WWJK: Who would Jesus Kill - Military supplier adds bible references to rifle sights

[DanaC]

Originally Posted by Urbane Guerrilla

Why is that necessary? If you don't know who wants to cut your head off, DanaC, I'd say you're missing a fundamental right there. And you can imagine why they'd want to cut your personal head off, can't you?

And you know they wouldn't be right or righteous, yet would be by some jerkass philosophy entirely Politically Correct.

So speaketh the urbane one; handily leaping into the conceptual trap to which I was referring in the first place.

My point, UG, is that people have raised the potential issue of 'moslems' being given the wrong impression about the nature of this war: to whit, that it is a Christian 'crusade' against Islam. Other people have responded by suggesting that those who might take offence (i.e. moslems) are the enemy and should be more concerned with why they are being sighted in the gun sights in the first place; or, as you so neatly suggest, are the ones who might be wanting to cut my head off. Thereby confirming that, as far as you are concerned, any moslem is apparently slotted into the category of enemy in this conflict.

I don't really think any of the people who've raised objections to the bible verses were doing so because they think it might offend a Taleban or AQ fighter. The problem is that it might offend, or more importantly exacerbate perceptions of the war as a Christian crusade amongst other moslems - y'know...the ones we aren't fighting. Maybe even the ones who are our allies; our comrades; and the people we are hoping to 'liberate'.

[classicman]

Originally Posted by DanaC

The problem is that it might offend, or more importantly exacerbate perceptions of the war as a Christian crusade amongst other moslems - y'know...the ones we aren't fighting. Maybe even the ones who are our allies; our comrades; and the people we are hoping to 'liberate'.

I gotcha. I understand this. Again how far do we go? When they feel that celebrating Christmas is offensive or going to church or or or whatever. How far do we go so that we don't UNINTENTIONALLY offend someone.

Oh and are they doing the same for us? Not trying to start a a tit for tat here. Just asking.

Also, You didn't respond to the scenario I presented you.

[Griff]

Originally Posted by DanaC

Politically Correct may mean that now; but it started out referring to the attempt not to offend particular groups of people with language that had become loaded. So, it became politically incorrect to talk about 'the little woman' or 'the fairer sex' and became equally politically incorrect to talk about 'darkies' or 'our dusky cousins'.

I am often bemused by how much effort people put into arguing their right to offend. and equally bemused by the level of venom aimed at those who would choose to temper language in an effort not to cause undue offence.

There seems far more venom directed at the 'PC brigade' than at the people who are causing offence by using outdated and offensive language to describe groups of people. Likewise there is far more venom in here for those who would seek not to offend moslems generally through clumsy inclusion of bible verses on gun sights, than there is for a company who was clumsy enough to include those verses in the first place.

Anybody who is offended, or claims an awareness of the potential for offence gets lumped in to a big group and discounted instantly. More disturbingly, given the context of this discussion, is that any moslem who might be offended by this is assumed to be 'the enemy' ... any moslem in Afghanistan should apparently be more concerned by why they are being sighted with this equipment than what is written on it...in other words, all Afghan Moslems are the enemy.

Amen.

Originally Posted by DanaC

My point, UG, is that people have raised the potential issue of 'moslems' being given the wrong impression about the nature of this war: to whit, that it is a Christian 'crusade' against Islam.

Based on the replies, I believe we need to entertain the idea that for a group of war supporters this is, by nature, a Crusade.