Tea Parties, Glenn Beck protest Muslim Family Day at Six Flags Great America

Jeff said:
...wasn't chosen in the primaries...

Eek... you're right, she wasn't.

*runs away in moronic shame*

Irrelevant, party of one...you're table is ready.

^^ Jeff just "refudiated" you.

You Betcha!

Edit: Well, I guess Methink deleted his first post.

Nice first post, but you still missed the point.

Yes, there are people in the Muslim religion that harbor negative feelings towards America and other religions. However, this isn't any different than any other religious organization. Go look up every denomination in the US and you'll see a 'controversy' section on Wiki.

That still doesn't mean the rest of us should impede on the rights of all Muslims or all members of the ICNA. Even Fred Phelps' group has the right to think and feel the way they do. They may be full of hate, but they have the right to go to Six Flags just like You and I do. It's when people start imposing their opinions on others. The Phelps church does it, ones in Islam do it, and people here are doing it. Doesnt' make it right.

Jeff's got me thinking now... Palin isn't a good reason to call all Republicans idoits. But the fact that someone in the party hasn't called out "Stop the madness already!" might be.

I don't think they could stop her now if they tried. I think McCain realized what a mistake she was early in, and I think he knew she was nutty. She's like Rush Limbaugh, plenty of people listen to him and Palin, but plenty of others don't. Either way, they're not going to shut up.

Nine pages of discussion...multiple preaching about how we all need to educate ourselves...and has ANYBODY looked into and/or discussed the ICNA? I apologize IF I missed it. Since the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) is who/what Six Flags has gotten into bed with...shouldn't we all be a little curious about who/what these folks are and what they promote?

Here is the Wikipedia Link! I've included some quotes/facts(?) attributed to ICNA that I find quite more disturbing that anything I know and/or have read about Glen Beck or Fox News.

• It is smaller and more conservative than the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), holding separate sessions at its national conventions for women.

• In 2001 it would not allow the female vice mayor of the city where its convention was held to welcome the membership because some felt that a woman's voice is sexually seductive, but in 2002 it allowed a woman to address its annual convention for the first time.[7][/7]

• According to ICNA, its goal "shall be to seek the pleasure of Allah Iqamat-ud-Deen [establishment of the Islamic system of life] as spelled out in the Qur'an and the Sunnah of [Muhammad]."[/Muhammad]

• ICNA is reportedly allied with the organization of Jamaat-e-Islami in Pakistan and Bangladesh.[2][17][18][19][20][21] Steven Emerson says that it has praised terror attacks, supports the imposition of shar'ia (the Islami code of law), and collects tax-deductible contributions (through charitable organizations that it has created) for Islamist causes.[2][/2][/21][/20][/19][/18][/17][/2]

I do no necessarily believe all that Wiki has to say on matters...but I will note that their links seem more impressive than subjective opinions bantered about on a coasterboard about Fox News/Glen Beck. Interestingly, when compared side to side, one could make a reasonable argument that those who denounce Fox/Beck under the guise of despising hatred, racism, insert you favorite trigger word here, etc...might be better served joining Beck's protest...IF that is indeed what Beck has called for. I made my effort to study ICNA since it appears all other efforts were addressed toward Beck/Fox...so I've not independently confirmed Beck/Fox's actions/words/context/etc.

I'm of the general opinion that many (most?) Americans have lost sight of the BIG picture on many subjects. As it pertains to this debate...Glen Beck's opinions would appear to be much less offensive/racially charged than the actions of the ICNA. In other words, Beck is a minor distraction.

The question is why would a family amusement park chain as large as Six Flags want to partner with a group like the ICNA for ANYTHING?

I'm pretty much against protests for everything. I find them rather ineffective and annoying. But I must admit that womens' groups specifically, and possibly gay right groups, might have a valid beef with Six Flags and ICNA on this one. That said, Six Flags and ICNA can do what they want...but they should not expect immunity from criticism since they (ICNA) apparently have had some controversial beliefs/actions that do not typically align themselves with current American values as it pertains to social norms.

Which interestingly would put these groups, most associated with the political left, in agreement with Beck and Fox.

She's probobly being secretly paid by Democrats to bring Republicans down. She could actually be a genius.

Tekwardo said:
Edit: Well, I guess Methink deleted his first post.

