I take it as given that one of the ways that I may die is while defending my family and faith community. I see such clashes as inevitable given the tenor of the times.
You often talk in your own journal about various experiences within your social circles which heighten your sense of being cast as the Other, and I can definitely understand your sensitivity to these things as a New Yorker, but I'm somewhat surprised (and depressed, I guess) to hear you say that you consider such a worst-case scenario so likely.
What leads you to "take it as a given" that such a violent outcome for you is plausible? It's been a long time now since I've been in Manhattan itself--is the atmosphere there, at the heart of things, that much worse than the sense I can gather from news reports?
I think that the U.S. is near a tipping point of some kind, maybe as early as 2012 or 2014 where the economic situation may be so dire and the mood of the general populace will get to a point where there will be uprisings against convenient scapegoats. I also believe that flames are being fanned for these uprisings -- though I'll admit that perhaps I'm cynical enough to believe that there isn't much of a gap between many people's thoughts and their actions.
I'll allow that the media may foster my attitude through picking the most newsworthy quotes above the reasoned voices. As well, since I now read the populist Daily News on a regular basis, I turn to the Voices of the People page and I'm actively looking for things to confirm my admittedly paranoid thesis.
As well, on my Facebook page, I've discussed my feelings about Park51 and 9/11 and have come up against some strong feelings by people with whom I became "reunited" via Facebook after more than 30 years.
I really hate that some of these recent stunts have gotten as much media attention as they have - especially the qur'an burner. People do insensitive things every day - doesn't mean they should get national attention for doing it. Sometimes I really hate the media. :(
Media outlets do tend to put a greater emphasis on the extremes, and the extremists, in an effort (ultimately) to draw greater attention to themselves--but to be fair, you can only magnify an object (or an issue) that's already there to some extent in the first place.
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What leads you to "take it as a given" that such a violent outcome for you is plausible? It's been a long time now since I've been in Manhattan itself--is the atmosphere there, at the heart of things, that much worse than the sense I can gather from news reports?
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I'll allow that the media may foster my attitude through picking the most newsworthy quotes above the reasoned voices. As well, since I now read the populist Daily News on a regular basis, I turn to the Voices of the People page and I'm actively looking for things to confirm my admittedly paranoid thesis.
As well, on my Facebook page, I've discussed my feelings about Park51 and 9/11 and have come up against some strong feelings by people with whom I became "reunited" via Facebook after more than 30 years.
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It's the back-and-forth between these two elements of the American consciousness that's reflected so well right now in the competing Rally to Restore Sanity and March to Keep Fear Alive.
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