Cab driver stabbed after being asked if he was a Muslim

[Bill Mattocks]

This is what intolerance leads to.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/musli...-stabbing-hate-crime-charge/story?id=11480081

A New York City cab driver was attacked Tuesday evening just after 6 p.m. by a passenger who asked him if he was Muslim, says the NYPD.
...
As the cab headed north on Third Avenue, Enright allegedly asked Sharif, who is of South Asian origin, "Are you Muslim?" When Sharif confirmed that he was Muslim, police say, Enright stabbed him multiple times.

The attacker is said to have been very drunk, and has been taken to the hospital for psychiatric examination as well. He faces attempted murder and hate crime charges.

I find this very sad. It's nothing more than a modern-day lynching.

 

[Steve]

Nothing much to add to this... very sad.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Nothing much to add to this... very sad.

My biggest concern is that there is going to be a spark that sets off a wave of this type of violence. The politicians and the news media have whipped up public anger to a high degree; now we begin to see what happens. They used to call this 'incitement to riot'.

 

[Steve]

My biggest concern is that there is going to be a spark that sets off a wave of this type of violence. The politicians and the news media have whipped up public anger to a high degree; now we begin to see what happens. They used to call this 'incitement to riot'.

Agreed. And while it looked like obama was going to stand up, politicians are actively fleeing the scene.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Agreed. And while it looked like obama was going to stand up, politicians are actively fleeing the scene.

Some are; some are not, IMHO. To me, it appears as though the Tea Party-ish side of the Republican Party is whipping up hysteria; while the Democratic politicians have completely caved and walked away as quickly as they could. Cowardly curs would be my description of them. President Obama took a principled stand and then backed down; now he's completely silent on the matter. I understand that Mayor Bloomberg is still actively taking the pro-tolerance side of the debate. I don't think much of Mayor Bloomberg otherwise, but I give him props for this.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

But Bill, "They All Want To Kill Us" as one idiot on Facebook said to me as I dropped her from my list. All 1.6 billion of the worlds Muslims are even now, actively conspiring to kill us all, all us non-Muslims. Dunno if they have a private wifi, have developed telepathy, or are using carrier pidgeons to coordinate this, but my source was quite certain, as are alot of people that "They" are coming for us.

So, we need to prepare, and beat them to the punch. You know, round them up in camps, make them wear special symbols, maybe even take a 'shower'.

(The reference is intentional. My opinion of these people, the ones spouting "They", not Muslims, are that they are full-tilt asshats who lack common sense, and need a serious clue-by-four application.)

 

[Bill Mattocks]

But Bill, "They All Want To Kill Us" as one idiot on Facebook said to me as I dropped her from my list. All 1.6 billion of the worlds Muslims are even now, actively conspiring to kill us all, all us non-Muslims. Dunno if they have a private wifi, have developed telepathy, or are using carrier pidgeons to coordinate this, but my source was quite certain, as are alot of people that "They" are coming for us.

So, we need to prepare, and beat them to the punch. You know, round them up in camps, make them wear special symbols, maybe even take a 'shower'.

(The reference is intentional. My opinion of these people, the ones spouting "They", not Muslims, are that they are full-tilt asshats who lack common sense, and need a serious clue-by-four application.)

And to be fair, it exists on both sides. There are many Muslims who hold similar views about Americans or Christians or Jews. Intolerance and fear are not limited to the USA.

However, things are seldom as they appear.

http://pewglobal.org/category/survey-reports/

http://pewglobal.org/2010/02/04/mixed-views-of-hamas-and-hezbollah-in-largely-muslim-nations/

Across predominantly Muslim nations, there is little enthusiasm for the extremist Islamic organizations Hamas and Hezbollah, although there are pockets of support for both groups, especially in the Middle East.

The bad news; there are pockets of support. The good news; it's not universal, as the bigots would have us believe.

 

[Sukerkin]

I have a deep fear that things will get a lot worse before they get better.

Ordinary people are, perforce, conditioned by their environment and their 'media' as well as their religions. That conditioning, for the past decade, has been one to ferment distrust and hate/fear of both 'sides' of this manufactured divide.

 

[Big Don]

I have a deep fear that things will get a lot worse before they get better.

Ordinary people are, perforce, conditioned by their environment and their 'media' as well as their religions. That conditioning, for the past decade, has been one to ferment distrust and hate/fear of both 'sides' of this manufactured divide.

From the NY Daily News:
In an odd twist, Enright was a volunteer for Intersections International, a Manhattan-based group that promotes peace among different religions. A spokesman confirmed he was filming for the group, which recently threw its support behind the controversial Park 51 mosque project near Ground Zero.
Intersections International, not exactly a hot bed of right wing activity...
But, continue to smear conservatives, I understand you have to.

