The recent sentencing of Egyptian University of South Florida student Ahmed Mohamed has sparked anti-Muslim hate speech across the Tampa Bay area and in particular on mainstream news sites.
(On June 13, 2008, Ahmed Bedier reacted to Mohamed's guilty plea deal, you can read it here)
It didn't take long for readers of Media General's Tampa Tribune interactive online news website TBO.com to spew (and fuel) anti-Muslim hate calling for violence against Muslims in response to ELAINE SILVESTRINI article Former USF Student Gets 15 Years For Aiding Terrorists (12/18/08). Some readers called for "killing" Muslims, "kicking every Muslim out of the country" and Muslim "Hunting Season Opens Soon."
TBO.com policy is to screen and moderate comments, however the site is known to ignore anti-Muslim hate speech. This trend is not healthy as it fuels hate that could incite violence against Americans who happen to be Muslim.
ACTION: TELL THE TAMPA TRIBUNE TO STOP FUELING ANTI-MUSLIM HATE
Politely contact the publisher and executive editor at the Tampa Tribune and ask that they not provide a forum that fuels racist and/or religious hate speech on their website. While we should all respect free speech, mainstream news organizations must not fuel hatred or incitement against any group.
Remember to reference the "TBO.com reader comments" to the 12/18 article "Former USF Student Gets 15 Years For Aiding Terrorists."
Click Here to email the editors now or copy and paste the below email addresses
Denise Palmer, Publisher: dpalmer@tampatrib.com
Janet Coates, Executive Editor: jcoates@tampatrib.com
HATE SPEECH AT TBO.COM
Below is a sampling of the troubling reader comments, to read all the comments on the TBO.com site, click here.
Posted by ( jetter1048 ) on 12/18/2008 at 03:29 pm.
Who here thinks all of us Americans need to get together and kick every Muslim out of this country??
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Posted by ( skirtchsnbadguy ) on 12/18/2008 at 08:11 pm.
google "fitna video". Eye opening! These filthy muslims need to be dealt with swiftly!
-------------Posted by ( gng ) on 12/18/2008 at 08:30 pm.
Kill the bastards!!!!!!!!
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Posted by ( TOMMYSOAP ) on 12/18/2008 at 01:48 pm.
I am still waiting for any rational excuse why Filthy Islam should be allowed to exsist in the West?
----------Posted by ( AnitaE ) on 12/18/2008 at 01:51 pm.
Why do these muslim idiots think their religion is the only religion? Get the hell out of the USA and live your demented lives in your own country.
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Posted by ( 91stormvet ) on 12/18/2008 at 02:22 pm.
Allah Snackbar!! Hunting Season Opens Soon! Wake Up INFIDELS! lol
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Execute him and send only his head back to his mother in Egypt.
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Posted by ( worriedman ) on 12/18/2008 at 09:13 pm.
They should chop his head off and drag his body through the streets just like they have done to our soldiers. War is war.
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Posted by ( northofcuba ) on 12/18/2008 at 02:25 pm.
AnitaE - you don't get it, you and I are infidels. They can't just live and let live. You either join them or die, that simple.---
Posted by ( kellieB ) on 12/18/2008 at 02:53 pm.
Having lived in the ME for many years,I can confidentially say that they scare the hell out of me. They call us "Dhoomi", the same slang they use for blacks, jews and christians....we are nothing to them, less than dirt and they are blessed if they kill us.One day we might wake up here in the USA and realise just what a danger these people really are.
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Posted by ( succatash ) on 12/18/2008 at 05:59 pm.
THEIR SELF BLOWN UP BODIES SHOULD BEIDENTIFIED THROUGH DNA.......AND THEIR FAMILIES SHOULD PAY FORTHEIR CRIMES.... THEY DON'T CARE FORTHEIR OWN LIVES, OR OURS, PERHAPSTHE'LL CONSIDER A LITTLE MORE THECONSEQUENCES OF THEIR MINDLESS ACTIONS IF THEIR LOVED ONES WERE TO PAY THEPRICE OF THEIR ACTIONS
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Posted by ( TOMMYSOAP ) on 12/18/2008 at 05:09 pm.
mlamarca; If you think the US Constitutions religious clause extends to so called "religions" that promote unequal rights, slavery, and death to apostates, I have a nice bridge to sell you.
6 comments:
Nah-det Masr: While I respect different perspectives, I can't post extreme comments "should be burnt alive." You could have made the argument without promoting violence.
I've decried TBO.com for posting hateful anti-Muslim comments.
Unfortunately, this is not at all surprising. Ignorance fuels hatred and fear, and our country is one of the poorest educated of industrial nations. As one of our more infamous statesmen asked once, "Is our children learning?" Judging by these racist comments, I'd have to say no.
the hate goes both ways, insular people in florida have nothing on the jew fearing/hating propagnda driven media of egypt in particular. as egypt is the center of arab media, ahmed you know very well that even on children's shows, that hate and propeganda is shoved in people's faces. everything from a tv reporter calling jews pigs and monkeys to shunning sheik tantawai for shaking peres' hand in NY.
so ahmed yes ignorance is wrong, but at least we let it come to light here and thats a lot more than what's happening in your homeland!
Eagle eye.."I think that he got what he desreves, but still at the same time I think the 15 years sentence is too much...he's still a college student...they should took this into account"
I have nice Muslims friends, and they don't all share the same thoughts and principles, I think that student was influenced with what is going on in Iraq and Gaza, and he acted upon it, I would suggest to let him go back to school and finish his study
Dear Mr Bedier,
I find your rhetoric of addressing the chicken before the egg a bit disconcerting! Granted the reaction of some of the people of central florida was over the top. But you fail to acknowledge the fact that the said engineering student is exactly the reason why egyptians applying for higher education in the states are and will be discriminated against. Yes there is a glass ceiling forming when it comes to egypt's best and brightest vying for graduate school spots in the states.
This ‘engineer’ my friend was afforded an opportunity that a medical student at the top of his class at cairo university will no longer actualize due to the actions of this said student. It is sad that he has spoiled it for the best and the brightest Egypt .
Further more, the fact that he shows no real remorse for his actions is very worrisome. Now when Egyptian and arab students wonder why they get rejected for student visas, people of the said engineer’s ilk are the reason why!
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