Yes, you read that correctly. Follow me over the jump to go into detail.
That hateful comment was said by Michael Berry, a conservative talk show host in the Houston area. He was talking with a muslim-american, who took offense to the fact that he lumped the 9/11 terrorists with all followers of Islam. The entire exchange cane be found here
Here are some things I take away from it
- Kos just can't be proven right enough, and his new book coming out now seems long overdue.
- Just look at that comment again. He is actually stating he hopes that innocent American citizens die, all because muslims want to build a mosque 2 blocks away from the WTC. I mean, what would an acceptable distance be? 5 blocks? 10 blocks? None in the state of New York? I mean, it's not like muslims are facing discrimination across the US already.
- And what is Michael Berry's response to the statement that he hoped innocent Americans died? HE'S THE VICTIM! Oh yes, you see, CAIR (the Council on American-Islamic Relations) is going after him for having "the audacity to suggest that a mosque should not be built on our near the site of the 9/11 terrorist attack." Now, I'm sure it's just coincidence they didn't mention Michael Berry advocated bombing said mosque and the death of Americans.
- Michael does offer this, "I SHOULD NOT have said ‘I hope someone blows it up.’ That was dumb, and beneath me." However, given the other statements he made in the release, the only thing he appears sorry for is that he got caught.
It is this kind of behavior that fuels extremists. Such behavior should never be tolerated. Unfortunately, the echo-chamber of the right will view his as a martyr, the victim in all of this. Regardless, we as a society much stand up to ignorance and fight it wherever it is.
EDIT: The CAIR complaint can be found here