[Hong Wu]

Easy and charitable times create weak people. The one thing these weak people (modern liberals) will take a stand against is those who want the environment to be harsher. Perhaps they do this because they aren't sure they could survive in a harsher environment, or at best they would not be as successful as they've been. And now that I think about it, they'd probably be right.

This is the only real way to reconcile all of the inconsistencies in the liberal dialogue, such as the double standards on Islam and so-on; they will resist any calls for a harsher environment, no matter who makes them, no matter what the context is, no matter what the future implications are, they do this because they are simplistically afraid of having the easy and standards-free environment go away.

[SolarCross]

Easy and charitable times create weak people. The one thing these weak people (modern liberals) will take a stand against is those who want the environment to be harsher. Perhaps they do this because they aren't sure they could survive in a harsher environment, or at best they would not be as successful as they've been. And now that I think about it, they'd probably be right.

This is the only real way to reconcile all of the inconsistencies in the liberal dialogue, such as the double standards on Islam and so-on; they will resist any calls for a harsher environment, no matter who makes them, no matter what the context is, no matter what the future implications are, they do this because they are simplistically afraid of having the easy and standards-free environment go away.

That's a plausible hypothesis but it is far from the only one. On the double standard with Islam a Christian by the name of Matt Walsh has posited no less than 4 possible explanations...

4 Insane Reasons Why Liberals Admire and Romanticize Islam

For myself I find the most plausible explanation to be that of Scott Alexander's as presented in:

I Can Tolerate Anything Except The Outgroup

Tl;dr Scott Alexander's hypothesis is that liberals love whatever conservatives hate because it is conservatives that hate it and vice versa. It is all just tribalist signaling. Eg: Liberals are anti-gun because conservatives are pro-gun, if conservatives somehow changed their minds to become anti-gun then the liberals would change as well and become pro-gun.

[Pants-of-dog]

Why do conservatives get confused between progressives fighting against religious bigotry and progressives supporting Islam?

Can you guys really not tell the difference?

[stephen50right]

Why do conservatives get confused between progressives fighting against religious bigotry and progressives supporting Islam?

Can you guys really not tell the difference?

Because Islam is religious bigotry, and is a threat to Western civilization because of their Sharia Law political doctrine.

It is liberals/leftists who are fooled into believing that Islam is just the same as any other religion - IT IS NOT.

[Pants-of-dog]

Because Islam is religious bigotry, and is a threat to Western civilization because of their Sharia Law political doctrine.

It is liberals/leftists who are fooled into believing that Islam is just the same as any other religion - IT IS NOT.

Please do not reply to my posts if you are not going to address what I said. Thanks.

Repeating your idiotic confusion does not clarify anything.

[stephen50right]

Please do not reply to my posts if you are not going to address what I said. Thanks.

Repeating your idiotic confusion does not clarify anything.

Well, you mentioned "conservatives" and so you got a response from a conservative which I think clearly did address what you said. You were baiting for a reply from a conservative so it is disingenuous to complain about a reply that you obviously didn't like.

In any event, I'll respect your wish of "Please do not reply to my posts" but you may still reply to my posts any time you wish. I'm not ever going to act like the leftist students at Berkeley who are afraid of hearing different viewpoints.

[Pants-of-dog]

Well, you mentioned "conservatives" and so you got a response from a conservative which I think clearly did address what you said. You were baiting for a reply from a conservative so it is disingenuous to complain about a reply that you obviously didn't like.

In any event, I'll respect your wish of "Please do not reply to my posts" but you may still reply to my posts any time you wish. I'm not ever going to act like the leftist students at Berkeley who are afraid of hearing different viewpoints.

You still didn't answer my question.

Do you even understand what I asked?

[AFAIK]

Pants is naive if he thinks that Islam is the same as other religions. Whilst there are Muslims who treat their faith as something private and practice their religion as a weekend hobby in a similar manner to Christians in Europe, there are also many who wish to politicise Islam and create theocracies with religious law. Islamists have won power by force in Saudi Arabia and Iran and via the ballot box in Egypt.

[Pants-of-dog]

Pants is naive if he thinks that Islam is the same as other religions.

Since I never claimed this, I have no idea why you think I believe this.

Whilst there are Muslims who treat their faith as something private and practice their religion as a weekend hobby in a similar manner to Christians in Europe, there are also many who wish to politicise Islam and create theocracies with religious law. Islamists have won power by force in Saudi Arabia and Iran and via the ballot box in Egypt.

Sure. What does this have to do with my point?

My point, just to be clear, is that progressives support freedom of religion and that this is not the same as supporting Islam.

[AFAIK]

Progressives support secularism and oppose theocracy and politicised religions such as Islam.

[MadMonk]

Progressives support education and equality, finding heinous beliefs and life-situations all over the world. Many so called progressives does do a blanket defense for Islam as a counterbalance to a reactionary wave.

Do I personally believe that Islam is acting as a positive force in the world right now? No.
Is it worse than other religions? Possibly, perhaps even likely.
Do Muslims posses a form of hive-mind without any individuality or purpose outside of his/her faith? No, I do not believe that.

I don't know the answers for the future but after reading this board for some time, neither do I believe anyone else here has it either.

[Zagadka]

Progressives Liberals support secularism and oppose theocracy and politicised religions such as Islam.

Fixed it.

The term "progressive" has been hijacked and ruined by extremist apologists afraid to hurt anyone's feelings and literally resort to threats against anyone daring to disagree with their narrative.

[Pants-of-dog]

The term "progressive" is the opposite of conservative. I prefer it to the term "liberal" which, in the minds of most people analysing politics, means anyone in the general camp of liberalism. This includes conservatives and many progressives.

Now, different types of people can be progressive. You can have progressive Marxists and progressive liberals and progressive Christians, etc. Just like you can have conservative Marxists and liberals and Christians. An example of a progressive Christian would be a Friend.

[AFAIK]

What about the communists who suppressed religion and promoted secularism or the secular forces in Muslim countries who promote secular governance and values? Jesus promoted progressive values (for his time) in the bible even though liberalism wasn't even invented yet.

Just because the USA abuses language doesn't mean the rest of the world has to abandon their vocabulary.

The term "progressive" is the opposite of conservative.

In the USA 'conservatives' are usually reactionaries who run on a platform of 'Oppose Obama'.

[Godstud]

Progressives support education and equality, finding heinous beliefs and life-situations all over the world. Many so called progressives does do a blanket defense for Islam as a counterbalance to a reactionary wave.

Do I personally believe that Islam is acting as a positive force in the world right now? No.
Is it worse than other religions? Possibly, perhaps even likely.
Do Muslims posses a form of hive-mind without any individuality or purpose outside of his/her faith? No, I do not believe that.

QFT. The reactionary wave of hate and xenophobia is without logic, in most cases, and leads to its own form of extremism. Being against this, as a liberal/progressive, makes sense.