Fashionably Right and Wrong
June 17th, 2008I’ve always been equally amazed and annoyed by societies hypocrisies. I don’t want to whine but after sometime you can’t ignore it any longer. One of the many hypocrisies that drive me bananas is that some things are socially acceptable to hate and some things that are socially unacceptable to hate.
It’s not a matter of individuality, rather it’s public opinion that dictates to each of us what we can be for and what we can be against. Any other deviations will get you slapped with some label that automatically assumes all your opinions for you. It’s a lot like socialism where the Government tells you which college to go to and which field you will study, its all planned out for you.
These cookie cutter labels include, “racist”, “sexist”, “fascist”, “misogynist”, “liberal”, “conservative”, “chauvinist”, “Islamaphobe”, “homophobe”, “xenophobe”, “anti-Semite”, “anti-American”, “anti-establishment”, etc. The list goes on and on and be assured that if there isn’t a name for your specific type, someone will create one.
But for every type of hatred society scorns there is an often greater number of hatreds that society celebrates openly and publicly, from movies all the way to the classroom. In reality most of the fashionably OK types of hate are no more righteous than other hate, they’ve just become accepted. Here’s a list to help you understand what I mean.
Fashionably Wrong
Hating…..
-Blacks.
-homosexuals.
-women.
-Jews.
-Israel.
-minority religions.
-poor people.
-fat people.
-Muslims (sometimes)
-police (sometimes)
-foreigners (sometimes).
-the Government (sometimes).
-Arabs (sometimes).
Fashionably Right or OK
Hating…..
-white people/ Europeans.
-Americans and America.
-men.
-rich people.
-liberals.
-religion.
-conservatives.
-yuppie’s.
-the Catholic Church.
-the French.
-George W. Bush.
-Muslims (sometimes)
-police (sometimes).
-foreigners (sometimes).
-the Government (sometimes).
-Arabs (sometimes).
-Palestinians (sometimes). Interesting, this one is sometimes fashionably right but never fashionably wrong.
In the culture of the Middle East this list can look very different.
Fashionably Wrong
Hating….
-religion.
-conservatives.
-men.
-Turkish and Arab imperialists.
-light skinned Arabs
-Palestinians (sometimes).
Fashionably Right or OK
Hating…..
-homosexuals.
-women.
-Jews.
-Israel.
-minority religions.
-poor people.
-rich people.
-fat people.
-police.
-foreigners.
-the Government.
-white people and European imperialists.
-America not Americans.
-George W. Bush.
-dark skinned Arabs
-Persians (unless you are Shi’a)
-Gulf Arabs. (in places other than the Gulf)
-Palestinians (sometimes)
I think we’re all guilty of some of these but you cant win, to be fair either all hatred is unacceptable (keep dreaming) or all hatred is acceptable, sometimes I think that would make things easier in a sick twisted way.
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Koran 9:29 Fight against such of those who have been given the Scripture as believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, and forbid not that which Allah hath forbidden by His messenger, and follow not the Religion of Truth, until they pay the tribute readily, being brought low.
i like to congratulate you on this nice artical ,yes unfortunatly in arabic countries it is ok to haTE and love according to what others want and if we spoke any word we will conceder traders and be woren that we will end in hell ,it is ok to hate some people that the arbic media started to celibrate such hate waves and present it under patriot and culture preservation
I prefer to keep dreaming, firmly believing that all hate is wrong. Working, even sacrificing for justice is good, hate is wrong. Of course intense grief and a feeling of powerlessness can awaken a feeling of hate, but I don’t think it’s good to cultivate or hold on to that feeling or, worse, purposefully arouse it.
Hey Magnus,
I’m all for religious discussion/debate etc. but there is an appropriate time and place, anyone here would be more than happy to talk religion with you but just throwing verses around randomly on posts just makes you seem like an antagonizer. I have faith that you are not but I’d appreciate if you could do it when relevant.
Another thing, you seem to have the perception that this site is full of hardcore muslim extremists or something but this sites authors vary in religious backgrounds from, christian, jewish, muslim, atheist, etc. so you’re really barking up the wrong tree.
