"The TRUTH about Islam": As If!!!

   As someone who identifies as an independent and sees the good and bad in each party, I think it is important and, honestly, entertaining to read posts written by extremists from either side. I get enough left-wing extremity just from scrolling down my Twitter and Tumblr feed (lot's of pro-communism and Bernie Sanders), so for this assignment I decided to choose a post from a staunch conservative, and I hit the jackpot with The TRUTH about Islam: The TexasFred Blog.

   In his article, Texas Fred explains what he believes to be the real, scientific, actual, no doubt TRUTH about Muslims. He calls them terrorists and murderers. He claims that Muslims live for beheading and mutilating and that the religion is actually a terrorist organization. Texas Fred then shares passages from the Quran that describe violence, beheading, and torture for nonbelievers. I do not know if these passages are completely accurate , but I will admit they were shocking and I can understand how non-Muslims could find them scary. After the terrifying passages, Mr. Fred encourages (in his words) "*peaceful* Muslims" to point out his mistakes, if he made any. Immediately after he insults Muslims for not standing up against ISIS and claims "a moderate Muslim doesn't want to behead you, a moderate Muslim wants a radical Muslim to behead you for him." WOW.

   I do not even know where to begin with this post. Clearly Texas Fred wrote this article for people who already believe Muslims are terrorists because it was overflowing with opinion and had only a drop of information from the direct quotes. I believe Texas Fred makes these claims out of fear which manifested in him as anger, a secondary emotion. This would explain why he is so emotional. I think this fear has caused him to push away every Muslim he has ever come in contact with because it is clear he has never met one. Every Muslim person I have ever personally met has been so kind and graceful. I highly doubt my Muslim friend was secretly hoping for me to be beheaded while we were gossiping about cute guys in our classes. Aside from the few quotes, this post had no other factual evidence making it non-credible. I will give him props, though, for building such a long post on a limited amount of evidence. It is also important to point out that the Christian Old Testament is filled with horrible, violent passages, similar to the Quran, and it is wrong to assume the mentality of every person belonging to the religion. Sure there are Muslim extremists who do follow the violence in the Quran, but there are also Christian extremists who murder gays and non-white people, shoot up schools, burn crosses, and commit other acts of violence. Groups such as the KKK, Westbro Baptist Church, the Lord's Resistance Army, the Army of God, Eastern Lightning, the Phineas Priesthood, the Concerned Christians...need I continue? Because I can. Clearly we don't let these extremist groups define all Christians, so why do it with Muslims? I also do not think Mr. Texas Fred realizes his intolerance and hatred for a different religion mirrors that of ISIS extremists.  

   I really don't know what else to say about Texas Fred's post, I mean, his credibility? Whack. His claim? Whack. His evidence? Whack. His logic? WHACK. This guy is afraid of ISIS so he word-vomited a bunch of Islamiphobia onto a blog followed only by other Islamiphobes then high-fived himself. This post was as entertaining and made me as mad as a pro-communism, left-wing extremist, 16 year old's post on Tumblr. 

    The article, Protests push all of us to face dilemma of racial injustice , describes how NFL star Colin Kaepernick's protest of the national anthem allows American's to realize the racial injustices non-white people continue to face everyday. During the national anthem, Kaepernick chooses to take a knee as protest of the violation of rights towards people of color, and also speaks out about the issue as much as possible. This protest has caused a huge stir; many people support his right to do this while others go as far as sending him death threats for expressing his right to freedom of speech.
    Tim Wendel, author of the article, wrote in favor of Kaepernick's actions. His shocking headline catches the attention of anyone aware of Kaepernick's protest, as well as those who have not heard. Wendel does not stall, and begins his article immediately giving examples of those in support of Kaepernick. He gives quotes from multiple sports coaches who approve of Kaepernick's actions, then gives examples of other athletes of color who have spoken out about racial discrimination.  He then delves into the history of athletes using their fame to shed light on racism. By using this technique, Wendel gives a compelling argument. Those who do not understand the importance of Kaepernick's actions or the right's he has to do so can read this article and understand a new perspective. They will be educated and most likely persuaded. Unfortunately, however, this article will not persuade racists who hate Kaepernick because racism is an ignorance often chosen to be ignored. No matter how compelling an argument, and ignorant racist will not be able to comprehend because they have suppressed their institutionalized racism without realizing it and will ironically view logical arguments as ignorant.
    Wendel's article is informative and persuasive to those unsure of the impact of Kaepernick's protest, however it is hard to say how successful this article is at persuading racist people to stop viewing protest through white-colored lenses.