I gotta vent some frustration

[BatmanVSuperman]

I wish the US wouldn't act so proud of their alliance with Israel. There are elements of the relationship that seem unfair to other provinces of the Middle East. The fact that Fox News is beating up Obama for his commentary about the Crusades, made me think of this side note for some reason.

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

You definitely did the right thing by not starting anything with him I'm just saying that I would have been really tempted to.

I was tempted to become defensive, but not ratchet, lol. I don't blame for having that temptation, but you have to think about what the consequences would've/could've been, you know

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

I wish the US wouldn't act so proud of their alliance with Israel. There are elements of the relationship that seem unfair to other provinces of the Middle East. The fact that Fox News is beating up Obama for his commentary about the Crusades, made me think of this side note for some reason.

isn't this lady part of fox news?

 

[BatmanVSuperman]

I think it sucks that people are so brainwashed by some of the media to immediately support how the US handles Middle East relations. When someone such as the President tries to make some commentary to level the playing field, he gets slammed for it. Even Affleck got tore up in the media for a while because he made a common sense statement about the condemnation of all Muslims as being over the top. True, he made the mistake of referring to them as a race, but his point was nonetheless valid.

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

I think it sucks that people are so brainwashed by some of the media to immediately support how the US handles Middle East relations. When someone such as the President tries to make some commentary to level the playing field, he gets slammed for it. Even Affleck got tore up in the media for a while because he made a common sense statement about the condemnation of all Muslims as being over the top. True, he made the mistake of referring to them as a race, but his point was nonetheless valid.

ah, I REMEMBER THAT VIDEO! with him on bill maher defending Muslims right??

I looked at the comments, and wow. lost a lot of faith in humanity

i'm afraid I don't know much about the politics side of thing you talk about in your post though.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

I was tempted to become defensive, but not ratchet, lol. I don't blame for having that temptation, but you have to think about what the consequences would've/could've been, you know

Yep one definitely does have to think about the consequences. It is always best to extra cautious around strangers. You never know if they have a gun or a knife and will just snap when you respond in a harsh manner.

 

[Greens]

I think it sucks that people are so brainwashed by some of the media to immediately support how the US handles Middle East relations. When someone such as the President tries to make some commentary to level the playing field, he gets slammed for it. Even Affleck got tore up in the media for a while because he made a common sense statement about the condemnation of all Muslims as being over the top. True, he made the mistake of referring to them as a race, but his point was nonetheless valid.

It doesn't matter what Obama says because Fox News will slam him for it. They completely misinterpreted what was a factual statement. Ben Affleck was a different matter, in my opinion. Bill Maher made the point that people are very quick to pull the Islamophobe card. Ben then basically called Bill a racist. He was too emotional about it and his arguments didn't really pertain to what Bill was saying.

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

Yep one definitely does have to think about the consequences. It is always best to extra cautious around strangers. You never know if they have a gun or a knife and will just snap when you respond in a harsh manner.

ohh no I wasn't worried about that, I was just thinking that a scene was gonna be caused and I would be the one everyone's pointing out because I'd be the only oddball/minority in the room.

 

[Shikamaru]

Next time, tell him you have a copy of the Bible and bring up all the nonsensical acts of violence and bigotry found in it. Bring up passages in which God demands "his" people to kill *infidels* for land, disbelief, race and sexuality.

The tables could be easily turned against his favor.

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

Next time, tell him you have a copy of the Bible and bring up all the nonsensical acts of violence and bigotry found in it. Bring up passages in which God demands "his" people to kill *infidels* for land, disbelief, race and sexuality.

The tables could be easily turned against his favor.

I hope to not see that guy again, so I hope for no next time. And although what you suggested is a viable thing to have done, it isn't exactly noble - stooping down to his level to tell him his beliefs are wrong - that's not my place, just like it was not his place to do that to me.

by the way, isn't the word "infidel" used only in the Qur'an?

 

[Shikamaru]

It's not stooping to his level nor is it bashing his beliefs. It's simply pointing out the hypocrisy behind his own way of thinking.

If rather unpopular statements made in the Qur'an means you're a radical, going by his logic, everything he said to you can be applied to him as well. He would immediately respond by telling you you're misinformed about his beliefs, which is ironic since you told him the exact same thing and he just shrugged it off.

Also, I don't think the word "infidel" itself comes up in the Bible, but the concept of killing a person for not adhering to a particular belief is definitely present.

