And so it begins.
Story at NY1.
Nicole Belle of Crooks and Liars isn't all that happy about this -- as no sane person should be. "Damn it all. Listen, lizard brain people: 'Muslim' does not mean 'terrorist' or 'America hater'," she writes. "There have been American Muslims here for a century. Muslims died on 9/11 too. Muslims reached out and helped their community after that tragedy as well, as NYPD, FDNY and volunteers. It was their tragedy too. What you are doing makes you no better than the blind and dogmatic hatred of al Qaeda."
The people whipping up anti-Muslim hysteria -- and you know who you are -- are not beyond blame here, as much as they'll spend the time it takes to convince everyone they are. When you whip up hatred and fear, when you lie about good people to cast them as "the enemy," this is what will happen. It's practically guaranteed.
UPDATE: And things get officially weird...
According to Politico, he "had recently spent time with a combat unit in Afghanistan filming military exercises until this past May." So PTSD, maybe? Who knows.
I suppose you could argue that an employee doesn't necessarily share the views of the employer -- which definitely seems to be the case here. I mean, I doubt you'll find "stab Muslims" in Intersections International's charter. But it really doesn't seem to be the sort of place you'd work if hating Muslims had always been one of your favorite pastimes.
As this all gets less confusing (assuming it ever does), we'll probably learn more.
UPDATE II: And things get weirder. I came across this on Mediaite, among clips of films Enright had made about PTSD.
Despite the lefty-leaning personality his job would suggest, Enright is a Republican -- or, at least, is backing a Republican. Whether or not this makes any difference remains to be seen, but the "he was a liberal" stories I'm already seeing look to be horseshit.
Story at NY1.
Nicole Belle of Crooks and Liars isn't all that happy about this -- as no sane person should be. "Damn it all. Listen, lizard brain people: 'Muslim' does not mean 'terrorist' or 'America hater'," she writes. "There have been American Muslims here for a century. Muslims died on 9/11 too. Muslims reached out and helped their community after that tragedy as well, as NYPD, FDNY and volunteers. It was their tragedy too. What you are doing makes you no better than the blind and dogmatic hatred of al Qaeda."
The people whipping up anti-Muslim hysteria -- and you know who you are -- are not beyond blame here, as much as they'll spend the time it takes to convince everyone they are. When you whip up hatred and fear, when you lie about good people to cast them as "the enemy," this is what will happen. It's practically guaranteed.
UPDATE: And things get officially weird...
Village Voice:
Michael Enright of Brewster, New York, who was booked on charges of attempted murder and assault with a weapon as a hate crime, is listed on Facebook as an employee of the New York City-based Intersections International, a New York-based "global initiative dedicated to promoting justice, reconciliation and peace across lines of faith, culture, ideology, race, class, national borders and other boundaries that divide humanity." And a few weeks ago, they announced their support for -- you guessed it -- the Cordoba House, better known to many as the "Ground Zero Mosque."
According to Politico, he "had recently spent time with a combat unit in Afghanistan filming military exercises until this past May." So PTSD, maybe? Who knows.
I suppose you could argue that an employee doesn't necessarily share the views of the employer -- which definitely seems to be the case here. I mean, I doubt you'll find "stab Muslims" in Intersections International's charter. But it really doesn't seem to be the sort of place you'd work if hating Muslims had always been one of your favorite pastimes.
As this all gets less confusing (assuming it ever does), we'll probably learn more.
UPDATE II: And things get weirder. I came across this on Mediaite, among clips of films Enright had made about PTSD.
Enright’s Facebook page also lists him as a supporter of Assemblyman Greg Ball, the maverick conservative Republican who represents his home district and is running a heated primary campaign for the New York State Senate. While Ball is an outspoken opponent of illegal immigration (here’s a video of him talking about illegal immigration as he walks through Enright’s home town), he has never made a statement about the Cordoba House. Ball was unavailable for comment at press time.
Despite the lefty-leaning personality his job would suggest, Enright is a Republican -- or, at least, is backing a Republican. Whether or not this makes any difference remains to be seen, but the "he was a liberal" stories I'm already seeing look to be horseshit.
