They say MUSLIM = TERRORIST, eh?
12 09 2006Today I recieved a very distressing email forward from a relative of mine. For the past few years my life has been blissfully free of direct involvement with those inflammatory and ignorant folks whose myopic view of the world leads them to condemn an entire culture for the acts of extremist groups. Today that ended.
The original email (obnoxious HTML formatting removed):
CHRISTMAS STAMP
How ironic is this??!! They don’t even believe in Christ and they’re getting their own Christmas stamp, but don’t dream of posting the ten commandments on federal property?
USPS New Stamp
This one is impossible to believe. Scroll down for the text.
If there is only one thing you forward today…..let it
be this!
[Image of Stamp]
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of PanAm
Flight 103!
REMEMBER the MUSLI M bombing o f the World Trade Center in 1993!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the Marine barracks in Lebanon!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the military barracks in Saudi Arabia!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the American Embassies in Africa!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the USS COLE!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM attack on 9/11/2001!
REMEMBER all the AMERICAN lives that were lost in those vicious MUSLIM attacks!
Now the United States Postal Service REMEMBERS and HONORS the EID MUSLIM holiday season with a commemorative first class holiday postage stamp.
REMEMBER to adamantly and vocally BOYCOTT this stamp when purchasing your stamps at the post office.
To use this stamp would be a slap in the face to all those AMERICANS who died at the hands of those whom this stamp honors.
REMEMBER to pass this along to every patriotic AMERICAN you know !
I don’t know why this has me so shaken up, but for a while I was angry. Angry and shaken that a member of my family would be of the same mind as these people. It’s just an email. She probably doesn’t even completely remember what it said, but that she felt it was necessary to hit that forward button and continue to spread these sentiments upsets me in ways that I never would have expected.
I did a little research into this “Christmas Stamp”. From what I can tell, this email must have been floating around the internet for years, because the USPS hasn’t done any publicity about this stamp since 2002. I can’t even tell if this stamp is still made.
I know that some of my loyal readers have dealt with these issues within their families before. I know that I’m probably not going to be able to change her beliefs, if this is the case, but I feel that I have to say something, I must DO something in response to her email. Below is a draft of my response. Please tell me what you think.
[Salutation] -
In the past I have enjoyed recieving occasional emails and updates from you. It means a lot that even though distance separates us, we can stay connected.
However, this latest email forward has me very upset. This email attacks and defames a culture and a group of people with a tradition and history as rich and varied as our own. Placing the blame for the acts of individuals on the religion as a whole is inaccurate and ignornant. Islam teaches a tolerance that we, as Americans, seem to be sorely lacking these days, and I am saddened to see you continue the spread of these sentiments.
There are over six million Muslims living in America today. They pay taxes and mail letters just you and me. Why should Christians (and Jews, for that matter) have stamps celebrating their winter holidays, but not these valued members of society? This is not a “Christmas stamp”. This stamp does not honor the terriorists who are responsible for the acts this email names. A quick look into the facts reveals that this stamp is meant to commemorate the end of Ramadan (a month of fasting) and a holiday honoring the prophet Abraham. The very same Abraham of the Old Testament.
The author of this email seems to be caught up in the whirlwind of xenophobic “patriotism” that is sweeping the nation, an epidemic of bold generalizations and irrational statements. I am a patriot; I am proud of our nation and I support our country, but I do not support this sort of intolerance and defamation. Please don’t continue to forward me these sorts of emails. They will not find a sympathetic ear.
I love you, and I love hearing from you. I hope everything is going well. Please keep me updated on your goings-on.
Love,
-C
I think your response was VERY good. Honestly, VERY good.
An alternative response could be this:
REMEMBER the CHRISTIAN WHITE PEOPLE who killed hundreds of thousands of MUSLIMS during the Crusades.
REMEMBER, the CHRISTIAN WHITE PEOPLE that brutally colonized Southeast Asia and Africa.
REMEMBER, the CHRISTIAN WHITE PEOPLE who traded millions of human slaves from Africa.
REMEMBER, the CHRISTIAN WHITE PEOPLE who robbed and murdered millions of Native Americans.
REMEMBER the WHITE PEOPLE who killed millions of Jews during the Holocaust.
REMEMBER the CHRISTIAN WHITE PEOPLE who killed thousands of innocent civilians at Horishima and Nagaski.
REMEMBER the CHRISTIAN WHITE PEOPLE who installed brutal dictators in South America.
REMEMBER the CHRISTIAN WHITE PEOPLE who murdered and oppressed millions of BLACK AFRICANS during apartheid.
REMEMBER the CHRISTIAN WHITE PEOPLE who massacred hundreds of thousands of innocent Viatnamese and Cambodians.
REMEMBER the CHRISTIAN WHITE PEOPLE who support a government that is currently oppressing thousands of MUSLIM PALASTINIANS.
REMEMBER the CHRISTIAN WHITE PEOPLE who have murderd hundreds of thousands innocent MUSLIM IRAQI CILIVIANS.
…I think I’ve made my point…Your response was much more civil than mine.
Some of my family members send that kind of stuff, too. But I never got the guts to reply and tell ‘em that it wasn’t cool with me. I guess it’s because I know I’m the only one that thinks so in the entire family set (says something, doesn’t it?) It’s gotten to the point where if there’s a “FW:” and lots of exclamation points (!!!!) in the subject line, I know to delete it.
I don’t know if you saw this, but I thought I’d pass it along.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/eidstamp.asp