And the 2nd through 5th... seriously dude, there's an edit button. Everyone else's page 9 is my page 10 because of all the deleted posts.

And the one that made it is still irrelevant. First off, Six Flags isn't "partnering" with anyone, they're providing a service to a paying customer. Get over it.

Second, what the sponsoring group chooses to believe is their own business, provided it's not hurting anyone. You don't need to agree.

And seriously, because it's on Wikipedia it's true? With quotes like "reportedly" I think you need to move on. As Tek already said, most of those "points" are quite beside the point.

Jeff said:

In all fairness to Republicans, it took awhile to discover what an idiot she really was (and wasn't chosen in the primaries). I don't think all Republicans are idiots, just the one woman from Alaska. I'm waiting for someone in the party to stand up and say, "Stop the madness already!" Not because I'm particularly aligned with what Republicans think, but because doing so might go a long way toward restoring balance to The Force.

The funny thing about referring to the "tea party" is that it's not a party, and it's barely a movement. It's more like angry and bitter anarchists composing a fringe element that make a lot of noise, but have no action points. They don't really say anything, which is perhaps why they think Palin is so cool. She doesn't either.

Actually, Jeff, most tea partiers are normal, everyday American's that are fed up with the amount of government spending there is, plain and simple. The reason the tea-partiers get the bad press is in an effort to discredit their opinions.

I honestly think the bad eggs are all in the Republican Party, to be quite honest. We wouldn't have gotten McCain as a candidate if the Republican Party was so crazy about nominating someone with the proper stance on abortion. Same thing with Palin.

I want a candidate that doesn't give a flying you know what about the social issues and cares more about the economic problems that this country is facing. I honestly don't care if gays get married, they aren't hurting this country if they do. I don't care if women can get an abortion because if they can it's not hurting this country. What is hurting this country is nearly 10% unemployment, a deficit that is out of control and about ready to devalue our bond rating; which would be a disaster, and taxes and regulations that are making it difficult for businesses to do business in this country and to hire American workers.

The problem is that most of the party is the Christian Right and they don't care about anything about a candidate unless his/her stance on abortion is pro-life.

This country is so divided right now. You have extremists on the left trying to shove socialist crap down our throats and extremists on the right trying to block everything in sight, even the good stuff. Until this country can learn to moderate we are all screwed.

Dead on, Bob.

The GOP is socially retarded, yet that's what they focus on the most. If they'd focus on the other side of things (the side where their ideas are superior to the left's) they'd be less of a joke to many people.

It didn't always used to be like that. Jerry Fallwell and his moral majority screwed things up. Goldwater said it best when he said "Every good Christian should line up and kick Jerry Falwell's ass" among other things.

I hope I haven't come across as anti-conservative or anti-teaparty, because honestly, I'm generally I think both all are a different side of the same cube.

I made a comment on Facebook that I will make here, and it kind of goes along with what Jeff said about speaking up. I will admit that a lot of the reason that Muslims, the Tea Party, the GOP and others get a bad rap is because enough people who are against the negativity DON'T stand up and say "Hey, the rest of us don't think like that". Opie & Anthony were talking about that one morning with a Muslim caller, and I agreed with them 100% (this was over the South Park stuff recently w/Mohammad). They admitted that they knew that most Muslims didn't feel that way, or those that had opposing opinions weren't out to kill everyone, but they told the caller that those that didn't feel that way should be louder than the minority, and I agree.

Like the internet, the loudest voices are often the ones that are loud because they don't have much intelligence to put behind their opinions, so they just shout it and expect everyone to agree with them just because.

The Tea Partiers do it, the GOP, the Democrates. Muslims, Christian groups, etc.

I don't think people should make broad generalizations about groups of people based on misinformation and not being educated, but more people should have the guts to stand up for their beliefs and correct everyone who thinks that all in a group feel the same way.

Bob has made some very good points (for a conservative ;) ). And he's done so without bashing the other side. That's a good way to do it. Because there is idiocy (did I use that correctly?) on all sides.

Interesting change in tone now that ICNA beliefs/opinions are the focus and not Glen Beck.

On Beck with the very first response:

• You know, I always pegged Beck as an attention whoring moron, but never as a racist. Now he's very clearly in that camp. This kind of hate is akin to KKK stuff. When did it become OK for people like this to be on TV?