I’ve seen you throw verses on peoples posts who I know you thought were muslim bu they were not. So trust me, when you read the comments on a post and then some guy throws some verse from the Quran on there when its not related, you tend to ignore it. You’re not having your desired affect and if you would like to have your voice heard you should do it when and where people will hear it and in a respectful and professional way.
I dont appreciate having my post turned into a religious debate.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We all have to think over it.
Hey DB!
I’m glad that you are all for religious debates; it is usually a sign of intellectual honesty, and I really do appreciate that. Debating islam has timewise been appropriate and relevant the last 1400 years. For natural reasons it hasn’t been possible in the Muslim world but since this is an international forum, and especially since Islam has been exporting its misery to the rest of the world, it is better late than later.
DB: “Another thing, you seem to have the perception that this site is full of hardcore muslim extremists or something but this sites authors vary in religious backgrounds from, christian, jewish, muslim, atheist, etc. so you’re really barking up the wrong tree.”
No, you’re very wrong. I know authors and commenters on this site have the backgrounds you mention, but from what I have read they seem quite ignorant about Islam. This is not satisfactory.
DB: “I’ve seen you throw verses on peoples posts who I know you thought were muslim bu they were not.”
I would like you to exemplify this and prove that I thought them to be Muslims. It seems that you think I am after the individuals when it’s really the ideology I’m attacking.
DB: “So trust me, when you read the comments on a post and then some guy throws some verse from the Quran on there when its not related, you tend to ignore it.”
Unfortunately I can not trust you on this. You are probably taking yourself as a model for that behaviour. What do you know about its applicability to others, and how did you conclude that a verse is not related to a certain post?
DB: “You’re not having your desired affect [...]
You are absolutely right. I would like to feel very different about all this.
DB: [...] and if you would like to have your voice heard you should do it when and where people will hear it and in a respectful and professional way.
My voice has already been heard, but I tend to get fewer replies, so it’s good I have your attention after all. I do not get paid for this, so if I may seem unprofessional it’s no wonder.
DB: “I dont appreciate having my post turned into a religious debate.”
You are somewhat contradictory here: You are all for religious debates but do not want them in your own posts.
Talking about world problems and the Middle East without debating Islam is like talking about Roger Federer and not mention tennis.
If I write a post about Islam then I’ll expect your random submission of verses but otherwise its just trolling. You’ve choosen this site to debate which is fine but im curious if its because its a MidEast website or because there are Muslim members.
Please, DB,
the verses are not random; they are from the dominating religion in the Middle East. It would be “respectful and professional” if you would at least try to answer my questions.
I dont think you have any desire to have questions answered at all, you seem to have your opinions already sorted out, which advances my feeling that you just want to use a site like this, designed for the enlightenment of the Middle East, to air your contempt.
I understand you believe its a noble cause, you’re not the first of your type that I’ve spoken with and many would agree with you but I nor anyone else on this site goes around taking on the cause of speaking out against anyones religion. There are a lot of people who do however. I think you’d be better matched with one of them. So I dont understand what I can do for you.
DB, you are thinking a lot that isn’t true. It would be a relief for me if someone could answer my questions and convince me of the fact that islam is not a very major part of the world problems; I could then go back dealing with things of beauty, but for now the world situation forces me to do something about it. It is very sad that you perceive me as someone only airing contempt when it is enlightment that is my aim. Airing contempt is what the prophet Muhammad was a master at, promising everyone not believing him ignominy in this world and hellfire in the next.
That no one on this site, except me obviuosly, is speaking against religions is a paramount mistake. Why should religions be excluded from the discussion when they are fundamental in people’s thinking and acting? It is very painful to leave a way of thinking, you often feel lost and in great despair. You may also then feel like you are leaving a culture which is even harder, or worse still, betraying your own ethniticity. So the challenge for the muslim world is keeping the good parts of their culture, creating new, continue being the ethnic groups they are and discarding the doctrine of hate, namely Islam.
