Tea And Crumpets With Osama
Now, I was against the Iraq war before I was against the Iraq war. I'm no dove, but I thought attacking Iraq because bin Laden attacked the WTC was kind of like jailing Danny DeVito because somebody robbed a bank, and somebody has to pay.
But, especially in light of what happened in Scotland yesterday, and what almost happened in England, I was incredulous about this statement on this mini-SUV, parked outside a gallery opening at the renovated Helms Bakery in Los Angeles.
nowaruseyourwords.jpg
I laughed to my friend, "What does this person suggest we do...stand outside the Glasgow airport, and when you see the terrorists in their flaming SUV hurtling toward you, wave your arms and say, 'PLEEEEEEEEASE! STOHHHHHP!'?"
At that moment, a woman went to get in the vehicle. Of course, she was a Topanga-looking lady, wearing a bandana kerchief-style on her head...and to clarify what Topanga-looking means, exactly...a man from Topanga Canyon had told me earlier at the opening that a number of his neighbors don't speak to him because he isn't left-wing.
I asked the woman, "Do you seriously think talking to terrorists is the answer? I repeated the crack I made to my friend.
She asked me, "Do you listen to KPFK?"
Delusional!
As a matter of fact, I do listen to (NPR station) KPFK...and Rush Limbaugh, Dr. Laura, Tom Leykis, Randy Rhodes, Adam Carolla, and Larry Elder, because I like to be informed about what everybody's saying...although I can't quite stoop to Hannity. But, I wasn?t going to tell her that. It was beside the point.
I explained, I read on this subject every day. Islamists want us dead...
"Don't use the word Islamist!"
What should I call them, terror-bunnies?
"What do you think of George Bush?" she demanded.
Immaterial! ?They blew up the U.S.S. Cole on Clinton's watch! It's not about who's president. THESE PEOPLE WANT US DEAD!?
?And by the way,? I added, ?I voted for that scumbag Kerry.?
I used to think of Muslims the same way I thought of astrology nuts, which is, "If you want to believe in this silly unproven shit, fine with me." Actually, truth be told, I didn't really think of Muslims at all. Or any religion very much. I just found all god belief quite silly.
And then there was 9-11. Then I started reading, and learned that a whole lot of Muslims want us dead simply because we don't share their primitive beliefs. I told her, ?The incitment to kill non-Muslims is throughout the Koran, and shouted out in mosques around the world.?
She asked if I?d seen the Bible, and similar stuff in there. I pointed out the difference: Jewish orthodontists don't want to kill people who aren't Jewish orthodontists. Christians, aside from five nutbags blowing up abortion clinics, don't want the rest of us dead. The Muslims -- not all, but a great many -- want everybody who isn't Muslim converted or dead. And if you don't have your head so far up your ass that you can see the underside of your bandanna...you might come to realize that.
I didn't say that, exactly. Instead, I told her, "Talking to you is like talking to a stuffed teddy bear."
Some dude in a cowboy hat thought he'd join the discussion. Unfortunately for him, if you're going to go on at length about something inane, I'm not going to waste my short life listening to you. Unfortunately for me, my lack of interest in his argument didn't stop him from trying to make it...loudly...repeatedly: "Every person's opinion is very important to them."
Yeah? And?
That opinion's a close relative of the idiotic "Every person's opinion is worth as much as the next person's" -- which is, of course, bullshit.
If your opinion seems well-reasoned and informed by actual fact, I'll listen to you. Otherwise, shut up and let me talk. I know a thing or two about this subject, because I read volumes on it, and can support my point of view with actual information, not just talking points from The Nation (which, by the way, did a real sleaze job on LA Weekly's news editor Jill Stewart the other day...exposed by Kate Coe at FishbowlLA).
Of course, Ms. Granola-For-Brains was unpersuadable...but it was fun while it lasted, and my friend was very much entertained. My only disappointment was that the woman didn't see me get into my car, since nobody out-P.C.'s my wheels (for those who don?t know, I drive a hybrid Honda Insight). Unfortunately, I couldn't catch her eye as she was driving off to go bake vegan cookies for the terrorists, or whatever people like that do for fun on a Saturday night.
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