Sen. Syverson should be held accountable for remarks
Recently, Senator Dave Syverson decided to post a joke on his (publicly viewable) Facebook wall. The joke, in full, reads as follows:
“Father/Daughter Talk… My daughter just walked into the room and said, ‘Dad, cancel my allowance, rent my room out, throw all my clothes out, take my TV, iPhone, Ipod, and my laptop. Please take all of my jewelry. Then sell my car, take my house key. And then write me out of your will.’
“Well, she didn’t put it quite like that… she actually said… ‘Dad, this is my new boyfriend, Mohammed from Iran.’”
Now, I realize that this was meant as a “joke” and is thus protected by First Amendment, but that by no means makes wanton, public bigotry morally correct coming from anyone, let alone a public official. Does the senator forget that he, as the representative of Illinois’ 34th District, represents Christians, Jews, Muslims and everyone in between? He just might even represent a “Mohammed from Iran.” I hope I’m not alone in speaking out against wanton bigotry and demanding that the State Senator answer for his comments.
Offended and ashamed,
Michael S. Lindvall
Georgetown University
Walsh School of Foreign Service
Class of 2013
From the July 13-19, 2011 issue
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9 Comments
With the majority of Muslims wanting to kill all Christians, I do not have a problem with Dave’s comment. I am a Christian, and do not hate anyone or wish bad on anyone. I just want them to leave me be.
The view that “the majority of Muslims wanting to kill all Christians” both entirely oversimplifies current events and shows a complete ignorance of the Muslim faith. Just because there are some radical groups among the international Muslim community who DO strive to harm those deemed “unbelievers,” they by no means represent the entirety of the world’s billion-plus Muslims. Such a view is pretty much the same as saying that those radical Christians responsible for bombing abortion clinics represent the entirety of Christendom. Also, the Qur’an specifically preaches tolerance of and respect for Christians, deeming them “People of the Book.”
Qur’an 2:62 – “Verily! Those who believe and those who are Jews and Christians, and Sabians, whoever believes in God and the Last Day and do righteous good deeds shall have their reward with their Lord, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.”
Qur’an 3:113-115 – “Not all of them are alike; a party of the people of the Scripture stand for the right, they recite the Verses of God during the hours of the night, prostrating themselves in prayer. They believe in God and the Last Day; they enjoin Al-Ma’rûf and forbid Al-Munkar ; and they hasten in (all) good works; and they are among the righteous. And whatever good they do, nothing will be rejected of them; for God knows well those who are Al-Muttaqûn.”
The list of such verses goes on and on. Please, before coming to such rash and sweeping generalizations, do a little research into the subject.
I agree completely with Michael. I believe that if there is one thing that is going to completely drive all religions apart, that is ignorance. If we can’t learn to respect all beliefs, how do we expect to live with the growing intermixing of religions, and cultures in our country?
@Nobama4me
You say you want them to “leave you be”. Have you had any personal attacks? And lets just say that you did. Do you really think that one person that attacked you stood for the entire Muslim population?
What if a red-bearded man came up to you in the supermarket, punched you in the face and told you he didn’t like your shirt?
Would you live the rest of your life condemning all red-bearded men? Or how about all men with beards because they remind you of the red-beards.
Until you learn the true meaning of respect, and until you understand your own ignorance, maybe you should learn to think before you speak.
Sarah,
Yes, I have been personally attacked. September 11, 2001, 3,000 of my fellow citizens were brutally murdered by psych-muslims.
Yes, that was an attack on me personally. You and Michael are whats wrong with this country. You are willing to let your “political correctness” turn you into cowardly wimps.
I’d rather die fighting for my freedom then live life as a slave to Islam. Islam and Muslims are a throwback to the 12th century. Their backwards culture is starting to infect our country like a disease. We are reading about wives and daughters beheaded because the family patriarch decided that they should be. In New Jersey, a lower court refused to grant a restraining order to a woman who was sexually assaulted by her husband, on the grounds that he was muslim, and Sharia law allows him to do anything he wants to his wife. Thank God (yes, the Christian God), a higher court rejected this insanity. Nonetheless, it is happening more and more.
