RetiredGySgt
Diamond Member
If they hate us we only encourage them with our weakness. The only way they'll respect us is if we show strength. That's the only thing they understand. Middle Eastern countries are old-fashioned macho societies where men are men and for the most part to variant degrees women are half a person. It's the only thing they know. They have too much pride to admit defeat or admit they're wrong. That's the dilemma.
That seems to be true of those in the ME, not of most of them here. I have a considerable number of Muslim friends here in the states who are highly educated, cultured, and delightful people.
I never had any negative opinions of Muslims until 9/11, which taught me to be much more vigilant and aware. I think it's a damn shame that a handful of nuts have divided the world so effectively, and is causing our own population to have a deeper divide than we already had politically. But that's the reality that we live in today, so I stay aware, keep alert, and keep in mind that American life has lost much of its innocence. It has not made me fear, but it has made me learn to think more soberly.
And yet in England their subway bombings were carried out by Highly educated Muslims, taught in the best schools in England, raised in England. Go figure.