I'm Appalled (Updated)

I'm not taking this as an expression of bigotry so much as an indication of the degree to which the ravings of lunatics like Sarah Palin drive public discourse in America. This is the ADL on the proposed Muslim community center a couple blocks away from Ground Zero. (I would link directly, but the link is broken.)(Update: Here's a working link.)

We regard freedom of religion as a cornerstone of the American democracy, and that freedom must include the right of all Americans – Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and other faiths – to build community centers and houses of worship.

We categorically reject appeals to bigotry on the basis of religion, and condemn those whose opposition to this proposed Islamic Center is a manifestation of such bigotry.

However, there are understandably strong passions and keen sensitivities surrounding the World Trade Center site. We are ever mindful of the tragedy which befell our nation there, the pain we all still feel – and especially the anguish of the families and friends of those who were killed on September 11, 2001.

The controversy which has emerged regarding the building of an Islamic Center at this location is counterproductive to the healing process. Therefore, under these unique circumstances, we believe the City of New York would be better served if an alternative location could be found.

Eric Martin dissects the logic of the release (which is almost nonexistent) pretty effectively in his post, but I want to call attention to one thing: "The controversy which has emerged" is another "controversy" created by the bigots on the right because they can use things like this to fire up their base. It's deliberate race-baiting.

I won't bother to go into the arguments against this sort of racist campaign, but they're pretty simple to summarize:

1. The site of the community center is not visible from Ground Zero, and vice-versa;

2. The group owns the land and has gotten approval from the city for the expansion plans;

3. There were Muslims killed in the collapse of the towers -- it was a pretty multicultural affair;

4. New Yorkers support the community center -- we're talking about outside agitators here.

Y'know what? In spite of everything that Sarah Palin and Newt Gringrich and their ilk can do, it's still a free country. The ADL should take another look at the "controversy" and maybe come to its senses.

Update: It gets worse:

In recommending that a different location be found for the Islamic Center, we are mindful that some legitimate questions have been raised about who is providing the funding to build it, and what connections, if any, its leaders might have with groups whose ideologies stand in contradiction to our shared values. These questions deserve a response, and we hope those backing the project will be transparent and forthcoming. But regardless of how they respond, the issue at stake is a broader one.

I question the legitimacy of those questions. Everything I've seen smacks of smear tactics and fabricated concerns. The "connections" are simply that they are all Muslims, and, like Christians and even Jews, there is a broad spectrum of interpretations within that faith. The ADL here is playing along with the Palin/Beck wing of the so-called "conservative" movement -- the wingnut fringe.

And then it goes right down the toilet:

Proponents of the Islamic Center may have every right to build at this site, and may even have chosen the site to send a positive message about Islam. The bigotry some have expressed in attacking them is unfair, and wrong. But ultimately this is not a question of rights, but a question of what is right. In our judgment, building an Islamic Center in the shadow of the World Trade Center will cause some victims more pain – unnecessarily – and that is not right.

Ultimately, this is not about the ADL's opinion of what building the community center will cause to victims. This is about caving into the terrorists, which the right has been doing ever since 9/11.

I have to revise my opinion of the basis for this statement: it's espousing bigotry while pretending not to. Where have we seen that before?

Here's the post that provided the link above. Eli sums it up rather nicely:

Look, it’s very simple really: You don’t oppose bigotry by tut-tutting it and then siding with the bigots.  You oppose bigotry by opposing bigotry.

Follow that link.  That's what the ADL's statement should have said.