is ridiculous, America. Absolutely ridiculous.
And just to give you a different perspective, here: link
I said to her, "What's wrong?"
She replied, "I cannot believe that they have actually declared this week link"
I frowned, curious, having never heard of this before, but my jaw slowly dropped as she explained what was going on around campus.
"The Muslim Students Organization have had link! Ann Coulter is actually going to come to our campus to give a speech about how the liberals are using universities to brainwash America's youth, and how universities are a breeding ground for Islamic terrorists."
"You have got to be kidding!" I declared. "Can they actually do this?"
"There's a petition you can sign in the CHID office," she told me. "Also online. It basically explains how we're all for open-discussion, but not for black-sheeping of an entire race and religion. We don't want to stir up unneeded fear or mistrust in our fellow students. We're against the so-called 'Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week' because of its clearly fear-mongering title, and an attempt to associate all of Islam with the actions of a few extremists."
But for the rest of the day, I was angry. At one point I said I wanted to dump a bucket of red paint on Ann Coulter if she tried to talk on our campus. A girl I know (named Ann) told me to use balloons, and that she'd help, because "Coulter gives 'Ann' a bad name." Another girl (named Lisa) told me to calm down, told me maybe it wasn't all bad, and I explained that Coulter is not someone who is willing to discuss openly, to compromise, or to even listen to or respect anyone with a different opinion than she has, so I was not going to respect or listen to her either. Even in class, the discussion continued.
"Islamo-Fascism" is a term that demonizes an entire group of people and feeds on latent fears that already exist in today's society. People do not need to be reminded of the attacks of 9/11, they remember it. We know that there are terrorists, and we know that they are out to take down our country, but the term "Islamo-fascism" is uncalled for. As my friend said, "I haven't been this outraged since they had 'White Power Week' two years ago."
This is ridiculous, America. Absolutely ridiculous.
And just to give you a different perspective, here: link