@layman,
Yep, precisely as I expected
I'm not going to criticize the entire Muslim population of London or the UK in general because WaPo reporters were able to find a few willing to complain about being victims.
Quote:“We are easy targets because of the way we dress and when we pray,”
Not easier than someone mowed down by a truck or hacked to death by a knife simply because they happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Quote:“But every time there is an attack here or elsewhere, we are blamed. When we are attacked, people look away.”
This is simply not true. Officials in London and the national government have gone out of their way not to blame innocent Muslims for these attacks and millions of British citizens have repeatedly voiced their support. Maybe the country doesn't go on high alert when a Muslim's car is pelted with a bag of vomit, but no one inside the UK or, in the rest of the Western world, 'looked away" after the recent attack outside the London mosque.
Quote:Tensions have also been running high since Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, a vote that was largely driven by anti-immigrant rhetoric — a message that was further reinforced by some of Britain’s right-leaning tabloids and spread by populist European politicians promising to stem immigration and tackle terrorism associated with IS.
I know that's what many Remainers and the Left would have us all believe, but it's not the universal view, and there is a vast difference between being
anti-immigration and
anti-immigrant. WaPo reporters probably all believe that immigration is somehow at the core of the advancement of human civilization, but there is nothing morally wrong with being against certain aspects of immigration policy, or, for that matter, immigration as a whole . Wanting to close a nation's borders to additional immigration may or may not serve any useful and productive purpose and the desire to do so may even be motivated by bigotry in some or many, but immigration is not recognized the world over, and across diverse cultures, as a basic human right. Not believing that every person in the world who lives outside of your borders has a inalienable right to reside within your borders is not indicative of a flawed morality.
“I feel unsafe,” said Emma Salem, a 15-year-old Muslim who lives in the neighborhood targeted on Monday.
I would expect anyone living in a neighborhood where such an incident took place to feel unsafe immediately after it took place and even for weeks or months thereafter. It is sad and unfortunate that a young girl of any faith should feel this way, but if the fear is based solely on this incident that is something much, much different than one based on a series of incidents over an extended period of time. Of course the WaPo reporter doesn't offer us any further insight into the source of Emma's fear, but just melodramatically leaves it there, as if it tells us all we need to know. Not to dismiss this young girl's fear, but 15 year old girls have been known to be prone to the dramatic (just like WaPo reporters) and regardless, the comment of one girl can't possible be seriously taken to represent the feelings of all young Muslim girls in the neighborhood, let alone London or the entire country, however that is precisely what these reporters intend for us to believe.
Quote:“The rampant rise in Islamophobia has been perpetuated by right-wing newspapers and outlets. This has led to an atmosphere where it is acceptable to harass and ostracize Muslims. The Muslim community is constantly demonized.”
says Mohammed Shafiq, head of the Ramadhan Foundation
as he demonizes the "right-wing newspapers and outlets." I don't know if the WaPo reporters were simply lazy, too intent upon a predetermined narrative for their story, or worked real hard but came up with very little, but this article simply doesn't support the contention, with evidence, that London has
"an atmosphere where it is acceptable to harass and ostracize Muslims." In fact, I just read a report that some London big shot's son was being charged with a hate speech crime for posting a thoroughly tasteless comment about the incident. Doesn't sound like "Islamaphobia" of any sort, let alone "rampant" is being ignored by authorities.
Quote:Residents of Finsbury Park said they were angry that the police seemed slow to call Monday’s incident a “terror attack.”
Welcome to the club folks. Do these residents also get angry when the police are "slow" to call an incident involving a Muslim a "terror attack?" I can understand their frustration , but authorities can't rush to judgment when an incident involves Muslim victims but maintain "sensible restraint" when it involves a Muslim perpetrator.
Quote:“There has been an outpouring of sympathy for all the recent terror attacks but hardly a whisper on this attack,” said 23-year-old Ali Habib,
Really? C'mon now.
Not only am I not going to blame all of London's Muslim residents for the comments of a few, I'm not going to blame those few (at least not the ones who are residents of the neighborhood). I'm sure it was a terrifying incident and emotions are bound to run hot after such an experience, but no such excuse applies to the WaPo reporters who clearly did their best to convey an environment that doesn't align with other reports we've received, but does align with their bias.
You measured the span between time stamps?