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ISIS, Hatred, the Internet, Plus Fear and Trembling
A group of male Syrian refugees at the blocked Slovenian border with Croatia on Sept. 20. Photoman29 / Shutterstock.com
While many are quick to malign the current administration for never letting a tragedy go to waste, the sad truth is I am doing exactly that. Either it’s because the end of the year is near, or I’m shifting my career focus, or Paris has given me a grand opportunity to ferret out negativity — the outcome remains the same. I am paring down my existence on the Internet, at least on what many consider the backwaters of human despair, social media. As for how I am using tragedy to my own advantage, it’s just the simple act of “unfriending” the particularly venomous individuals that have taken the low road of fear and hatred.
I am not saying that their fears and hatred are unjustified, because they certainly are justified. Love or hate the Gatestone Institute, the fact remains that they did a reasonable job of tracking atrocities that have arrived in Germany, in the wake of their acceptance of refugees from Syria. The fact is that there are no simple answers to this dilemma, because in comparison with western culture, some of these victims of war are nearly as barbaric as the evil they are fleeing. Accepting people that end up committing rape and other violent crimes against their hosts could be considered the epitome of liberal stupidity, since the typical response beyond standard law enforcement has been to warn residents to keep their women away from “refugee areas” unless they are escorted.
With the attacks in Paris, ISIS has created a new set of issues for nations that are accepting Syrian refugees. While the investigations are still underway, it’s becoming apparent that at least one of the terrorists involved was not just inspired by ISIS, but was actually a part of the group. It is not hard to empathize with a profane response to the situation, even if it is tempered with at least a little jest.
Of course, this plays into the hands of the particularly hateful people I’m culling from my herd on social media, and lends credence to the arguments against accepting refugees at all. That is the logical conclusion, after one admits that vetting is really not possible, however.
Perhaps the next argument will be for internment camps for refugees, but that’s not likely especially in the US, given our existing history during WWII. It’s illogical to make comparisons with the internment of US citizens of Japanese and German descent in this situation, but it will happen. The more honest comparison should be with UN refugee camps worldwide, which have been fenced-in security areas, ostensibly to protect the refugees from attack. This would theoretically be the other way around, so it is difficult to even broach the subject, at least if one is going to cling to liberal ideals of multiculturalism. Even if there could be a conversation about this style of housing for refugees, it’s not feasible because of the resources that would be necessary to do it.
When George Carlin talked about NIMBYs — Not In My Back Yard — it is fair to guess that he never thought about what we’re facing now. Religious scholars that ever spent a moment pondering what it must have been like for the general followers of Christianity during the Spanish Inquisition at least are getting a taste of what it must have been like. There are billions of followers of an ideology that are being characterized by the actions of the most extreme among them, and that is happening primarily because of a nearly complete failure to police their own. It is being exacerbated by the actions of some of the less radical among them that cling to old traditions like honor killing. That alone should not sit well with liberals in America, with their penchant for crying “rape culture” even in circumstances where rape didn’t truly occur.
But, after all of this, I find myself thinking about Søren Kierkegaard, and his attempt at portraying life as a battle between good and evil in Fear and Trembling. There lies the warning against silence and inaction, because those are tantamount to condoning or even endorsing evil. “People do not know what they ought to say but only that they must say something,” Kierkegaard states, and it is tempting to blame him for the “we must do something” attitude liberals bring to the table for every problem. In this case, dealing with ISIS and Islam in general, perhaps it is wiser to recall something else from that philosopher: “Silence is the snare of the demon, and the more one keeps silent, the more terrifying the demon becomes.”
Published in Immigration, Islamist Terrorism
Cleaning up the social media accounts is wise thing to do every year or so. The hatred and vileness can be too much.
I’m on Twitter some because there are some…interesting…remarks. I have a Facebook account only because my publisher built one for me.
Other social media? Nah.
Eric Hines
The genius of Ricochet is that you have to pay to get in. That’s why free education don’t work as well as it should.
A thoughtful post about things most rational folk can see.
But the cry of “racism” shall be heard in the land and there will be much lamentation thereafter.
Side rant: The picture is not of refugees. It is a bunch of cowards capable of fighting for their country that instead chose to lounge around someone else’s. And we wonder where terrorists like those of Friday night in Paris come from.
I’ve had a tough couple of days challenging people whose response to another Islamofascist slaughter is to post memes that Christianity is just as bad.
Good grief. No facts to back that up and when challenged, I’m suddenly the bigot in the conversation.
It’s an inexpensive way to promote one’s work, and a convenient way to communicate with co-workers. In other words, it’s a necessary evil, at least for me.
I’ve reached the point where I’m ditching the extremes on both sides. There is no reasonable discourse to be had with them anyway, especially on this. As long as there are arguments only on the beliefs of those involved, there will not be a discussion about the reality of the situation. Clashing ideologies do not leave room for little details like logistical concerns.
The problem with that for me, though, is that I’m no marketer. I can’t sell water in a desert.
Eric Hines
You waste your time. Speak, if you must, only to those with an open mind. A little harder to find, but worth the search. Being contentious for its own sake is poor strategy. You don’t have a talk show or a syndicated column. You, like most of us, are pretty much confined to Ricochet -like posts. So argue with me – if you happen to disagree. I have a quote from Le Pen that I’d like a fight over. Claire Berlinski gets all the play around here because she lives in Paris. Posts get lost in the deluge. Maybe I’ll get some attitude on this thread.
Lately, I’ve become a fan-boy of Marine Le Pen. You know, the so-called Novo Nazi.
http://time.com/4117119/paris-attacks-marine-le-pen/.
Open for rebuttal.