I stereotype like anyone else and would make the same choices that you infer you would make given that specific situation. Stereotypes exist for a reason and we play the odds as you suggest based on these preconceived notions of what's safer for us and our families. I've never denied this fact, and if you search my posting history I've admitted on other threads that I stereotype people. Not a secret.

If I had to choose Christian or Muslim, I choose Christian. That's my preference, but it's not a zero sum game where the other side must be eliminated.

I am arguing from a very sincere place in my heart. I live my life among Arabs and Persians. I've had some of them treat me like a son. I've been invited up onto Mount Lebanon by the Druze. I've broken fast in a downtown apartment in Amman. I've ridden camels through the desert with the bedouins. I've worked hand in hand with the Saudi Air Force. I taught Persian to military linguists as the only white guy sharing offices with them on a teaching team. And never has my Spidey sense told me anything other than that these people want the same things in life that I do. You are free to make your own decisions in life as well. I choose to believe that Islam is not evil. That the vast vast majority of Muslims are amazing, generous and pious people, and that I'll live a happier life seeing the best in people rather than locking in on the negatives.

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I choose to believe that Islam is not evil. That the vast vast majority of Muslims are amazing, generous and pious people, and that I'll live a happier life seeing the best in people rather than locking in on the negatives.

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I'm not locked on the negatives. Just not blind to them.

As a Christian, I don't believe in Islam, but as a freedom loving person I respect anyone's right to peacefully practice it. And I believe some muslims do that. I believe some muslims practice it in a way that is at a minimum troubling and extends into abusive towards others. And some practice it in a way that is truly evil.

I don't know the percentages of each category. And your wonderful experiences shed no light on the breakdown either as it has a clear sampling bias.

But I do know there is a significant enough percentage of the latter group to be highly problematic. And if your post about the volumes of good muslims speaking out against extremist is correct, then apparently their are hordes of muslims that agree with me that it is indeed problematic.

And it works both ways...Maybe you should try to see the good in the people who share that thinking rather than locking in on the negatives about them.

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You can argue with them all you want their interpretation is wrong, but a not small amount of muslims believe otherwise.

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I would say because I have spent some ten years of my life in these cultures. that is is well over a "small amount" and that he could not argue against their interpretation of the Quranic verses because they are right there. Now having said that the problem with the Quran is that it is literally the ravings coming from a psychopathic lunatic who had a series of 'revelations' from a demonic spiritual being, whether drug or alcohol induced or not, I do not know! What I do know is that the Quran is down right schizophrenic and that Mohammed himself was a murderer, a thief, a sexual deviant, a pedo, an adulterer, had no problem taking other men's wives. Yet this is clearly the founder of Islam and is 'their prophet'. If I pointed these truths out I would of been imprisoned or killed. The Quran clearly says that you should not have any real friendship with an infidel. It is ok and prudent to lie to them, and take from them, and tax them, jihad is a central tenant in Islam.

So, EP can do what ever he wants to try to ignore or censor or revise the truth but the truth still stands. And a massive amount of Muslim's do adhere to these clearly presented teachings.

Now what I do is seek to grab the other teachings, when he was trying to win the favor of the Jews and Christians with his new 'revelations' and use them. But the real truth is once Mohammed gained power, all of those went out the window. and the Jews and Christians became 'infidels' IT WILL BE KNOW DIFFERENT IF THEY EVEN GET THE UPPER HAND IN THE US AND WEST! It is historical fact, repeated over and over again.

The problem is many don't believe in spiritual beings either angelic or demonic. The Muslims, very much do! They are much more spiritual then we in the west are. They have fear of God, that we simply do not have in their culture. The problem is the God of Islam is not the God of the Bible or the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ.

AggieEP said:

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I'm saying that arguing the crimes are caused by Islam is a really weak logical link. Not debating whether Pakistanis are committing the crimes. I fully believe they are. And yes, it's highly likely that some of the perps think that their behavior is condoned by Islam. But, they are criminals, so I give less weight to their interpretations of Islam.

I have had EXTREMELY negative experiences with Pakistanis. Of all the groups I've had to deal with, I have had more trouble with them than any others. In my opinion, Pakistani culture has some features that I struggle with. Are most Pakistanis Muslim, yes, so I can see where the connection can be drawn, but I'm telling you that you have to dig a bit deeper to understand what's going on here. It's a combination of religion informing culture informing behavior. You add some fuel to the fire with the easy availability of fundamentalist messages on the Internet, and before long you have communities acting out with dangerous and aberrant behavior.

It's a really unfortunate situation all around. In my dream world Britain would deport these Pakistanis not because they're Muslim, but because they never should have been let in in the first place. The western world in our attempt to be sympathetic has created this issue for ourselves by in taking large numbers of highly vulnerable populations. Our responsibility should have always been to our own people first and not to any groups of Somalis, Pakistanis, Afghans etc.

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Problem is that Pakistan was part of the British Empire until the 1947, so many of them have been there for multiple generations...

