Hahahaha……. I love it!!!
Colin, let’s get the facts straight….I didn’t call you a “right wing bar”, it was “right wing nut job” and I don’t believe I used the term “small minded bigot”, it was “narrow minded bigot”, although I can’t be sure of this because you deleted the post….If I used the word “small”, I apologize because “small minded” implies being stupid which I wasn’t intending, while the use of “narrow minded” would refer to your view on the subject matter. Bigot is defined as “a person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially: one who regards or treats the members of a group”. So let’s put all this into the context of the subject matter….(this is the “get your head out of your ass” part)….to quote from your blog “Western countries then put in place laws in their own countries that outlaw Islamic practices that do not correspond with western values…..” and “In short a specific set of laws that deal with issues very real within western countries that relate to Islam.” Now, I don’t think your intention was to suggest the western world adopt policies similar to that of the Nazi’s, but I’m afraid that’s how it reads. As I continued reading, I came across this gem…… “up to 30% of Muslims actually agree with the fundamentalist facets of their religion and quietly, with a nod and a wink, agree with the goals set out by Islamic State”…. What you did is take a stat from a poll with a very small sample size (British Muslims) relative to the group you were generalizing about (1.6 billion Muslims) and forced into the point you were attempting to make. Also, there is no mention of the socio-economic profile of the group being polled (rich, poor etc..) so again there’s no context to this 30% figure you’re throwing out there….blah, blah….I’m not going down this road again.
I think it’s also important to note that all of the above followed this comment from you; “ You need to expand your horizons an little and start looking outside your progressive socialist box Robert”…and this isn’t the first time you said this type of thing to me and I know it’s just part of the banter, however on this occasion following what I had just read in your blog, telling you to get your “head out of your ass” was as polite as I could put it. Colin, I regret none of my comments and while I won’t go as far as saying I was offended by that particular blog post, I was surprised by the level of intolerance you seemed to be okay with. As a somewhat regular commenter on this blog who does not use an anonymous handle, I sure as hell wanted to make sure I made my thoughts known. Lastly, I hope I don’t need to point out the irony in the final paragraph of your latest blog; “Remember everyone, we live in one of the best countries on earth, this blog and others like it only exist because our forefathers spilled much blood and treasure to give us this right of freedom of expression and speech. So please be respectful.”
VIEW FROM A NOBODY 