The original birther argument was being circulated Clinton surrogates during the contested 2008 primary. Basically channeling the conspiracy theories of the time.
I only ever heard it from Trump, but even if that's the case that it did start with those people, he still ran with that bullshit and further fueled it despite knowing it had no basis in fact. That's a horrible thing to do. He should've called those people out instead of adding to and further spouting similar crap.
Back to John Q. I was recalling my knowledge of the poll I referenced. In a response To BVS (who to his credit is a skilled jujitsu debater in FYM). In the heat of our battles I was making the point that he doesn't represent John Q and lumped many posters with it. The term John Q Public is old timey label newspaper editors used in the past to satisfy their readers. I probably picked it up watching a movie.
I know where the term come from. I just don't get how, because we happen to be a fairly left-leaning forum, we're still not part of "John Q. Public". There are people outside this forum who DO think like we do, too, regardless of whether or not they're the majority.
Obama's recent statements follow his MO. That's to be expected. What annoys me is that he pivots to blame America for the sins of our past. Yes, we had slavery, Jim Crow, and Japanese internment camps.
When it comes to a Muslim extremist attack like Orlando or San Bernardino he sounds more like a defense attorney. Plays to jury to look inward and question America's injustices. Politicizing the national prayer breakfast telling Christians 'to get off their high horse' citing the bloodshed of the Crusades. It can be argued the Christian response was brought about by Muslim encroachment on the Byzantine empire of modern day Turkey and attacks on pilgrims visiting the Holy Land.
He's not wrong. Yes, Islamic extremism is a serious issue worth paying attention to, for sure.
But our country does need to take responsibility for our role in these horrific shootings, too. And Christians DEFINITELY need to get off their high horses with the "Islam is a religion of hatred" attitude, because they've been just as horrible with their attitudes towards the LGBT community. To name a few significantly more recent examples of that religion's negative side:
-"I don't have to serve gay people because of my religion."
-The ludicrous boogeyman "straight man sneaking into the girls' bathroom" argument they're trying to come up with in regards to the trans debate of late.
-Claiming same-sex marriage is a "threat" to this country's "traditional Judeo-Christian values" (because apparently gay Christians, or Christians who support gay rights, don't exist, I guess? To say nothing of the insulting insinuations about what constitutes "traditional values".)
-Actively pushing legislation to try and deny same-sex couples the right to marry, or adopt.
-Gay conversion therapy camps, and referring to homosexuality as a "mental illness".
-Comparisons of homosexuality to pedophilia, incest, or bestiality.
And if you think there aren't Christians out there wishing death on gay people, I would like to direct you to Google to look up information on an anti-gay bill in Uganda a number of years ago that stated homosexuality was punishable by death, and look at the mention of U.S. politicians who were connected to making that bill a thing.
And then there's also this response from a pastor about the Orlando shooting:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...s-the-tragedy-is-that-more-of-them-didnt-die/
There's really not any difference between radical Islam and fundamentalist Christianity on that issue. So Obama's exactly right to say that Christians (or more specifically, the religious right) have absolutely no high ground to stand on with their attitude towards Islam here.
And I'll echo everything else Headache said. We blame this on mental illness, but won't support a healthcare system that would allow these people to cover and afford the mental healthcare they need. We take away toy guns in classroom (understandable, 'cause it's pointless to have them there, really) but think it's okay to arm the schools with the real thing. We blame violent media for influencing these shooters, but air images from real life wars on the nightly news as though they were action films, and have politicians getting all gung-ho about going overseas and fighting people because it's better than looking "weak" and "wimpy". And on and on.
So yes, Obama's exactly right to tell us to start looking inward. We're just as guilty for these conditions as anything and anyone else, and we need to acknowledge and confront and deal with that fact.
