Governor Paterson this morning said there is racism at work in the mosque debate—but also stressed the needs for all sides to come together and find a solution that would “rid ourselves of Islamophobia.”
“There are some bigots and some racists who are alive in this discussion, however when nearly 70% of the population oppose it, you’ve got a lot of people of good will and all ethnicities you’re going to have to persuade,” Paterson said during his weekly appearance on WOR’s “The John Gambling Show.”
“I’m here to try to open the discussion as to vehicles to try and bring people together,” Paterson said.
Paterson compared the Mosque debate to the bus boycotts launched by Dr. Martin Luther King in Montgomery, Alabama during the civil rights era. He noted that Rosa Parks was not the first woman who refused to move to the back of the bus, but was chosen by civil rights leaders because she presented the best test case.
“They chose someone simply because it would fit the pure argument that any American has a right to sit where they want on a bus,” Paterson said. “And all I’m saying, with an a little bit of an obstacle at Ground Zero, it’s kind of the same thing. “
When asked if the mosque debate was the “right argument, wrong location,” Paterson replied:
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6 Responses
He’s blind. That’s why he doesn’t realize the Muslims are not a race. They are being judged by the content of their character rather than the color of the skin.
Thomas Jefferson famously said that one of the purposes of a democracy is to “…protect the minority from the tyranny of the majority…” In that spirit, one needs to be careful when, as is the case often these days, people cry out against judicial or other decisions as being “dictatorial” or against “the will of the peoplwe.”
The popular opinion, “will of the people” issue is an old one of philisophical importance: When do morality and the protections of law outweigh considerations of majority opinion? After all, the majority of southerners 50 years ago were in favor of Jim Crow segregation; and I suppose the majority of Germans in the mid-30s were supportive of the Nuremburg laws.
I wonder how the Yidden among the 70% would feel about the importance of “the will of the people,” if majority opinion was sincerely that circumcision or schita is immoral and should be outlawed?
Wow, something that 1 & 2 disagree on & I agree with 1!!!!
All Blacks…..
All Jews…..
All Goyim….
All Muslims….
The common mantra the bigot.
Funny that the Governor compared the mosque situation to the time that Blacks were asked to move to the back of the bus. He heard that yesterday on 1010 WINS….BUT do you know who said that….they were interviewing a spokesman from CAIR (Muslim advocacy) who said the same thing in response to a question. The only trouble is that CAIR is itself a sponsor of terrorism. CAIR was an “unindicted co-conspirator” in the HolyLand (Hamas “charity”) case some years ago. This is fact and can be easily verified. If CAIR is one of their supporters we had better follow the money trail.
Its too bad people like YonasonW refuse to realize that this imam is no moderate. In fact, he is just the opposite. He may not be as bad as te blind shiek YM”SH but he has evil views nonetheless. Not to mention that the building they are interested in was actually damaged by one of the planes flown by the mulims. THIS MAKES IT PART OF GROUND ZERO! If this so called peaceful imam wants to bridge gaps, he would agree that it is extremely insensitive to build a mosque in that location. Obviously he isn’t interested in bridging any gaps as much as he wants to build his own version of the Triumph De Twin Towers.