February 28, 2008
A response to hate and ignorance
A response to hate and ignorance
I would like to begin this letter by criticizing the Kaimin for its inability to publish letters to the editor from a variety of sources. Unless the bigoted Daniel Shevlin is the only Missoulian writing in with his opinion, it would be nice to not read back-to-back rants from an angry xenophobe. At the very least I hope the Kaimin would require this misinformed individual to cite his “objective” statistics. (And I don’t think we should count Sean Hannity or Michael Savage.)
In regards to the content of Daniel Shevlin’s letters, I think it is necessary to first address his glaring hypocrisy. In his first letter published Feb. 20, he expresses outrage at Maha Nassar’s claim of an anti-Muslim sentiment in Missoula. While I myself was surprised to hear that Muslims suffer serious prejudice in our city, the opinion from Mr. Shevlin, which appeared the very next day, highlighted this reality. In his second letter, Daniel states that the horrendous use of mentally challenged women in a suicide bombing reflects the “true nature of Islam.” This gross generalization asserts that random acts of violence are inherent in a faith that even our own president has referred to as “a religion of peace.” To label every Muslim as a radical militant is comparable to calling every Catholic a pedophile or every Evangelical an abortion clinic bomber.
There is no single answer to why violence persists in the Mid-East, Iraq or elsewhere, and blaming it solely on the religion of Islam is an extremely ignorant and dangerous prejudice. While I don’t claim to be an authority on the subject, it seems that the turmoil in the region could far more easily be attributed to its colonial past, the creation of false nations with disregard to ethnicity or geography, countless coups and dictators backed by Western funds and force, and the creation of a monopoly over oil, the regions most valuable natural resource (not to mention a little nation called Israel).
Mr. Shevlin accuses liberals of being too passive when it comes to terrorism but offers no alternative except the status quo. Given that the previously mentioned causes of violence seem to stem from our “hands on” approach in the Middle East, I believe that any step in the opposite direction to be a good one. If there is anything to be learned from our current involvement in Iraq, it’s that violence only breeds more violence, and that killing one “terrorist” will most likely radicalize three more.
– Joe Schmechel
sophomore, geology
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Comments
Mr. Schmechel: There is a single answer as to why violence persists in the Mid-East: Because Muslims can’t live together, or with anybody else, in peace. That fact makes me a bigot? You are a simple-minded, politically-correct fool, sir. Mr. Schmechel: Muslims have been killing each other since BEFORE GEORGE BUSH WAS BORN!! Deal with it.
Posted by Daniel Shevlin on 03/04/2008 at 10:44 pm
