Are You a "Phobe"?

With the events at Ft Hood, I suspect we are going to be hearing a lot of talk about Islamophobia in the coming days and weeks. We may also be discussing other forms of phobias as they apply to people. There is a host of terms used to apply to these phobias; Islamophobia, homophobia, racist, anti-Semite, depending on whom you one hates or fears. The word phobia is itself open to different interpretation. It can be a fear or strong dislike of other people. It can also be described as unreasonable fear or dislike. I think we need to be careful in throwing these terms around. Let's look at some examples.

If you are non-black and are against affirmative action, that does not make you a racist. If you criticize folks like Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, President Obama, the NAACP etc, that does not make you racist. To be sure, some people who fall into the above categories are racists, but you cannot throw out a blanket accusation.

Similarly, if you are non-Hispanic and are angry about illegal immigration, it might be for racial reasons, but to say that such a person is anti-Hispanic is hardly fair.

If you are against gay marriage, that does not make you a homophobe. Some anti-gay marriage folks are homophobic, but again, it is an unfair charge.

If you don't care for feminists, does that make you a sexist? Not necessarily.

If you are a critic of Israel, that does not make you an anti-Semite. Many critics of Israel are indeed anti-Semites, but it has more to do with why you are against Israel.

If you are a critic of the Vatican and its policies, it doesn't mean that you hate Catholics.

If you disagree with the Mormon religion, it doesn't mean that you hate Mormons and are thus a bigot.

If are non-white and hate white people, what do we call that? (We don't call it anything, do we?)

If you hate terrorism and are against the creeping Shariah in western society, it doesn't mean you hate Muslims as a people. If you find some tenets of Islam troubling, it doesn't mean you hate Muslims. But if you consider yourself an Islamophobe because you fear terror, violence and shariah, the question must be asked-is it unreasonable fear given all that is happening today?

In each of the above categories, a certain percentage of the people we are mentioning are indeed bigoted, and their motivation is hatred toward the people of the targeted group. But that does not justify throwing out blanket charges of phobia or racism.

I am sure that certain readers of this blog probably think I am guilty of most of the above charges. One of my regular co-respondents has stated flat out that I am a homophobe in his view. Another implied I was a racist, at which point I shut him down on this blog. For me, once the R word comes out, the discussion is over.

You see, the use of these terms is usually designed to shut down the debate and put the target on the defensive. It all becomes a matter of political correctness, and at that point, reasoned and opened debate is impossible. (I confess, I have accused a lot of people lately of being anti-Semitic. In those cases, I feel the person's documented words have made it an obvious conclusion-not just that they criticized Israel.)

In the case of Islamophobia, let's admit that it does exist in America and is probably increasing. It is not because Americans hate Muslims individually as a people-though many have drawn their final conclusions about Islam. We are going to have to face it squarely, discuss it openly with our Muslim fellow-citizens and let them know what we expect from them as Americans in this crisis we face-and it is a crisis. In the meantime, there must be no acts of retribution, violence or harassment against innocent people in the face of this latest incident at Ft Hood. It also means that people like me are going to have to measure their words carefully in order not to contribute to anything we would later regret. I am still trying to formulate my final response to Ft Hood and what it means.

But at my age and stage of life, I have reached the point where I can accept the labels that come from my opponents on the left. I know myself, what I am and what I am not. We need to ignore the charges from the left and keep getting our point of view out.