Cross of His Calling

Steve at No More Mister Nice Blog has a great post responding to the extremes to which the right-wing hate machine (in this case, as channeled by William Kristol) is going in order to attack the Muslim community center in lower Manhattan (and, since the President decided to say they have a right to build it, that's just made it personal for the haters). Steve at "No More Mister" points out the absurdity of Mr. Kristol's attack on the President, for noting how the September 11 attack was a traumatic experience:

Here's Bill Kristol's gloss on one line in the president's speech Friday night:

... For Obama, 9/11 was a "deeply traumatic event for our country." Traumatic events invite characteristic reactions and over-reactions--fearfulness, anger, even hysteria. That's how Obama understands the source of objections to the Ground Zero mosque. It's all emotional. The arguments don't have to be taken seriously. The criticisms of the mosque are the emotional reactions of a traumatized people.

But Americans aren't traumatized. 9/11 was an attack on America, to which Americans have responded firmly, maturely, and appropriately....

So wait -- it's inappropriate to say that Americans were "traumatized" by 9/11? It means you're a contemptuous America-hating appeaser?

Gosh, I guess Kristol just never got around to making this point in August 2004, when, at a campaign rally, President Bush said this about Rudy Giuliani:

I'm proud to be traveling with this good man. He's a great leader, a great friend, and a wonderful American. He showed the world great courage during traumatic times, and I'm proud to be standing by him.

And I guess Kristol also neglected to make this point a few months earlier, when President Bush said of 9/11,

It affected our national psyche and it affected the economy. Remember, we had to shut down Wall Street, and airplanes didn't fly. It was a traumatic time for the American economy.

Read the rest. Anyway, I posted a comment, and decided to repeat it here (in a slightly revised form), since I've been neglecting any posting on this page. Here goes:

But, it wasn't traumatic for Bill Kristol. It was just a "golden opportunity" for his grand plan to kill as many Arabs as he wanted. Kuck Fristol.

It was traumatic for me, and not just because of the terrible loss of life, or the fact that I live in a community where some people didn't come home that day, or ever. One of the reasons it was traumatic for me is that, when I awoke on 9/12, I heard on the news that a New York Fire Department chaplain had been killed; I realized immediately that it must have been Father Mychal Judge, who had been a priest in my parish when I was a kid. I called my Mom right away, because I knew she'd be hearing it, also. Father Mychal always kept in touch with the families he met - he baptized one of my nieces. He had sent two pictures to my parents, not long before the attacks, which were on the 'fridge at their home that day. They were pictures of him in his two uniforms - one, his Franciscan habit, and the other his FDNY uniform, as a chaplain.

I have written about this before on this site, and rather than repeat myself, I would appreciate it if anyone reading here would check out those earlier "random thoughts", where the pictures I described above are posted. There is also a link there to the final picture of Father Mychal - his body being carried away from the scene of destruction.

His brother Franciscan, Brian Jordan, stood behind Mayor Bloomberg, when the Mayor gave his recent forceful refutation of the haters.

Also, I live in a commuter town in NJ, where we lost neighbors, fellow parishioners, and active members of our community in the attack. I know that some people who experienced loss on that day are disturbed by the proposed community center. But, that's different from the "opportunity to hate" folks, who are screaming about "Muslim Extremists!!!", as if that was one word, not two.

We know that the haters aren't speaking for the people who actually experienced the pain of that day.

I really believe that the extent of hatred towards the proposed community center, increases the further one gets from Manhattan.

Oh, yes, and Nuck Fewt, also