End hate speech, character attacks
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Domenic Mantoan
Published: September 11, 2008
This is in response to Mr. Molleur’s latest tirade on September 2. I would like to remind readers of an incident that occurred in Tennessee on July 27. A gunman entered a Unitarian Church and began
shooting members because of their liberal views. He shot them because he hated the liberal movement and probably also thought that “Liberalism is a mental disorder.” Mr. Molleur is quite fond of writing
that particular sentence and it scares me. No one wants to see people in the United States killed because of political beliefs. When liberals are branded as having a mental disorder you are dehumanizing
liberals and increasing the likelihood that an extremist will start shooting at us. I consider such statements as an attempt to incite violence against liberals.
Regarding Corey Stewart’s letter, I have to say I agree with him. All statements that demean or assault the character of individual politicians should be ignored and repudiated. All politicians, whether at
the local, state or national level, sacrifice huge amounts of time and resources to serve us; they should be admired, not vilified.
It is a shame if Mr. Fimian’s Catholicism is being attacked and he is being called a Papist. Many Catholics, including myself, understand the difference between public and private religion. Public religion
includes Americans of all faiths and is necessarily a more universalist approach.
Mr. Dobson has called it watered down religion, but if public religion is not universalist then it is specific, and a specific religion is the equivalent to setting up a single American Church. These public
values, or public religions, are what we base our laws on. Private religion is our own personal beliefs. These private values, or religious beliefs, are not suitable for lawmaking, but are only for our own
personal development. I am sure Mr. Fimian knows how to defend the public good and not simply defend his own personal beliefs. I may not vote for Mr. Fimian, but I respect Mr. Fimian and all who
sacrifice so much to serve the public good.
DOMENIC MANTOAN
Woodbridge
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Reader Reactions
Posted by ( Irishlad ) on September 20, 2008 at 10:19 pm
If you liberals had an open mind, you would have to take you own party to task. What the libs have said about Sarah Palin. She has been called disabled by Charlie Rangel. She has been accoused of banning books. She has been accoused of having an affair, of having been the grandmother to her new born son. It has been said her only qualificaton is that she has not had an abortion. All of the above has been said by a liberal.
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Posted by ( kgotthardt ) on September 19, 2008 at 7:54 am
“When liberals are branded as having a mental disorder you are dehumanizing
liberals and increasing the likelihood that an extremist will start shooting at us.“ Never mind that this is an insult and dehumanization to those with mental disorders! Should we assume they are all liberal and shoot them as well?
BTW, I think we can attack anyone in office if we think they are liars. I don’t think Fimian is, but I KNOW Corey Stewart is.
http://luxuriouschoices.blogspot.com/2008/09/who-is-keith-fimian.html
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Posted by ( raywilliams ) on September 16, 2008 at 7:23 am
good one phdee.
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Posted by ( phdee ) on September 12, 2008 at 7:52 pm
I do not intend to get into a debate regartding the 2 candidates and the allegfed stances. The republican, however, shoould know that when you get into politics, then you will be “investigated” by someone very thoroughly. There is nothing off limits. In this candidacy, I think the repubs are whinning and afraid of something derogatory being dug up.
What I want to bring up are 2 things: (1) Corey Stewart wrote the letter as a whinner for Catholics and the republican party, and (2) the writer is wrong about the difference between public and private religion.
Actually, there is no such thing as public religion.. There are two many denominations and beliefs, and no agreement. These religions pay no taxes yet believe they have the right to dictate US laws and policies. We do have separation of church and state. As for Catholics, the Arlington diocese each year publishes in its official newspaper and sends to Richmond its “shopping list” - all based on Catholic dogma, like abortion, same sex marriage, use of public school buses,etc. Yet, when the church’s priest sex scandal was occurring, the church tried and failed to claim “separation of church and state” to attempt to without records from plaintiffs. The church showed no ethics and no morals.
The religious crowd and pseudo-patriots
like to claim they are responsible for US laws, at least any good ones. In that case, in my opinion such laws are invalid if this is true because of separation of church and state. If they are going to take credit, then they should accespt blames for slavery, civil rights, lynchings, corruption, Indian holocast, wars, etc.
I agree there is private religion. One’s religion should be of one’s concern only. But it doesn’t happen that way most of the time. We have the anti-abortions, for example, who believe they and the church should dictate all aspects of sex from contraception to abortion. I take the position that getting or not getting an abortion is solely the business of the person who has the body, whether you areee or disagree with the action the person wants to take. If a church wants to tech abortion is wrong and a sin, then do it in the church. Don’t try to make EVERY person in the country - whether religious or agnostic - have to follow the church’s dogma.—And by the way, sex was around long before religion. Sex is a biological function and was stolen to make some pseudo religious doctrine.
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Posted by ( real change ) on September 12, 2008 at 11:05 am
A great Letter to the Editor.
Thank You!
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Posted by ( jVA ) on September 12, 2008 at 9:31 am
This is the language of the far right. People with opposing views are traitors or have mental problems. Mr. Mantoan is right to be fearful of these people.
No doubt there are extreme whackos on the left as well. I have no illusions about that.
Fantastic letter from Mr. Mantoan.
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