That's the fault of the British that they're going to have to live with...

One day the world will learn what has transpired in Gaza.

Whats that?

Who?mikejones! said:

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Whats that?

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Hamas says air drops are bad and serve as propaganda. They are dangerous and do not fulfill humanitarian needs in Gaza.
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It is quite something that Hamas complains about aid. Furthermore, the air drops complement aid going in by land. pic.twitter.com/Jqs77vhI5p

— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) August 10, 2025

Queso1 said:

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Who?mikejones! said:

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Whats that?

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Please answer the question.

BonfireNerd04 said:

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Queso1 said:

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Who?mikejones! said:

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Whats that?

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Please answer the question.

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I'm supposed to recite all the known facts? For what purpose? If you follow the news and aren't appalled, then no amount of additional facts will change your mind. There shouldn't be any debate on this, it should be appalling to any human regardless of politics.

Go ahead and give it a shot. You made a claim, Im simply asking you what that claim is?

Who?mikejones! said:

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Go ahead and give it a shot. You made a claim, Im simply asking you what that claim is?

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Im not going to do your work for you. I would hope you'd already researched what is presently known before supporting or justifying something. The fact that you don't know the facts (and need them from me) is unsettling. You have my permission to copy and paste this into any search engine or llm: "how many civilians have been killed in Gaza?"

I dont need the facts. I can read just fine and do read many articles and accounts from most every angle and listen to a variety of commentators pro and anti Israel/hamas etc.

Im simply asking you to explain what you mean by your claim.

For one, in addition to military caused casualties, there is going to be massive starvation.

Queso1 said:

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Who?mikejones! said:

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Go ahead and give it a shot. You made a claim, Im simply asking you what that claim is?

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Im not going to do your work for you. I would hope you'd already researched what is presently known before supporting or justifying something. The fact that you don't know the facts (and need them from me) is unsettling. You have my permission to copy and paste this into any search engine or llm: "how many civilians have been killed in Gaza?"

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Make sure to only use the official number reported by the Hamas run Gaza Health Ministry.

Going to be or there are?

I don't know their figure, what is it? Cut it by 75% and it likely would still be a disaster.

Who?mikejones! said:

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Going to be or there are?

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Both.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4mgMj9zDFKlCJiHxUngeKz?si=bUpUaNSCT_mQ1any198VjQ

Oh look. Tucker

Who?mikejones! said:

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Oh look. Tucker

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Relax. It's not a monologue. Its an interview with someone who is an eye witness.

Queso1 said:

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BonfireNerd04 said:

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Queso1 said:

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Who?mikejones! said:

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Whats that?

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Please answer the question.

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I'm supposed to recite all the known facts? For what purpose? If you follow the news and aren't appalled, then no amount of additional facts will change your mind. There shouldn't be any debate on this, it should be appalling to any human regardless of politics.

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I'm not asking for the facts. I'm asking for your characterization of the facts.

There's a difference between "the USA pressured Japan into surrendering by nuking Nagasaki" and "the USA killed civilians at at Catholic mass by nuking Nagasaki", even if they refer to the same incident. (Using that example because the 80th anniversary was yesterday.)

Post: Someday the world will know the truth about Gaza!

Reply: What is the truth?

Post: The facts are all well known! I'm not going to repeat them!


So, we are all missing a giant truth about Gaza and when asked what that is, we are told it's well known.

This is what passes for thoughtful, meaningful rhetoric on the left.

The new western mentality on how wars are supposed to be fought is why countries in the west do not win wars anymore. Especially against enemies that would show zero mercy to them if they had the upper hand. Israel is fighting an enemy that only understands pain and that sees kindness or restraint, against the enemy and its civilians, as a weakness. If Hamas had the upper hand, and Israel was trying to hide behind their civilians, hamas would just wipe out all of civilians without a second thought. Hamas would be starving the Israelis out and they definitely wouldn't be sending or allowing aid to get to the civilians. Soft stomached Americans sitting over here nitpicking everything about how Israel is fighting the war is a joke. They have bent over backward to avoid civilian casualties against an enemy that wouldn't do the same for them.

sam callahan said:

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Post: Someday the world will know the truth about Gaza!

Reply: What is the truth?

Post: The facts are all well known! I'm not going to repeat them!


So, we are all missing a giant truth about Gaza and when asked what that is, we are told it's well known.

This is what passes for thoughtful, meaningful rhetoric on the left.

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Hahahaha! I'm now on the left! Wow. Maybe check my posts. The left and the right are turning a blind eye to this. There is no difference between the left and right in foreign policy.

I'd say bookmark my post, and come back in a year. But even confronted by facts, you'll probably justify it.

sorry...ammend to to say "the left and sometimes right"

Despite me not having a catalog of your political stances, the point still stands.

