Fox's Johnson asks if Park51 developers should "give up their First Amendment rights"
September 03, 2010 8:52 am ET
From the September 3 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends:
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So, now we can go back in time and nitpick every association these people have had in the past, even if the organization they donated to at the time was not designated as a "terrorist" organization?
Good thing we don't apply that standard to our own government officials...
But how can there be compromise if opponents of the mosque believe that the mosque, regardless whether it's two blocks or four blocks away from Ground Zero, is intended by Muslims as a symbol of victory over America on 9/11...intended as an insult and provocation directed towards America? If a person holds beliefs that extreme how could they possibly compromise?
But there is no evidence the place is intended as a victory symbol. First, it's not just a mosque. And, the community center is reportedly modeled after a similar Jewish center on the Upper West Side which is open to the general public...not just to Jews. Same for the Islamic center.
This meme that the mosque is intended as a victory display is just typical right wing, made-up crapola...
Animal Farm, George Orwell
Why is it okay for Christians to build a community center anywhere, but it isn't okay for Muslims to build a community center. There is no reason why this group should give up their rights, both property and religious, for other people. This is an abandoned building, no one has wanted it for nine years, but now, suddenly, they do. Get a grip, this is all about Islamophobia, and shame on us for swallowing it.
Now, it wouldn't be okay with many people had the Japanese wanted to build a shrine to the Emperor of Japan that expressed the sentiment that he did nothing wrong when he attacked America.
But they didn't. And it's not fair to tar the peaceful Sufi sect members who want to build an Islamic Community Center that will have a mosque inside with the same broad brush that one would paint the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 with!
Look at the battles over Jerusalem since ancient times. Look at the Dome of the Rock. Look at the West Bank settlements in Palestine.
An "historical" site is different. The place where an important battle took place. The place where John F. Kennedy was assasinated. Certainly those should be preserved, just as 9/11 should be memorialized as an historic sight. But to prevent development of the area on the argument that this, and blocks around it, are hallowed ground. That strikes me as something a Beckerhead would say.
INDIAN: Why do you always do that?
WAGON BOSS: We get better reception that way! Do you mind if I put this antenna up on yonder peak?
INDIAN: That's our Sacred Mountain.
WAGON BOSS: This is our Sacred Antenna! It's shaped like a cross! Made out of aluminum. Er- got any aluminum?
Settler: Now we can make tortilias!
2nd Settler: We've been waiting for this for hundreds of years!
I don't like to throw around the word "un-American" too much, but Johnson is un-American. The only people who believe the Bill of Rights is optional are fascists.
I hope that is not too complicated for you but it probably is.
Substitute any other religion for Islam in this case and see if you still feel the same way.
19 people and their supporters attacked us on 9/11, not "Muslims" in general.
Christians, over the years, have built their churches on the sites of Islamic mosques, just like the inverse! But there's absolutely no evidence that THIS Islamic Community Center with a mosque inside is being built as a victory of the conquering Muslims! In fact, there's evidence that it's anything BUT an isolating symbol of a conquering army!
You're wrong in every way possible.
I hereby suggest that Fox Propaganda give up it's First Amendment rights and stop broadcasting, in order to show tolerance for those whose feelings have been hurt by Fox's words and actions. Fair enough?
If the government became involved I think it would be more of a Fifth Amendment issue: "...nor shall any person...be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."
Say, if that community started talking about "Second Amendment solutions" to guarantee those rights, Fox wouldn't have any problem with that, would they?
Unfortunately they have been successful in pushing the false narrative that 70% of New York and the 9/11 families don't want it there and people are believing it.
As mentioned in the comments below, nobody is asking the mosque developers to give up their 1st amendment rights. They have the right to build the mosque and those who oppose it have the right to demonstrate their opposition.
The true test of our constitution would be the local, state, and Federal government protecting both sides of this debate, without interference.
Finally, the investigation of the developers funding is a witch hunt that Jon Stewart has already pointed out is laughable, considering that the same people who help fund the Park51 developers also are the second largest investor in Fox News' parent company, News Corp. So, any attempt to vilify Park 51 developers applies equally to Fox News.
That's what all this whining really boils down to. They don't like their taxes going to support the poor, elderly, or infirm. They're selfish, greedy jackasses who've wrapped themselves in faux patriotism.
None of this actually matters. The 3 decades of the no limit national credit card are OVER. The Feds printing dollars strategy worked OK when the patient needed a band-aid here and there. But the patient has been hemorraging for awhile now and radical surgery is all that is left. A cataclysmic revaluation of "how much" government is enough is nearly upon us.
That's a myth pushed by those opposed to the development.