Self-described ”terrorism and national security expert” and journalist Steve Emerson “enriched the community” at Cleary University's Livingston Economic Club Speaker Series Monday with his unique brand of racism by advocating racial profiling Muslims and citizens of Middle Eastern descent.
According to the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus, Emerson warned the audience that militant Muslims are using "strategic deception" to enter the mainstream political debate in America and advance their terrorist agenda.
But his comments drew denials and denouncement from a local Muslim group. As well they should.
Many people see Emerson as anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bigot with an obsessive agenda against Arabs.
Emerson said groups with harmless-sounding names like the Benevolence International Foundation or the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, are really front groups for Islamic fundamentalists and terrorists, and CAIR was an "ideological front for terrorists and their apologists. They have defended, championed and rationalized" terrorism.
Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan chapter of CAIR, was not present at the speech but responded by blasting Emerson as having an anti-Islam agenda: "He has a crusader mentality. ... He's not an unbiased analyst."
"With all the scrutiny Muslim organizations have been under since 9/11, if there was even a shred of validity to the charges of Mr. Emerson, we would have been closed down a long time ago," Walid added.
He said Emerson's casting suspicion on mainstream Muslim groups "clearly increases Islamophobia."
There isn’t much difference in someone calling the Knights of Columbus an "ideological front for terrorists and their apologists” as Emerson calling CAIR the same thing.
Walid also criticized the university for not inviting anyone to debate Emerson's claims, but the university has shown their policy of “diverse speakers” means only diverse conservatives.
Emerson’s views on the Iraq civil war occupation are as ridiculous as his view on one of the world’s major religions.
In the long term, however, "I don't believe the war in Iraq provided any more of an external excuse for jihadists to attack us," he said.
Plus, he added, al-Qaida would quickly fill the vacuum if American troops were withdrawn too soon.
Is he serious? The mega giant U.S. attacked and invaded a Muslim country for no valid reason, and he believes it provided no more of an external excuse for jihadists to attack us? That is, again, ridiculous. They are fighting a civil war, but the only common enemy is the U.S. If the U.S. is gone they will turn to oust the other outsider, al-Qaida.
But Emerson is just the prelude to Cleary’s glorification of rightwing extremists, and the queen of hate, Ann Coulter, is yet to come.
But when Cleary President Tom Sullivan merely mentioned Coulter's name at Monday's lunch, the audience broke out into applause.
That must be the sound of the county Republicans condemning her outrageous statements like they have publicly in the press. Do we need anymore proof that Coulter speaks for the Republicans and Cleary University?
15 comments:
Coulter doesn't speak for us, but I think they were clapping since they don't like leftists like you trying to shut people up with this crap, along with your push for the so called "fairness" doctrine intended to shut up talk radio.
You can sure try to spin it that way, and I expected you to. But you can’t disguise the fact that Ann Coulter speaks for you and your party. Publicly you denounce her, but when you think no one is watching you cheer her and embrace her hate speech and discrimination.
I’m not a “leftist," nor am I trying to shut any one up. What I am trying to do is erase the reputation of my community as racist, and stop people from condoning hate speech. If Imus can get fired for what he said Coulter should have been fired years ago.
The “Fairness” doctrine will not “shut up talk radio” it will make it better. There is no way you can tell me what is currently is fair or good for radio.
Sorry. Steve Emerson is a rightwing extremist who also happens to be a racist. The sad part is he has made a career out of it.
"Steve Emerson is a ... racist"
A racist is a person who considers one race superior to other(s). Which race(s) does Steve Emerson consider inferior?
I agree with you; Steve Emerson is a racist.
What are you, an idiot? I asked you a question. You do not agree with a question, you answer it. While the "idiot" question was rhetorical, the "Which race(s) does Steve Emerson consider inferior?" was not.
Now, that is the proper form of a question, and the answer is no.
The answer to, Which race(s) does Steve Emerson consider inferior?, was so ridiculous I ignored it. The answer is any one who is non-Muslim, as far as I know. Perhaps a better word to describe Emerson is bigot, and I think the two words are interchangeable. At least to me. This was posted six months ago, BTW.
So, we can agree that Emerson is not a racist. Your contention is that he is an anti-Muslim bigot, i.e. Islamophobe. What is the basis of your contention? Are you basing it on Emerson's words or actions or are you just repeating what some idiot said?
Sorry, Emerson is a racist. I have provided my reasosn why. YOu just need to read them.
Just because some idiot (you) claims that bigot and racist are interchangeable terms it doesn't make it true. And you are also too stupid to even justify your claim that Emerson is a bigot. Again, just because some idiot claims that Emerson is a bigot it doesn't make it true.
Fine. If I’m such an idiot then quit worrying about what I say.
What makes you think I am? get over yourself and your delusions of grandeur.
“What makes you think I am?” Because you came here attacking me, I didn’t seek you out. My “delusions of grandeur?” Right. Again, if I’m an idiot quit worrying about what I say or think. Good-bye.
"Because you came here attacking me"
Again, the delusions of grandeur.
I wanted to know why Emerson was called a racist. Because you cannot justify your idiotic statement, you attempted to redefine the meaning of the word. However, trying to explain something to someone who pulls his opinions out of his ass is a waste of time.
Great. Then stop wasting my time and yours. I’ve seen Emerson on faux news, plus the taped delayed appearance at Cleary, to know he’s a racist. Accusing a group of people of being terrorists based on his made up conspiracy theories makes him a bigot and a racist in my book. We have our own Steven Emerson here in Michigan. Her name is Debbie Schlussel. People got a good idea what she was about when she accused Ismael Ahmed of being a terrorist at the Senate hearing where the executive director and founder of the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) was being confirmed as the head of the Michigan Department of Human Services (DHS).
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