Hubert J. Farnsworth said:

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The new western mentality on how wars are supposed to be fought is why countries in the west do not win wars anymore. Especially against enemies that would show zero mercy to them if they had the upper hand. Israel is fighting an enemy that only understands pain and that sees kindness or restraint, against the enemy and its civilians, as a weakness. If Hamas had the upper hand, and Israel was trying to hide behind their civilians, hamas would just wipe out all of civilians without a second thought. Hamas would be starving the Israelis out and they definitely wouldn't be sending or allowing aid to get to the civilians. Soft stomached Americans sitting over here nitpicking everything about how Israel is fighting the war is a joke. They have bent over backward to avoid civilian casualties against an enemy that wouldn't do the same for them.

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Yeah, Americans these days are insulated from the realities of a real war. Not one fought with thousands of troops, but with millions.

Do you know why the world didn't protest against the Palestinian "Nakba" when it happened? Because it paled in comparison to the expulsion of Germans or the India-Pakistan population exchange that occurred around the same time.

These Hamas guys are idiots, but air drops are dangerous, and usually are not much more than a very expensive propaganda tool. The problem is that outside of the Berlin airlift, we've never done aid drops on a scale large enough to sustain. (Also separately, his tweet is an extremely poor attempt at translation of the Arabic. The words are mostly correct but the sense of the statement has been modified enough to change the message)

Danger (a pallet fell on a 15 year old kid)

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/9/israeli-forces-kill-aid-seekers-as-gaza-starvation-death-toll-rises

Propaganda (the volume of aid will never be enough)

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy08n8x6788o


I will though agree with what another poster said, in war without rules, the West will always struggle. However, instead of using that statement to justify causing civilian populations to suffer, I would say that the logical result should be that the West should be more weary than ever of getting involved in these types of wars. If the only way to win is to close your eyes and cross moral lines we shouldn't be crossing, then the fight better really be worth it.

Hamas doesn't care about the danger. They care about aid that bypasses their control and associated thuggery.

Yes, air drops can be dangerous, especially if youre running underneath the pallets as they drop.

The same thing can be said about flying- flying can be dangerous, especially of you're attempting to cling on the side of the plane or landing gear during takeoff (like in Afghanistan)

Ag with kids said:

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AggieEP said:

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I'm saying that arguing the crimes are caused by Islam is a really weak logical link. Not debating whether Pakistanis are committing the crimes. I fully believe they are. And yes, it's highly likely that some of the perps think that their behavior is condoned by Islam. But, they are criminals, so I give less weight to their interpretations of Islam.

I have had EXTREMELY negative experiences with Pakistanis. Of all the groups I've had to deal with, I have had more trouble with them than any others. In my opinion, Pakistani culture has some features that I struggle with. Are most Pakistanis Muslim, yes, so I can see where the connection can be drawn, but I'm telling you that you have to dig a bit deeper to understand what's going on here. It's a combination of religion informing culture informing behavior. You add some fuel to the fire with the easy availability of fundamentalist messages on the Internet, and before long you have communities acting out with dangerous and aberrant behavior.

It's a really unfortunate situation all around. In my dream world Britain would deport these Pakistanis not because they're Muslim, but because they never should have been let in in the first place. The western world in our attempt to be sympathetic has created this issue for ourselves by in taking large numbers of highly vulnerable populations. Our responsibility should have always been to our own people first and not to any groups of Somalis, Pakistanis, Afghans etc.

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Problem is that Pakistan was part of the British Empire until the 1947, so many of them have been there for multiple generations...

That's the fault of the British that they're going to have to live with...

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Agreed, part of the penance to pay for the age of colonization has been that legal status was granted to people all around the world to some of these European states. So in the case of Britain/Pakistan you can understand a bit why Pakistanis are there. But when it comes to Germany letting in Syrians, or Sweden letting in refugees, that was purely by choice and they will endure some turbulence because of that.

Damn, ww2 would've been won be the axis powers then.

I think you're misunderstanding the danger here. I'll make an assumption that you've not ever loaded pallets on a transport plane, but they are super heavy.

A pallet is floating down with chutes, until it clips the side of a building and turns into a 2000 pounds of death at terminal velocity. You as an adult are smart enough to stay clear, but kids don't quite realize how fast the situation can change and how dangerous it can be when the pallet falls like dead weight.

A pallet could also land on your tent destroying everything you own.

In general, the air lift is a last resort. There's a good reason we don't resupply our troops via air drops unless absolutely necessary because we'd destroy a bunch of our own crap as these things drop down to us.

I started my post calling the Hamas guys idiots. What more do you want?

The fact is that airdrops are dangerous and aren't usually effective. We use them because it's an easy way to say... "hey we tried to help, look at all the aid we dropped."

No joke. You act like its rocket science.

Step 1: Don't run under the falling pallets.
Step 2: profit


Accidents happen because it is dangerous work. Misdrops on buildings- terrible but it happens.

Im not speaking of that. Some things should be common sense- one of those being dont plant yourself under a large pallet falling from the sky.