On the ICNA who will not allow their men and women in the same room at their meetings:

• Second, what the sponsoring group chooses to believe is their own business, provided it's not hurting anyone. You don't need to agree.

I guess reasonable minds might assume that a group of men who refuse to share a room with women might be more "akin to KKK stuff" than Glen Beck calling for a protest? You don't have to agree. But there is an interesting dichotomy in defending free speech for sexist pigs while simultaneously questioning Glen Beck's right to be on television because you disagree with his opinions.

I really don't think that's the case, Methink. I think that 11 pages of discussion has evolved some people's thinking and approach to the debate and you are seeing that in the latter responses.

How has there been a change in tone? Glen Beck is attacking someone for their religious beliefs and saying that their right to go to Six Flags for an event should be taken away because it's distasteful. He has the right to his beliefs, but to take away someone elses without their choice is wrong.

That the ICNA reportedly is involved in negative things. But they're not forcefully taking the rights of those women (who could choose another religion, mind you) away. I see the same tone in both posts.

Has one person besides me acknowledged that the ICNA are sexist pigs? I'll grant you any negative you want to say about Glen Beck...I just ask that you take a look at the actions/associations of the group that is co-sponsoring (per the first 2 sentences of the article) this event with Six Flags.

I opine that their actions and associations are much more damaging to commonality than Glen Beck's words. Yet those that are/were so quick and free to denounce Glen Beck are hiding behind "free speech" with the ICNA. Why so afraid to take the ICNA to task for their sexist actions/views? Can't we support their right to be sexist pigs while also denouncing the fact they are sexist pigs?

I'll grant Six Flags a pass, for now, because I bet that the chain, like all of us on this thread had/have no idea what ICNA is about. Many took preconceived opinions and biases about Glen Beck and easily threw him in the racist/KKK/hateful camp. We knew nothing about ICNA...so we started with a clean slate on them. After a simple search...it appears they are a conservative fundamentalist Muslim group with some very sexist tendencies. Yet, so far, only I have had the courage to call the ICNA out for their actions? Once Six Flags is made aware of the group they are affiliating with...can we then defend their right to do what they want while simultaneously denouncing the company for co-sponsoring an event with a group that clearly demonstrates sexist policies/actions?

Why the double standard? If Glen Beck made it policy to not hold meetings with any women because he believed them not worthy of his presence as a man...would this thread be absent of ridicule? Would this thread only (sans one) be filled with those defending Glen Beck's rights to be a sexist pig?

Step out of your comfort zone and denounce hate as hate...no matter who is propagating the hatred.

You don't have to agree. (I like that quote...I think I'll steal it!)

Tekwardo said:
Bob has made some very good points (for a conservative ;) ). And he's done so without bashing the other side. That's a good way to do it. Because there is idiocy (did I use that correctly?) on all sides.

Probably the only time we'll ever agree, Tek ;)

Why the double standard?

First off, show me something other than Wiki, and maybe I'll believe it 100%. Second, there is no double standard. Glenn Beck wants them not to have an event that they are entitled to, simply because they are Muslims.

You're saying that they're sexist. Okay! But guess what, the people who belong to that small group of Muslims CHOOSE to give up certain rights, as do people involved in ANY organized religion! They have the right to GIVE UP their rights. Glenn Beck wants their rights to be forced away from them.

I'll grant Six Flags a pass, for now, because I bet that the chain, like all of us on this thread had/have no idea what ICNA is about.

I doubt that. Six Flags is a business and will cater to anyone showing them cash. That's why they're having the event. I don't care what the ICNA is about. They're not actively trying to take my rights away at this point that I am aware of, and until they do, I don't care what they do. Let them have their day at SFGAm.

If the Klan want to have a day there, let them. I know for a fact that different gangs go to that park in Chicago on certain days. I don't agree with the ideology, just like I don't agree with the Muslim religion. Still, they have flippin rights!

Probably the only time we'll ever agree, Tek

I doubt that. We agree and have agreed a lot over there years. And remember, just because I agrue that people have rights, doesn't mean I'm for the things I'm arguing they have the right to decide. ;) I choose not to discuss a lot of my personal beliefs, especially some of the more controversial ones, on here for obvious reasons.