For All the Cindy Sheehan Haters!

and Whisper and others

Just gone speechless for being included amongst such fine figures.

Please don't get me wrong, I am not trying to stereotype anyone here at all, but do I sense a bit of Arab in you? for only they possess the depths to be able to afford to "know of heavens even while talking only about camels".

I won't even attempt to thank you.

Hanan wrote: ..when I was young hash brownies were all the rage of the folk who liked to imbibe in drug induced pastimes.. Sister, we must be the same age.  And by the postings of some of our esteemed "dialogue-seekers" here, I suspect that they are either still "imbibing" or are suffering from the after-effects of the after-effects.

Sorry ladies I'm not old enough to part of the hash group but now I understand where some of your thinking has came from.

Hanan,

Would you think that to a degree all humans have a bit of racism in them?  Society and culture often foster a lack of understanding.

I know I used to apologize constantly when dealing with other races.  I grew up in a town where there was no racial diversity.

As of the census of 2000, there were 803 people, 357 households, and 213 families residing in the borough. The population density was 756.2/km� (1,949.9/mi�). There were 397 housing units at an average density of 373.9/km� (964.0/mi�). The racial makeup of the borough was 99.25% White, 0.12% African American, and 0.62% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.87% of the population.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxton,_Pennsylvania

Given the lack of contact with other cultures and races, I naturally grew up with many misconceptions about other groups.  This is the case with many people I think.  Small towns far outnumber large cities and isolation from the world at large affects groups all over the world.

Racism is based in the lack of education and exposure.  My father once proclaimed (when I was very small) that if I ever dated a black man, I was not welcomed home.  Then he got out of Saxton and worked in Pittsburgh and other large cities.  He experienced and grew.  And when I dated a black man years later, he welcomed him with open arms.

Too often people scoff and meet racism with a nasty attitude, this just reinforces the racist attitude of those people.  Instead, I propose the battle against racism is thru exposure and openness.

There was a lovely thread here about attending a mosque as a Non muslim and how a mosque opened its doors and invited outsiders into their world.  It profoundly changed those that went.  If we were to all throw open the doors of our lives to others, we would allow for the exchange of ideas, culture and knowledge.  Then when people talked about another group, there would be a human connection, not just a preconceived notion.