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

It's not stooping to his level nor is it bashing his beliefs. It's simply pointing out the hypocrisy behind his own way of thinking.

If rather unpopular statements made in the Qur'an means you're a radical, going by his logic, everything he said to you can be applied to him as well. He would immediately respond by telling you you're misinformed about his beliefs, which is ironic since you told him the exact same thing and he just shrugged it off.

Also, I don't think the word "infidel" itself comes up in the Bible, but the concept of killing a person for not adhering to a particular belief is definitely present.

Exactly - he would begin vehemently defending his beliefs if I started pointing out like-statements in the Qur'an. I guess if I worded it "well sir you do know that in the Bible..." then it would've been fair game. But to be honest, I don't know of any said embarrassing passages in the Bible.

If you do, can you tell me if the ones that are there are as bad as the ones in the Qur'an?

 

[Greens]

Exactly - he would begin vehemently defending his beliefs if I started pointing out like-statements in the Qur'an. I guess if I worded it "well sir you do know that in the Bible..." then it would've been fair game. But to be honest, I don't know of any said embarrassing passages in the Bible.

If you do, can you tell me if the ones that are there are as bad as the ones in the Qur'an?

The Old Testament is full of sick things. Slavery is condoned. Rape is, to a certain extent, condoned. God tests Abraham by telling him to kill his only son. God wipes out entire cities. God wipes out the entire earth. God kills all (innocent) firstborns in Egypt.

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

The Old Testament is full of sick things. Slavery is condoned. Rape is, to a certain extent, condoned. God tests Abraham by telling him to kill his only son. God wipes out entire cities. God wipes out the entire earth. God kills all (innocent) firstborns in Egypt.

I'll admit I don't know about most of them (aside from the Abraham thing), but 75% of what is in the Qur'an comes from the Bible, and in fact from the Old Testament, not word for word but that's probably not good news for me either.

 

[Greens]

I'll admit I don't know about most of them (aside from the Abraham thing), but 75% of what is in the Qur'an comes from the Bible, and in fact from the Old Testament, not word for word but that's probably not good news for me either.

I don't know a lot about the Qu'ran, but I know war is a big theme in the book. That explains where the whole anti-infidel sentiment comes from.

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

I don't know a lot about the Qu'ran, but I know war is a big theme in the book. That explains where the whole anti-infidel sentiment comes from.

I asked my mother about how and why war and violence is so explicit, and she told me those passages are descriptions of the actual wars that took place back in the prophet's time, and isn't meant to reflect how the followers of Islam/Qur'an should treat non-Muslims today. Unless we are being persecuted.

If someone hits you, you have the right to hit back. BUT, you get more credit for not hitting them back.

 

[Cosmic]

If/when this happens again, don't tell him he's been misinformed. Don't argue with him or encourage him in any way. Simply change the subject, or bring an end to the conversation however you see fit. You will feel better after encounters like this if you assert yourself a little more.

Also, I get the impression that you didn't feel that he was deliberately trying to insult you and ruin your day, but rather, that he was being ignorant, irritating and a bit rude while at the same time attempting to convince you of his point of view. I think you shouldn't let it bother you too much. Maybe in a different situation where you had more time, and an inclination to do so, you might have engaged with him and taught him a few things to clear up his misunderstandings. Then you can come back here and tell everyone how good you felt about it afterwards.

But that's just me. I will always have more respect for someone who greets me and acknowledges me as a man, even if they're talking some complete BS, than people who will never speak to me based on my beliefs, or the color of my skin.

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

If/when this happens again, don't tell him he's been misinformed. Don't argue with him or encourage him in any way. Simply change the subject, or bring an end to the conversation however you see fit. You will feel better after encounters like this if you assert yourself a little more.

Also, I get the impression that you didn't feel that he was deliberately trying to insult you and ruin your day, but rather, that he was being ignorant, irritating and a bit rude while at the same time attempting to convince you of his point of view. I think you shouldn't let it bother you too much. Maybe in a different situation where you had more time, and an inclination to do so, you might have engaged with him and taught him a few things to clear up his misunderstandings. Then you can come back here and tell everyone how good you felt about it afterwards.

But that's just me. I will always have more respect for someone who greets me and acknowledges me as a man, even if they're talking some complete BS, than people who will never speak to me based on my beliefs, or the color of my skin.

i doubt I'll cross that man ever again. But as it stands, there really was no way to change to subject at the time. I just stopped responding to him when he was getting on my nerves.

