These are uncertain times. But here's one thing we can rely on: No matter how horrific the tragedy, there's always going to be some vile jackass trying to bring out the worst in us.
Sorry if I'm a bit behind-the-news-cycle on this one. I'm still catching up after my flu-related hiatus.
So yes, I'm addressing the anti-Islamic backlash in the wake of the Fort Hood shootings -- most notably Pat Robertson's characteristically rabid take on it.
I get really irritated with these demagogues who try to present themselves as eminently reasonable. "Look, I'm not prejudiced. I'm just pointing out the simple fact that Muslims are evil, violent people. That's all."
As if there's really some rational framework for expressing the premise that every single one of the approximately 1.5 billion global adherents to a religion is a violent psychopath who wants to kill you. And yes, Robertson, Islam is a religion. Get it through your skull.
I feel very passionate on this issue, because it brings back memories of the days immediately after the Sept. 11 attacks. There was a lot of talk back then about how a tragedy of that magnitude would bring out the best in us as a country.
I really wanted that to be true. To some extent, it was. But I also witnessed some behavior that didn't exactly make my heart swell with patriotic pride.
I was living in Philadelphia at the time, and taking jiujitsu lessons from an instructor who worked as a bouncer at several local clubs. In the months immediately after the attacks, he had to break up a lot of fights that broke out when guys would gang up on anyone they suspected of being a Muslim.
Frequently, they were wrong, my instructor said. The targets would be club regulars he knew -- guys who were Indian or even Latino. Such distinctions apparently didn't matter to the assailants.
The guy's got dark skin? He speaks with a foreign accent? Hey, that's all I need to know! He's the enemy! Let's kick his ass!
You can try all you want to put a veneer of rationality on that outlook. It won't stick.
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