Videodrome
Senior Member
Michael Chong is too rational to be a CPC member. He should just switch parties...
"If this week’s debate on the motion was a trap cynically set by Justin Trudeau’s party, the Liberals could not have anticipated how enthusiastically many Tories would fling themselves into it – pandering to hysteria that the motion would curtail non-Muslims’ rights. (To be clear: It’s a motion, which means it would not change any laws whatsoever, and endorses very little other than the idea that fear of Muslims is a problem and along with other forms of discrimination merits further study.)"
http://news.nationalpost.com/full-c...hey-need-a-leader-who-can-speak-french-period
I actually agree with Conrad Black...
Michael Chong is too rational to be a CPC member. He should just switch parties...
We have this issue because Islamophobia is a really poor term in general.Islamophobia is loosely defined? How so?
After six muslims were killed and another nineteen injured in Quebec City (not to mention a whole religious community terrorized), if a motion to condemn systemic racism and religious discrimination makes some people "disillusioned", then I begin to think that motion is more than warranted.
The difference is that anti-Semitism is clearly defined. It is not the same thing as Islamophobia.Really? When Parliament took a stand condemning anti-Semitism, where were the hand-wringing wordsmiths, worried that we were condemning criticism of Judaism and Jewish doctrine/teachings? Funny how this is only a concern when discussing Islam.
The issue seems incredibly trivial, and petty, when I read the full wording of the motion.
I have heard this nonsense my entire life from right-wing yahoos about the term "homophobia". Silly then, silly now.
The difference is that anti-Semitism is clearly defined. It is not the same thing as Islamophobia.
We don't know if Islamophobia is the Muslim equivalant to anti-semitism or to anti-zionism, or both packaged together. That is the point.
If the government was passing a motion condemning criticism of zionist ideology, I would be pretty upset about it too, and so would every person supporting this anti-Islamophobia motion I suspect.
It's amazing some people's first thought when they hear Islamophobia is concern about themselves and not about the ones dealing with discrimination ("what do you mean I can't say whatever I want about Islam?").
And I agree with the above poster, why hasn't the term homophobia been scrutinized as such? It's just as ambiguous as Islamophobia (both technically describing a fear rather than hatred of or discrimination against the respective groups).
Islamophobia is an overused and value-laden word (and I don't mean the traditional meaning, but the read-in one - dismissive, derided - among certain circles) - replace it with "discriminatory, hateful acts against Muslims" and you'd have a far more airtight case. It's easy to cry against a word that sounds so loaded, not so easy to say it against what's clearly spelt out as indefensible.
AoD
Again, this "problem" with it being so loaded is only an issue because Muslims are involved - we don't worry about airtight cases when we talk about other forms of hate and discrimination. Instead of looking to address the ongoing problem, the Tories are being wracked by those who prefer to look at the word in isolation, parse it, and make shit up.
Of course it is, but I'd rather die fighting on the hill that is the idea than the word - isms and phobias might be great for labelling, but it's a bad way to do outreach.
AoD
Really?
The police now have to protect both Iqra Khalid and her riding office, given all the death threats, but by all means let's pander to those who are all like "whatever could Islamophobia mean?" and "we want to make sure it doesn't cover the usual vitriol against their religion".
You can do all the outreach you want with Ezra and his fans. Kudos to you for that, but my suspicion is that they are not really in it to find wording that helps protect Muslims. Personally, I prefer that we deal with this issue the same way we deal with discrimination against other communities - we don't need to use diplomatic language and avoid touchy words simply because Muslims are involved.