Military's Got Muslim Girl's Back, Even If Donald Trump Doesn't

Melissa Chanc Yassini said her daughter, 8. was frightened
by Donald Trump's rhetoric on Muslims and was afraid
the Army would take her away. Members of the U.S.
military responded to this fear in the best possible way

A week ago or so, a woman named Melissa Chance Yassini, a Muslim, put a note on Facebook about her daughter Sophia, 8.

Here's what the message said:

"Sad day in America when I have to comfort my 8 year old child who heard that someone with yellow hair named Trump wanted to kick all Muslims out of America. She had began collecting all her favorite things in a bag in case the army came to remove us from our homes. She checked the locks on the door 3-4 times. This is terrorism. No child in America deserves to feel that way."

Now, technically it's true that Donald Trump is not advocating kicking "all Muslims out of America" but I get the kids point. Trump and his ilk are stirring up all this anti-Islam business and making life pretty scary for law abiding American Muslims.

According to the Huffington Post, Yassini's post went viral, and thousands of people clicked on it or otherwise responded. One of those was Kerri Peek, of Colorado, who is both a mother and a Army veteran.

Peek sent a photo of herself to Yassini, and wrote, "Please show this picture of me to your daughter. Tell her I am a mama too and as a soldier I will protect her from the bad guys."

In the message, Peek also issued a call to "friends in the armed forces" asking them to show solidarity with the Yassinis. "Post a picture of you in uniform with the hashtag #IWillProtectYou to let these children know that we will not hurt them. That they are safe here in America."

As is always the case, members of the U.S. military stepped right up to the plate. A bunch of them responded with just that hashtag on social media like Facebook and Twitter.

"Real soldiers fight for ALL Americans. Because it's ALL Americans who REALLY make America great," wrote JP Thompson on Twitter, to give you a typical example.

Another, veteran David Bruce responded on Facebook, according to Upworthy: "I am not Muslim....But when anyone says the Army that I served with will go on to remove Muslims from my country, they'll have to take me, too."

Yassini was greatful for the support, says Unworthy. "Christians, atheists, Jews, every walk of life, every stage, have reached out to Sofia and I with overwhelming support and love...I read each and every message to (Sofia). And now she understands that we're all part of a fabric which is America."

I know I'm getting all Kumbaya on you now. I know the reality is there are jerks in this nation who are insulting Muslims in the streets, torching Mosques, even physically attacking them. 

I'm hoping the Islamaphobes in this country are the small minority. I'm hoping most of us understand that while a small minority of people who call themselves Muslims are terrorists and generally awful people who ought to be locked up, most Muslims are as peaceful as most Christians, or as peaceful as most Americans.

Not everyone in the military is as nice as those who responded to the #IWillProtectYou social media movement.  But it does give me  even more confidence than I had that the U.S. military really is the good guys and gals.

Vox Magazine: Are Right Wing "Christians" Issuing More Threats Than Jihadists?

Vox, the online magazine, raised an interesting observation yesterday.

The online publication Vox got some threats
after running articles about Charlie Hebdo cartoons
and Islam. But the threats didn't exactly come
from jihadist sympathizers.  

They ran an image of a Charlie Hebdo cartoon, the kind that has occasionally inspired threats, and terrorists attacks by fundamentalist "Islamic" morons who think their religion was insulted, and that justifies mass murder.

Which is why you had that awful terrorist attack in Paris at the offices of Charlie Hebdo and that market. The Islamist extremists think insulting the prophet Mohammed should be a death penalty or something.

Vox reports that they have indeed received a number of threats. But not from who you'd think. I'll let Vox explain it:

"Writers at Vox have indeed been bombarded with threats for our Charlie Hebdo coverage. But not one of those threats has come from a Muslim or in response to publishing anti-Islam cartoons. Revealingly, they have rather all come from non-Muslims furious at our articles critizing Islamophobia."

Most of the threats are from people hoping jihadist militants kill the offending writer.

"A recent email hoped that Muslims will 'behead you one day' so that 'we will never have to read your trash again.'"

