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Hillsborough leaders deserve support for gay pride stance

Re: Gay pride policies alarm librarians, July 17.

It's encouraging to hear Mat Staver (president and general counsel for the Liberty Counsel, a conservative, nonprofit law firm) speak out against the homosexual movement when it pertains to what should or should not be displayed in public libraries, particularly displays of gay pride themes.

As the article pointed out, only 2,000 people participated in the recent protest against Hillsborough County government for choosing not to promote gay pride events. It's evident from the insignificant number of protesters (2,000), in a county of 1-million people, that homosexuality is not the preponderant percentage of the population that gay activists would have us believe.

We, the moral majority, must not just assume that the politicians we've elected will continue to do what is right if we remain silent on these issues that are important to us. If the only feedback they get is from a small minority of protesters, then they may have no choice but to reconsider their decision.

We need to let our political leaders know we support their decision in this before it becomes the accepted standard that will be too late to change.

Don't stand for discrimination

Re: Gay pride policies alarm librarians, July 17.

There are many reasons this policy has created such strong reaction: reasons of economics, free speech, social recognition and, of course, politics. Collectively, these elements indicate that there is a broader context at issue beyond a mere policy against Gay Pride (notice the capital letters).

The policy joins the cacophony of support or opposition toward one underlying issue this country has struggled with : discrimination. The very words used in your article reflect the four strategies I call the Four Pillars of Discrimination (Diminishing, Dehumanizing, Denying and Distancing):

Diminishing the value of our point of view. Dehumanizing by comparing us to having dangerous and unhealthy activities like cocaine use or needing to protect kids from us as if we're preying on them. Denying our contributions to the community. And Distancing by using the term "lifestyle" to make it seem that we have an entirely different way of life from everyone else.

It is past time to recognize these strategies as groundless and knock them down one by one. At stake is our ability to live peacefully among one another. And as parents, soldiers, police officers, nurses and Hillsborough County government employees, the avoidance of us would involve not only steering clear of Gay Pride events, but the grocery store, the library and the hospital, to name a few.

Muslim outcry seems late

Re: Muslim group denounces terrorist acts, July 16.

Sorry, but you'll have to excuse me if I'm not out dancing in the street. This should have come at the latest after the '93 bombing of the World Trade Center.

Why is it CAIR (the Council on American-Islamic Relations) only speaks after an attack? Why are the group's members not speaking out against the tub-thumping firebrands who preach hate in the mosque? When will CAIR call for the lifting of the death fatwa against Indian-born British writer Salman Rushdie?

If the members of CAIR want me and many other Americans to listen, they had better start speaking out before attacks. They need to police their community. When has CAIR called for young Muslims to join the military or security services and fight Islamic fundamentalist terror? Until then, this is just lip service. Sorry, too little, too late.

Bless them for speaking out

Re: Muslim group denounces terrorist acts.

This is great! Thank you to all who took part in this public announcement.

I agree that those who live normal, good lives should not be blamed for the few who break all the laws. God bless them for speaking out for the truth about the Koran and true Muslim beliefs.

I pray that the right people hear their plea. We should all be able to live the beliefs we want, the way we want, as long as it doesn't affect the beliefs of others.

Distorting words of solace

Re: Video betrays Al-Arian as victim, editorial, July 15.

No mother anywhere receives the martyrdom of a child with joy. And no parent wants to believe his or her child's life was given in vain. Whether it's a young soldier killed in Iraq or a suicide bomber, parents need to believe their child's life was given for a higher cause. Whether in the name of liberty, freedom, justice, or "the cause of Palestine," the same feeling is felt by all whose child was "sacrificed" for a higher cause. Believing it gives purpose to that life and helps ease the pain.

Giving solace to survivors of any loss is a human and compassionate reaction and not necessarily an endorsement of terrorism. Using 1991 videos and a FBI-contracted linguist to translate a speech of questionable motive, the prosecution tried to portray Sami Al-Arian, the father of five, as an advocate of terrorist actions by children. It only inspired semantic courtroom dispute.

How many people, and what leader has not invoked the "will of God" to comfort a bereaved parent? And what cleric has not said to a grieving parent, "He or she is with God," or "in heaven?"

Our leaders do not refer to the "sacrificed" young in Iraq or Afghanistan as "martyrs." Rather they were "fighters for freedom," "defenders of democracy," etc. By whatever name, it's the same.

Consider the context

Re: Video betrays Al-Arian as victim.

This editorial says that civilized people should be repulsed by Sami Al-Arian's 1991 statement that Palestinians must vigorously resist Israel's illegal occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. But they draw this conclusion without referring to what is going on in those areas.

In the last five years, 3,625 Palestinians and 1,052 Israelis have died in this conflict, a ratio of 3.4 Palestinians for every Israeli. It is even worse for children, with 680 Palestinian and 118 Israeli children killed, a ratio of 5.8 Palestinian children for every Israel child.

During this same period 4,170 Palestinian homes have been demolished; no Israeli homes have suffered this fate. Indeed, 60 new Jewish-only settlements have been built on confiscated Palestinian land.

There are responsible Jewish voices within Israel that are starting to speak out about these conditions. A number of courageous Israeli military pilots have refused to fly missions over the occupied territories and a group of Israeli soldiers have refused to serve in the West Bank and Gaza.

Civilized people should be repulsed by what the Israeli government is doing in the occupied territories and should use their best efforts to bring this illegal occupation to an end.

[Last modified July 20, 2005, 00:57:15]