“We should remember not to blame all members of any other religion or political ideology for what one person does.” Right. The problem is that any examination of the motives and goals of people such as Omar Mateen, and any consideration of what can be done about them, is always met with the accusation that such examinations and considerations constitute blaming all Muslims for the actions of jihadis. It is so obviously fallacious that it is hard not to suspect that it is an intentional obfuscation.
“Let’s not give in to fear after the Orlando shooting,” by Steven W Thrasher, Guardian, June 12, 2016:
For generations, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans have turned to night clubs and bars like Orlando’s Pulse – the scene today of the deadliest shooting in American history – as places of refuge. They have been our sanctuaries….
Terrorism works because it makes people afraid of our fellow human beings. Let us not let terrorism work this time. As our ancestors did not at Stonewall, let us not fall to fear.
Let us remember those mourning black families in Charleston – attacked in their sanctuary this very week last year – who looked at Dylan Roof within hours of taking their kin and said “I forgive you” with no malice in their hearts. Let us remember the lack of vengeance they displayed, and how they immediately pivoted from a place of intense grief towards action for building a better world.
Let us remember that individuals who commit horrendous crimes in this country with absurd regularity have one thing in common: they have easy access to weapons of mass killing.
Let us remember that singer Christina Grimmie was also shot to death, also in Orlando, within a day of the tragedy of the Pulse nightclub – seemingly by a man whose race and religion will not be used to smear other members of his same race and religion.
Let us remember what transgender Americans have been subjected to over something as basic as bathroom use (which may have led to a bomb being set in a Target last week) and say we must stop the violence.
Let us remember that we have never really blamed all Christians, Republicans or Democrats (many who have organized en masse to subject queer people to systematic violence and destruction at different points in American history) for the violence waged against us. We should remember that again today. We should remember not to blame all members of any other religion or political ideology for what one person does….