Re: closing comments

Jeff,

--- In metatuning@y..., "X. J. Scott" <xjscott@e...> wrote:
> There's a lot of debate about how the terrorists do not represent
> the majority of peace-loving, kind Muslims. I think this poll makes
> a good point about the position of the majority of Muslims and what
> they think about things.

Please stop and think about what you are saying. For instance:

> results of the internet poll held on the Al-Jazeera web site

Oh. An *Internet* poll. Of all the polling methods, could there be a lamer way of understanding trends and perceptions? If one were to pose the same political question of some sort on two sites )say, opening Alaskan protected lands for drilling):

1. a Rush Limbaugh-type site
2. a Sierra Club-type site

Do you think the results from either of them would be representative of a "majority" of people think?

> 12,374 people participated in the poll

There are millions of Muslims, yet you are willing to ascribe to the majority of them opinions and beliefs shown by a few thousand.

Your data is flawed.

Regards,
Jon

--- In metatuning@y..., "X. J. Scott" <xjscott@e...> wrote:
>
> Well it's not 'my' data, but the data given by the largest and most
> well-respected Islamic publishing empire, Al Jazeera.
>
> I'm curious what do you think Jon?

You've ignored virtually everything I wrote and instead ranted. I tried to point out to you that the particular example you used in no way showed that every single Muslim is in favor of the evils that you ascribe to them, and yet that is what you offered the example as: more proof.

I won't answer any more of your posts on this subject. I have a good friend who is a Muslim, does not share the views of those that you constantly write about, is a peaceful and loving person and is in great turmoil over how one segment of his faith - or people who have, in some way, hijacked his faith - misrepresent what he believes in.

If there is one, there can be, and most assuredly are, many more like him. I can't stand to see an entire religion or group of people lumped together, but it is pointless to bring up this simple fact.

There are very bad people in this world, people who would like nothing more than death and destruction. Some are Muslim. Some are from other religions. Some don't have religious beliefs, I imagine. Some run multi-national corporations or think tanks.

There is no shortage of evil. There never has been. It is part of the human animal.

Jeff, give some of us some time to respond already. (yeesh) Before getting
started, anybody consider whether the luxury liners getting the "Norwalk
Virus" are part of terrorism? It seems that they are the right kind of
target...certainly Amsterdam and Disney.

It seems, Jeff, that we are listening with different equipment on some level,
at least in the sense that there is more resonance for some of what you are
saying to some rather than others. And it is not binary, since there is
certainly more than two different ways to listen, hear, retain, and analyze.
The very quotations from Arabic papers is evidence to that.

What some of us don't want to do is sell people short, because it is like
selling oneself short. We want to believe that what we have always believed
is still true, at least that it resonates true. When our individuals
intuitions are dashed, bashed, and smashed beyond recognition, we are
shocked, in shock, and in turn become shocking.

My first question to you is to ask how you gained your Jewish history
sensitivities. They are impeccable. Is it ethnic stock, in-laws, good
friend(s), or some other aid. My second question is why it is absolutely
missing from the Arabic world. One would think they have been around it
enough to pick it up, at least in a general sense.

People are not evil. They may be swayed ideologically, but today they resist
as much as they ever did. I believe people in the Arabic world want to push
up the extreme line as a kind of macho. They would likely feel forced to be
violent. And yet parents are "honored" that their sons have died killing
other children. In this world, we are all children.

Now in NYC there is no commercial work. All my work is music which is
impossible for me to survive on in a formally commercial linch pin. It might
change, but maybe not in time for a bunch of us. But I am creative to a
fault so you'll be hearing still more. What I am not willing to do yet is
blame people. But you have eloquently demonstrated that words of the Koran
have been used by connected people to justify murder. Now question, are
their numbers rising, even with suicides? Self-prophesizing doom will
guarantee it in certain circumstances. Why take the risk of predicting the
future when it is NEVER what we portend

And just now the Catholic Church is filing for bankruptcy in Boston! Man,
too many variables right now. Kissinger, well I better pick that up later.

best, Johnny

--- In metatuning@y..., "X. J. Scott" <xjscott@e...> wrote:

> I would say that between 20 and 40 million Muslims are peaceful
honest
> people who are abhorred by and reject totally the violence,
including Jon's
> friend and others.

my rough guess would be about 240 million. and most of the others
have simply been brainwashed by their religious leaders, and the
political and media establishments that the religious leaders
control. i don't think it sensible or just to declare war on nearly a
billion people just because they've been fed a smokescreen of lies.
they really had little choice in the matter. of course these are very
difficult, not to mention controversial, matters . . .

oh, since you mentioned the Protocols, they are being televised in
Egypt and the U.S. (on cable) and presented as Historical Fact.
(thanks to salman rushdie for bringing this to my attention.) clearly
nothing has changed since the days of pogroms and gas chambers.