And you are correct in your second paragraph. Back when it happened, back when I made the thread, this incident did put me in a really bad mood because of how this guy's attitude was "disregarding the fact that you said you're Muslim, I'm gonna tell you about your religion and what you believe in." - after having vented here and on some other forums and talking to some peers about it, I felt better.

I see what you're saying, but when someone talks to you about something as if they know it better than you and then actually seem very bigoted while doing so, you can't help but feel distraught. the guy's attitude wasn't "oh well I can't say I know for sure although I've read the Qur'an" - he was spewing it in my face like it was fact "Islam is a cult" "Islam started from Abraham's bastard child" "to you I'm an infidel which means slit my throat" even after thinking, no, you can't be more wrong and please stop talking to me if this is gonna be your attitude.

 

[Cosmic]

You should've said what you were thinking. It sounds like he was trying to be friendly and not realizing how much he was annoying you. Many people are taught from childhood that it's their duty to proselytize to people who believe differently than they do. People also tend to be socially inept and often hold deeply ingrained prejudices. That doesn't necessarily mean that they personally want to harm or insult you in any way. You may never see him again, but you'll probably have an encounter like this again, at some point. It sounds like this guy could've been politely dismissed.

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

You should've said what you were thinking. It sounds like he was trying to be friendly and not realizing how much he was annoying you. Many people are taught from childhood that it's their duty to proselytize to people who believe differently than they do. People also tend to be socially inept and often hold deeply ingrained prejudices. That doesn't necessarily mean that they personally want to harm or insult you in any way. You may never see him again, but you'll probably have an encounter like this again, at some point. It sounds like this guy could've been politely dismissed.

What I was thinking? I was thinking "sir, as much as you think you know, you sure sound like you do not know what you're talking about. furthermore, you are making me uncomfortable. why do I feel uncomfortable? because I don't know you and you're talking to me in a way that's making me feel unsettling."

earlier on in the conversation, what I should've said to him was "sir, I would not have any christian friends if they all thought as intolerantly as you do. also, I'm willing to bet you don't personally know very many Muslim people and that's why you have this ideology of Islam."

Perhaps you're right that he wasn't trying to insult me, but he also didn't think before he was talking as I was visibly not comfortable talking to him after what he began to say. If he was upset that I wasn't talking to him anymore, that's his fault. He did it to himself. I'd say my stopping his conversation was a polite dismissal, wouldn't you? And right before I left the clinic he did say "have a nice day" and I said "you too".

remember, we reached the top of the hill when I said I was Muslim, and started going downhill when he replied "You don't believe in the true god". Who is he to tell me my beliefs are wrong?

 

[Ultron-5]

You've been frustrated for a pretty long time.

 

[Cosmic]

...

remember, we reached the top of the hill when I said I was Muslim, and started going downhill when he replied "You don't believe in the true god". Who is he to tell me my beliefs are wrong?

Sure, and that's all quite reasonable. From your story, the guy just seems mostly harmless and irritating. If it were me, I probably would've laughed in his face and then changed the subject. If he still kept on with it, then I'd explicitly tell him what to go and do with himself. I'm not as polite as you are.

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

You've been frustrated for a pretty long time.

no I have not.

But the memory of what happened to me early on this year is something I'm not going to forget.

Sure, and that's all quite reasonable. From your story, the guy just seems mostly harmless and irritating. If it were me, I probably would've laughed in his face and then changed the subject. If he still kept on with it, then I'd explicitly tell him what to go and do with himself. I'm not as polite as you are.

I wouldn't blame if you were about to say that, but would you really do it at 8am in the morning in a dentist lobby with a little kid and his mom also present? i

also I'm not good with telling ages, but I think the guy was at least 45, maybe more than 50. There's not much small talk convo I could think of bringing up with a stranger like that who's significantly older than me, so there's no subject to have switched to. I was just waiting for the dentist after all, the only reason I was there. the best and only thing I could've done was stop talking to him, in the scenario. at least that's what it felt like at the time, you know & that's why I did it.

 

[Apollo]

oh my god, all this time I thought my avatar was a kitten but now that you mention, it DOES look just like pikachu!!!

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

man, I might not have ever noticed if you hadn't pointed it out.

can't unsee