The bumper sticker says, “Everything I need to know about
Islam I learned on 9/11.”
There is a picture of the enflamed World Trade Center towers
to the right of the text.
Think of the layers of horrible decision-making that bumper
sticker had to go through to appear on the back of that white SUV in
Springfield, Missouri.
Someone had to think of the idea. A graphic designer had to
put it together. A printer had to produce it. A marketer had to stock it in a
store or on a website. A citizen had to see it, like it, purchase it, stick it
to his or her car, and drive around town with it in full view of anyone who
happens to look.
The bumper sticker says essentially, “I am ignorant. I am
choosing to remain ignorant. I am, in fact, proud to be ignorant. I want
everyone who drives behind me to know that I am ignorant and choosing to remain
so.”
Ignorant – adjective
1. lacking in knowledge or training; unlearned.
2. lacking knowledge or information as to a particular subject or fact.
3. uninformed; unaware.
I really cannot process how I am reacting emotionally to
seeing this bumper sticker this morning. I am angry. I am stunned. I am
terrified. I am hoping it’s a joke. I am afraid it isn’t.
I am praying to God that this attitude represents a tiny,
tiny minority opinion. Please God tell me that it’s the smallest possible
fraction of people who think this way. Maybe even just this one guy. That would
make it easier, if it was just this one guy.
I know, each person in this nation is entitled to their own
opinion. We are free to think what we want to think about Islam as a religion
and about Muslims as individual people practicing that religion. No one should
attack another person for an opinion they hold.
Unless … Yes, there is an “unless” here. It may not be a
legal “unless,” but it is most definitely a moral one. You can think what you
want, unless it does harm to someone. If your attitude toward another
person does them harm, or creates the potential to do them harm, then it needs
to be challenged. And let’s not even entertain the “how can a thought do
someone harm” question; it is naïve, deceptive, and misses the point entirely.
“Everything I need to know about Islam I learned on 9/11.”
My heart breaks, my stomach turns, my jaw clenches. I cannot
fathom why anyone ever thought such an idea should see the light of day. I don’t
know if I’m more upset about the idea itself or about its public display. I even
found myself wondering about this person’s friends and family, and why nobody
said anything to the driver, like, "Um, hey man. That bumper sticker is horrible and it makes you look like a moron, so you know, you should probably not put it on your car."
Someone please tell me this kind of thinking does not represent
more than a handful of America’s most ignorant citizens. Please tell me that. I
can’t imagine living in a community in which this sentiment represents more
than .05% of the population. No wait, that’s too high. I’m still holding out
hope that it’s just the one guy.
Because surely nobody else thinks like that … right?
I mean … right?