 

[Sukerkin]

But, continue to smear conservatives, I understand you have to.

Where did you get that from, Don? Or weren't you talking to me?

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Where did you get that from, Don? Or weren't you talking to me?

I was thinking the same thing. Didn't you just say it comes from 'both sides'? Hate is not limited to one political party or another, nor is intolerance. In this case, it may even be mental instability. However, it is true that in the case of the 'Ground Zero Mosque', the more extreme-right Republicans are whipping up a media frenzy, with Fox complicit, while the Democratic politicians are cowering with their tails between their legs. I'm sure which is worse, the hate-mongering of the Republicans or the abject cowardice of the Democrats.

 

[Big Don]

Where did you get that from, Don? Or weren't you talking to me?

No, and Sorry Suke, the snark was aimed at others, your preceding comment seemed tailor made to the daily news quote.

 

[Sukerkin]

Ah, I understand - darned English having singular and plural "You"'s can make things easy to misread at times :nods:.

 

[Omar B]

So saddening. Shades of NY in the weeks after 9/11, not a time I want to think about.

 

[Carol]

It wasn't just limited to NYC....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balbir_Singh_Sodhi

 

[Omar B]

It wasn't just limited to NYC....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balbir_Singh_Sodhi

I got a couple sideways glances and questions about my religion and background myself. Most of it from random loudmouths who didn't see what I saw. I was one of the first there working triage out of the BMCC campus.

 

[Carol]

I got a couple sideways glances and questions about my religion and background myself. Most of it from random loudmouths who didn't see what I saw. I was one of the first there working triage out of the BMCC campus.

Props for that. I was 20 miles out, stranded (least of my worries) and feeling very helpless.

 

[Omar B]

Yeah, my best bud's dad is a cop so he got all us dudes together in a pickup.

Stories like this are just horrific. This hard working guy got stabbed by who? A practical nobody who has done nothing. This muslem he hates enough to stab was out there working hard and one can almost guess is an upstanding guy.

 

[Carol]

Yeah, my best bud's dad is a cop so he got all us dudes together in a pickup.

Stories like this are just horrific. This hard working guy got stabbed by who? A practical nobody who has done nothing. This muslem he hates enough to stab was out there working hard and one can almost guess is an upstanding guy.

Its even darker than that.

A college student who did
volunteer work in Afghanistan
was charged yesterday
with using a folding tool to
slash the neck and face of a
cabbie after the driver said
he is Muslim.
A criminal complaint alleged
that Michael Enright,
21, uttered an Arabic greeting
and told the victim, “Consider
this a checkpoint,” before
the attack occurred Tuesday
night in Murray Hill.

This wasn't just a random drunk...this dude put some thought in to hurting someone.

Link is subscription only...the rest of the article just says he'll be held without bail, yadda yadda yadda

http://www.newsday.com/news/new-york/hate-crime-charged-in-stabbing-of-muslim-cabbie-1.2237393

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Its even darker than that.

This wasn't just a random drunk...this dude put some thought in to hurting someone.

Link is subscription only...the rest of the article just says he'll be held without bail, yadda yadda yadda

http://www.newsday.com/news/new-york/hate-crime-charged-in-stabbing-of-muslim-cabbie-1.2237393

The guy is not your typical person whom you'd expect to see out there protesting against the so-called 'Ground Zero Mosque'. In fact, just the opposite.

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/08/26/2010-08-26_maniac_wanted_better_for_everyone.html

Capelluto and other friends said they never heard Enright disparage Muslims.
"All I've ever heard is that he wants things to get better for everyone," Capelluto said.
Raised in Brewster, which is in Putnam County, Enright is a senior at the School of Visual Arts and does volunteer work for Intersections International, a group that promotes peace and tolerance.
As his senior thesis, he embarked on a film project to follow his high school buddy Marine Cpl. Alex Eckner through boot camp in Hawaii.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local...wanted_better_for_everyone.html#ixzz0xi2cqH68​

(FYI, The Marine Corps does not have 'boot camp' in Hawaii, so I have no idea what that's about).

But, it is starting to look as if he may have been affected by his time in Afghanistan, embedded with combat Marines.

He was embedded with Marines on the front lines in Afghanistan in April and May.
A neighbor and longtime friend, who identified himself only as Jesse, said Enright was different when he returned.
"He said it was chaos," the pal said. "He did mention that they lost a few troops over there."

​

I don't think anyone knows what was going on in this guy's head at the time. Being 'very drunk' as he is described as being doesn't make a peaceful person become a murderous thug, at least not in my experience. There's something else going on.

I only hope that this shocks people enough to make some borderline psychos maybe pull back a bit. I hope it acts as a wake-up call and not a trigger event.