For Elizabeth Moon - with respect.
Sep. 17th, 2010 01:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dreamer_easyI want to make this posting out of respect for Elizabeth Moon. Why respect? Because I've met her and was inspired by her; because she's published lots of original SF novels and I'm still trying to get there; because it's her country and not mine; because, although I haven't the heart to check Google, I'll bet right now she is being dragged through the mud all over the place - not her posting about Park51; her. Online fandom, and indeed the net in general, don't know how to attack opinions - only how to attack people. (ETA: That's an overstatement. It's just woefully typical!)
You'll know, from my postings on the subject here and elsewhere, that Ms Moon and I have very different views on Park51 and on Islam generally. What's more, as an Anglo-Australian, I'm very aware that I'm not affected by the issues of discrimination and assimilation that her posting raises.
Rather than address either of those issues, then, what I want to do is question some of the statements in Ms Moon's posting, statements I believe to be factually incorrect.
Ms Moon states:
But more importantly, in my opinion, Ms Moon is wrong in her belief that the planners of Park51 were hoping to provoke controversy - or that at least, they should have expected it.
For one thing, in the prayer room at the Pentagon, built on the very site of the 9/11 attack, hundreds of American Muslims have prayed every day since 2002 without anyone objecting.
For another - and for me, this is the clincher - the announcement of Park51 did not create a controversy. It had official and popular approval and minimal media attention. There was no to-do until months later, when anti-Islamic pundits made it into an Issue - and politicans jumped on board.
In my opinion, they are responsible for the angry arguments which are dividing Americans right now - not the planners of Park51. If anyone is neglecting their duty as citizens, it's the media figures and politicians using the community centre for their own cynical ends - especially those spreading suspicion, hate, and lies.
As Mayor Michael Bloomberg stated:
You'll know, from my postings on the subject here and elsewhere, that Ms Moon and I have very different views on Park51 and on Islam generally. What's more, as an Anglo-Australian, I'm very aware that I'm not affected by the issues of discrimination and assimilation that her posting raises.
Rather than address either of those issues, then, what I want to do is question some of the statements in Ms Moon's posting, statements I believe to be factually incorrect.
Ms Moon states:
"When an Islamic group decided to build a memorial center at/near the site of the 9/11 attack, they should have been able to predict that this would upset a lot of people."Firstly, the posting refers repeatedly to a "memorial center", which I don't think accurately describes the project: it's a community centre, which will include a memorial to the victims of 9/11, but also a swimming pool and gym, classrooms, a restaurant, an auditorium (and of course the prayer room which opponents call a "mosque").
But more importantly, in my opinion, Ms Moon is wrong in her belief that the planners of Park51 were hoping to provoke controversy - or that at least, they should have expected it.
For one thing, in the prayer room at the Pentagon, built on the very site of the 9/11 attack, hundreds of American Muslims have prayed every day since 2002 without anyone objecting.
For another - and for me, this is the clincher - the announcement of Park51 did not create a controversy. It had official and popular approval and minimal media attention. There was no to-do until months later, when anti-Islamic pundits made it into an Issue - and politicans jumped on board.
In my opinion, they are responsible for the angry arguments which are dividing Americans right now - not the planners of Park51. If anyone is neglecting their duty as citizens, it's the media figures and politicians using the community centre for their own cynical ends - especially those spreading suspicion, hate, and lies.
As Mayor Michael Bloomberg stated:
"We may not always agree with every one of our neighbors. That's life. And it's part of living in such a diverse and dense city. But we also recognize that part of being a New Yorker is living with your neighbors in mutual respect and tolerance. It was exactly that spirit of openness and acceptance that was attacked on 9/11."tl;dr With respect, Ms Moon is incorrect: the planners of Park51 did not intend to provoke controversy; nor should they have expected it. There was no controversy until right-wing pundits invented one.