Um, wouldn't it be easier to just not read Vox if you don't like it? I'm not aware of any law that says we have to read Vox or any other publication.

Ok, Vox, go on:

"As is often the case, the strongest threats have been reserved for women. One writer received a message arguing that someone should 'put a gun up your ass' to make her understand terrorism."

My, these right wing fanatics are so imaginative! And have such interesting sexual fantasies! Though I'm not sure how putting a Glock 9 mm up one's anus will make anyone understand the intricacies of that terrorist attack in Paris. But what do I know?

Here's the richest part of Vox's piece on the threats they've been getting:

The Paris terrorists were/are surely some of
the worst people on the planet. Right wing bigots are
light years better, hut still not good people.  

"Ironically, these threats are typically couched in arguments that Muslims are inherently irrational and violent. Further, threats made with the explicit intention of silencing journalists from discussing Islamophobia are positioned as necessary 'defenses' of free speech against the threat of Islam."

Yeah, I don't get the logic either. "Let's ban free speech to protect free speech."

Sounds like the only speech the right wing Fox watching wackos want to preserve is their own. Probably because nobody listens to them as most other voices from other sources are more informative and interesting.

Hey, you gotta try something, right?

True, people who shoot up magazine offices and Jewish markets and kill 17 people are far, FAR worse than the ignorant morons on our nation's right wing political fringes.

But make no mistake, the dickheads that threatened Vox are bad people. Let's once again let Vox explain it, since they've been doing such a good job:

"The people who threaten us are crazies and there's no indication that they are representative of any greater whole or are considering doing any more than sending an email. But we are not the only outlet being targeted, and receiving dozens of threatening emails can have a real effect on journalists, even if we suspect the threats will come to nothing."

It seems that many, but not all on the right wing and evangelical groups seem to continually try to find ways to be petty and parochial.  Just look at what happened at Duke University in North Carolina yesterday:

Says Mashable: 

"Duke University has 'reconsidered' a plan that would have allowed Muslims to use its chapel's famed bell tower for a weekly, amplified call to prayer. 

"'Duke remains committed to fostering an inclusive, tolerant and welcoming campus for all of its students," a spokesman for Duke said. "However, it was clear that what was conceived as an effort to unify was not having the intended effect."

And why not? Because evangelist Franklin Graham, son of the Rev. Billy Graham is an asshole. Here's what Franklin Graham, that bigot, had to say:

"Christianity is being excluded from the public square (while) followers of Islam are raping, butchering, and beheading Christians, Jews and anyone who doesn't submit to their Sharia Islamic law."

Oh, that's so rich. Christians don't have a voice in America anymore? What doobie have you been smoking, Frankie?  Can I call you Frankie, Frankie?

OK, let's follow the Frankie "logic" here. It looks like Frankie thinks that since some Muslims are doing evil, murderous things, that means ALL Muslims are evil and murderous.

If that's the case then if there are a few so-called Christians who are threatening Vox and anyone else who dares to say something mildly positive about Islam, then ALL Christians are small-minded thugs who get off on sending vulgar, ignorant threats to people whose point of view they don't like.

I obviously don't believe that about Christians. But do YOU think Christians are all stupid bullies, Frankie?  If I follow your "logic," it seems you do.

It goes on and on. We have former GOP U.S. House Rep Joe Walsh issuing this lovely Tweet:

Yes, it's fair to argue CNN and MSNBC might not have shown enough bravery and free speech commitment when they didn't show the cartoons, but do you REALLY want Islamist terrorists to kill people at CNN and MSNBC?

Doesn't that make you as bad as the terrorists who do want to kill westerners. Joe, are you going to turn up at a jihadist training camp in Syria or something?

Since I've been on a pro-free speech rant, I certainly won't ask the likes of Frankie Graham and Joe Walsh to shut up. They can say whatever they like.

However, everyone has the right to free speech. Or at least should have that right. So let's raise our voices to increase understanding and peace between major religions.

We need more of that, not less.

Just ask the fine people of Paris.