I think you can do a lot, DB, not only for me but, very much more importantly, for the whole world by studying the Koran, Hadith and Sunnah and start pondering on what this doctrine really conveys.
i think islam did not come to encourage hate as when islam started the muslims spend more than 10 years of conflict with the nonmuslims in Maca but in the end the forgive and forget
and even if we as muslims had things in our religion that can be used to exprese hat,then we should stop using it and encourgae younger generations to concentart on the parts that forced use into loving the others
we in iraq had been facing hat and revange and death because religouse reasons for the past 5 years
belive me the bullets had no sensors if they are killing a good person or a bad person ,in the end we had to face our fears and accept every one or we will spend our lifes surrounded by tragedies
Thanks, Wameeth, for an interesting comment.
That Muhammad forgave the Mekkans after his departure to Medina is not true. His goal from that moment was to revenge the treatment he got. He did this by warfare, raids against caravans and sabotaging the Mekkan trade, and in 630 he marched into Mekka and took over the city.
You like many other Muslims think you can choose what things to believe in and live according to in Islam. But the Koran itself is very clear on this:
Koran 2:85 [...] Believe ye in part of the Scripture and disbelieve ye in part thereof? And what is the reward of those who do so save ignominy in the life of the world, and on the Day of Resurrection they will be consigned to the most grievous doom. For Allah is not unaware of what ye do.
Wameeth: “we in iraq had been facing hat and revange and death because religouse reasons for the past 5 years”
Yes, I know. It is very good someone with firsthand experience is saying this.
Wameeth: “in the end we had to face our fears and accept every one or we will spend our lifes surrounded by tragedies”
This is what it all boils down to. If the Muslims can get rid of the fear Muhammad instilled in them, they will be able to get rid of the warlord and massmurderer himself and his death-cult Islam.
ISLAM IS NOT ABOUT FEAR,EVERY RELGION HAD INTRODUCE PUNSHMENT TO THOSE WHO CHOSE TO FOLLOW THE DARK SIDE IN THEIR LIVES
AND MOHAMMED HAD FORGIVED 90% OF HIS ENEMIES ,AND HISTORY BOOKS ARE FILLED WITH PEOPEL HOW BECOME HIGH LEADERS AFTER HE ENTERED MACCA AFTER YEARS OF FIGHTING HIM
AS FOR HIS WARS WITH MACCA ,IT IS PART OF ISLAM HISTORY NOT RELIGION,BUT WE UNFORTUNATLY ARE ONE OF THE FEW RELIGIONS THAT HAD HISTORY INTERFERED WITH OUR RELIGIOUSE PRACTICE.
ANY RELIGION WANTS PEOPLE TO USE THEIR MINDS TO THINK ABOUT WHAT IS WRONG AND WHAT IS RIGHT,EVEN ISLAM INSIST THAT INTENTIONS ARE IMPORTENT PART OF GETTING YOUR REWARD
AND YOU CAN FIND PARAGRAPHES WERE PEOPLE WERE REWARDED ON WHAT LIES IN THEIR HEART MORE THAN WHAT THEY DID OR NOT
I SEE THAT IF WE USE OUR MINDS TO DO WHAT IS GOOD AND ACCEPTED AND BENIFET PEOPLE AND MAKE THEIR LIFES EASIER AND MORE STABLE AND HELPED OUR COMMUNITIES AND RESPECT OTHERS TO BE RESPECTED TOO THEN WE ARE IN THE GOOD SIDE OF RELIGION
,OTHER WISE WE NEED TO LOOK DEEP IN OUR SELFS AND DEFINE WHAT WE REALY WANT
Well said, Wameeth!
I do suggest you don’t use capitals – it reads like you’re shouting (this is probably not your intention)
Warmest greetings
Wameeth: “ONE OF THE FEW RELIGIONS THAT HAD HISTORY INTERFERED WITH OUR RELIGIOUSE PRACTICE” Very good point: This is Islam, that is history of Islam. Easy to confuse the two.