tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22040291.post6454913961630812684..comments2024-01-09T17:38:35.707-05:00Comments on This Old State: Readers fire back on column about prejudiceUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22040291.post-4958624032325052582010-09-28T16:29:42.023-04:002010-09-28T16:29:42.023-04:00Those polls have been taken and two groups, Mexica...Those polls have been taken and two groups, Mexicans and Muslims would favor their "home" countries over the US.<br /><br />Here's a reference for the Muslim poll (taken in LA) by Kambiz GhaneaBassiri.<br /><br />http://www.danielpipes.org/789/competing-visions-of-islam-in-the-united-states-a-study<br /><br />"Indeed, his questionnaire shows that 8 out of 15 immigrants and even 5 out of 15 converts feel more allegiance to a foreign country than to the United States."<br /><br />None needed for the Mexicans, just watch a soccer game of Mexico vs. US.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22040291.post-24881603573823542282010-09-27T23:26:37.827-04:002010-09-27T23:26:37.827-04:00When in Paris recently, we sat in a restaurant inc...When in Paris recently, we sat in a restaurant inches from a couple of Parisian men in their low 60s. Both were well-informed on America politics and events. One, a movie producer who lives a good deal of time in NY and Los Angeles, described himself as pro-Obama; the other, a well-heeled real estate broker, said he contributes to U.S. Republicans. Both described the naming of the near-Ground Zero mosque - "Cordoba" - as a "provocation". [When folks lifted eyebrows about the name, it was, for now, dumped.] As I understand it, and they described it, Cordoba was the first major conquest of the Moors in Spain. Both men were appalled at Obama's brushoff of the provocation. Perhaps there are aspects of the mosque that Rauf, the rabid Giants fan, is eager to veil. <br /> <br />The Parisian men were careful in their choice of words (except for a few hushed American expletives), but it appeared to me that they, like more and more Europeans, are aware of the threat to Western democratic and pluralistic ideals that massed Muslims are presenting in France, Norway, the Netherlands, UK and elsewhere. Polls in Britain on questions of loyalty to the country reveal an appalling lack of it among Muslims, who would, among other things, side with a Muslim country at war with Britain. I am confident polls would find the same thing here. <br /> <br />As I have written to you in the past, your column and observations are among the best the Observer has to offer. This one was consistent with what we anticipate and expect from the mainline press, but do mainline writers have their heads in the proverbial sand (knowing that ostriches do not) or simply dismiss unpleasant evidence contrary to their wishes?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22040291.post-5568918140686813162010-09-27T12:54:17.668-04:002010-09-27T12:54:17.668-04:00Jack, Do the above comments help you and your fell...Jack, Do the above comments help you and your fellow editors to understand why so many of Observer readers are distressed by what they see on the editorial pages day after day? There appears to be no attempt whatsoever to consider the "other side" on this and most other issues by any of the local editors. Yes, you run some national columnists with a more conservative bent, but no one on the editorial staff seems to relate (or even wants to relate) to a great many good people in this community. We are tired of being told that if we don't toe the line with the liberal leaning crowd we are insular, racist, uncaring, etc. We see rampant corruption in our county and state government, both controlled by the Democrats, yet time and again it's the Republicans who are denounced as the bad guys (yes, I know you blogged about two democrats with questionable campaign tactics but that's just a drop in the bucket). In Sundays paper we had both Taylor's column and your column both going after Republicans. <br /> In a tribute to former Associate Editor Tom Bradbury Stuart Spencer wrote "He respected those who differed with him - and people who differed with him respected him." I don't see that much (if at all) on the editorial pages any more and I think we are definitely poorer for it. I don't think anyone expects the staff to make a hard right, but one does have to wonder why (especially with the staff's enthusiasm for diversity) you all cannot have just one voice that differs a bit from the "good democrats, bad republicans" model. <br /><br />Long time reader who is becoming more and more disenchantedAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com