Even our supreme courts leftist members are referencing decisions from European Courts as taking precedence over our Constitution.
We are fighting a cultural war. If left up to you and Michael, I am sure we would lose and live our lives as slaves to Islam.
September 11, 2001 was an attack on our country by a group of Fundamentalist Muslims. They are a small portion of Muslims that have different beliefs than the core of the believers of Islam.
Did you not read those Excerpts from the Qur’an that Michael gave to you? It is written IN THIER BOOK that they are not to harm Christians.
But, just like there are people that do things in the name of Christianity that doesn’t represent the faith, there are people that do things in the name of Islam that doesn’t represent the people of thier faith.
Have you ever spent time with a person of muslim faith John? Have you ever asked them personally what they believe? I can tell you I have. And I have studied the Qur’an even though I too am of the Christian faith.
Did you know that they believe in the same God we do? Did you know that they even believe in Jesus? That they believe in non-violence?
Yes there are accidents, and yes our courts make mistakes. There is still a lot of corruptness, and a lot of trial and errors.
And as for my ‘Politically Correctness’ turning me into a ‘cowardly wimp’? How about it giving me respect for every CITIZEN of this country? From what it looks like you want this country to be nothing but a Christian country. I don’t think that’s fair seeing how this country was established on the basis of freedom of religion among other basic rights. And even though that was hundreds of years ago, people are still trying to comprehend that, and still trying to make this a safe place for all.
John I understand why you feel attacked, but you can’t blame the entire population of Muslims on one group of people that were out of control. Yes what they did was wrong and It sent a message of fear-exactly what they wanted.
But that doesn’t mean we must persecute all people of that faith. Modern Muslims are feeling attacked every day by the ignorance surrounding them. A friend of mine who has doctors for parents,has a father who gives money frequently to the community, is in college on the track to become a biomedical engineer, and who is one of the brightest girls I know says that her family STILL faces prejudices every day.
So if you think I’m a coward for saying that’s not fair, then bring it on.
John,
I fail to understand how political correctness relates to the rest of your pot. It is clear that you have a deep rooted concern for certain abuses that sometimes associated with Islam. I would question, though, how Muslims are a throwback to the 12th century. How many Muslims do you personally know that live with a 12th century attitude?
I fail to see how we are fighting a “cultural war.” The sentiment you are raising here mirrors the sentiment of the 1840s-1860s, when many raised concerns about the coming of the Irish to America. They will destroy our way of life with their Catholicism and their large families, said the bigots then. Similar again were the reactionary responses to the Jewish migrations from Eastern Europe in the late 19th century. “Culture War” is not a new phrase, but has America ever seen a true culture war?
You are using the same phrases and arguments bigots throughout the ages have used. You have simply changed Irish or Jewish to Muslim.
Michael S. Lindvall………you offend me.
The comments show just how racist this community is. The joke has nothing to do with Muslims or 9/11. How do you know the person in the joke isn’t American, Christian, Jewish, Persian, or white?
John,
Before you insinuate that I am somehow something that is “wrong with this country,” I’ll first point out that I too, as an American citizen, was affected by the events of 9/11. I could tell you exactly where I was and what I was doing when I heard that the Twin Towers had fallen, and I could also tell you that I was among the crowd celebrating in front of the White House when we were informed that Osama bin Laden had been killed. Just because I decided to refuse to succumb to fear (which, by definition, is exactly what terrorists seek) but rather educate myself on the subject and realize that a splinter group was actively attempting to foment such a “culture war” doesn’t make me a “cowardly wimp,” as you would have it.
Furthermore, before you invoke the name of God or Christ, remember the words of the New Testament:
Mark 12:31 – “…You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is none other commandment greater than these.”
Matthew 5:9 – “Blessed are the peacemakers:
for they shall be called the children of God.”
So, excuse me John, for trying to be a good Christian by following the teachings of Christ in both word and deed.