Visualize Whirled Peas

Whenever I shop at Sprouts, I see a bunch of the lame "COEXIST" bumper stickers.   Here's an interesting column  that points out why it's so lame.

Comments

[arizonan]

as a 'cruchy con' who enjoys both conservative values and organic food I often find myself having to reason with these bozos as well.

[Ken]

"Tolerance" in PC-speak means moral and/or epistemological relativism rather than the due respect for the opinions/beliefs of others.
Thus, all religions/worldviews are equally valid.

Here's a question to ponder: "Are basic religious beliefs essentially objective or subjective?"

[Winnie]

Christ and Satan also "coexist" so the bumper sticker means...

[Hmm?]

stop shopping at Sprouts, ya damn hippie.

[Jim Torgeson]

To think, I always thought the C was communism.

I wish people would understand that Islam truly opposes the American way of life. If nothing else, in that it must have religion run government! It's part of the dogma.

[todd]

i hate that bumper sticker, it looks horrible. one quibble with the column, Taoism / Confucianism are quite dominant thoughts in China so calling them insignificant is wrong. Oh, and I don't think Muslims want to kill Christians.

[RonJ]

Todd, where have you been for the past 17 years? Muslim extremists attacking the United States at home and abroad, including our embassies, the USS Cole, and the Twin Towers twice: who do you think were the targets in those attacks, Israeli tourists?

[KC6404]

Excellent bumber sticker!

[todd]

RonJ, talking about a small group of Muslim extremists wanting to kill others is quite different than saying Muslims want to kill Christians. Not only have more Muslims have been killed by Muslim extremists than non-Muslims but the vast majority of Muslims have no intention of killing anyone. If you can't see the difference than perhaps you need to think a little harder.

[mahtso]

"RonJ, talking about a small group of Muslim extremists wanting to kill others is quite different than saying Muslims want to kill Christians."

By some estimates that "small group" is 10% of the population or about 100 million.

[RonJ]

Thank you mahtso; you beat me to it. Many on the left keep saying "It's not all the Muslims who want us dead." True, but even if the estimates are overestimated by 2X, it's still 50 million Muslims who want Christians dead. Wake up Todd or they may find you. [Uhh, never mind. :)]

[todd]

mahtso - what estimates are you referring to. i am calling bull hockey.

[mahtso]

I am referring to various estimates I have seen over the last 9 year. In the book “Who Speaks for Islam?” the authors put the estimate at 7% of 1.2 billion. Although I’ve not read the book, one review states that the book authors wrote that they wanted to present the views of everyday Muslims, and the reasonable inference is that the authors were trying to make a positive case for Islam (i.e., the average Muslim is just like everyone else).

[todd]

mahtso, this is based on a Gallup study. Among the publicly available results one "Muslims and Americans are equally likely to reject attacks on civilians as morally unjustified." The 7% is the number of respondents who claimed 9/11 was 'totally justified.' Thanks for pointing out this report I think it quite nicely counter RonJ's assertions.

[RonJ]

Hardly, Todd. The fact remains that millions (does it really matter what the percentage is?) of Muslims believe in Sharia law. Millions of Muslims want the U.S., and every other country for that matter, to be under Sharia law. Besides, if 90%, or 93%, or 95%, or 99% of Muslims are so peace-loving, why don't they step up and condemn the radicals in the strongest terms possible, over and over again, until the radicals have no place to operate. Their silence speaks volumes. Your apologist attitude speaks volumes as well.

[todd]

RonJ - maybe if you spend 2 seconds you could find condemnations of terrorist attacks by all sorts of Muslim groups. The fact that you don't bother tells me quite a bit about you.

Interestingly, the study mahtso points to included some other information:

"Forty-six percent of Americans say that the Bible should be "a" source, and 9% believe it should be the "only" source of legislation."

"Perhaps even more surprising, 42% of Americans want religious leaders to have a direct role in writing a constitution, while 55% want them to play no role at all. These numbers are almost identical to those in Iran."

[Reader]

For those who think the Muslim religion is in favor of peaceful coexistence, try reading the Qur'an. Mine has in Surah 5:51, "O you who believe! Take not the Jews and Christians for friends. They are friends to each other. He among you who takes them for friends is (one) of them. Assuredly Allah guides not wrongdoing people."
That's just one. Read it yourself.

[todd]

Reader,
Is it necessary to now list all passages or religious intolerance in the Bible? Do those mean that Jews and Christians adhere to those ideas?

[Reader]

todd,
what does the Bible have to do with anything? I haven't heard of any Christian or Jewish suicide bombers. Hey, if you want to try to get along with a religion that has no tolerance for any but their own, go for it.

[Editor]

Timothy McVeigh and Eric Robert Rudolph. Oklahoma City and Atlanta Olympic Park. Two bombers and bombings perpetuated by Christians to further their beliefs. Granted they didn't wear suicide vests and kill themselves with their victims but that doesn't lessen the horror of their crimes.

[Lisa]

Greg,

Nice to see you have jumped on the Anti-Islamic bandwagon. We have muslims that honorably serve their country thanks for painting them with a broad brush.

[Chris]

I'm gonna guess that no one else here sees the irony of the bumper sticker suggesting that someone's religious choice isn't a good reason to speak poorly about them? And that, regardless of religion, we should take people at face value?
That's almost as silly as suggesting that the Christian/Jew/Muslim aggressions of the last decade or four are justified by eleventh and twelfth century transgressions.
The entire point of the bumper sticker is that prejudice and hate are pretty damned stupid, and usually a sign that you're being p'wned. That's 'played as a pawn'.