Muhammad Rasheed's Blog, page 215

Logos Your Way & I Goes Mine

Kirb Brimstone – [tagged me in link] We should watch this and talk about it after.


What is God Really Like: Tawhid or Trinity? Dr. Shabir Ally and Dr. Nabeel Qureshi Debate
Muhammad Rasheed - How about if we just use their questions/topics for our own conversation?
Kirb Brimstone - You say this is all anti-Islamist propaganda. Well here is both sides of the issue with respected Muslim and respected Christian going at it. Why won't you watch it?
Muhammad Rasheed - I didn't say I wouldn't. I just said, instead how about we two just have the discussion ourselves? 
Why are you afraid to think for yourself all the time?
Muhammad Rasheed - Don't you have your own understanding of biblical doctrine and scripture? Or is that forbidden?
Kirb Brimstone - I'd be happy to do both. Can we do it over the phone?
Muhammad Rasheed - It's better to type it. Plus I don't have international phone services over here.
Kirb Brimstone - where are you?
Muhammad Rasheed - In Kuwait.
Muhammad Rasheed - Are you really going to keep asking me questions while I'm trying to get to the end of this clip?
Kirb Brimstone - alright when you get back?
Muhammad Rasheed - You are, aren't you?
Kirb Brimstone - yes.
Muhammad Rasheed - lol
Kirb Brimstone - No I gotta run off to work so you have it all top yourself till I get home.
Muhammad Rasheed - I was taking a break from work to do you a favor, while you duck all my questions.
Muhammad Rasheed - I apologize for calling Nabeel a dumbass the other day. He doesn't use a bunch of partisan trickery, and deliberately deceitful nonsense in his work like those other "these guys." At least not on the same over-the-top level. Nabeel is genuinely personable and seems sincere.
His weaknesses are that 1) his level of scholarship stops at the outer fence of the doctrine he's adopted... based on his friend David's example I'm going to assume. 2) His Islamic insight is ridiculously, painfully weak, which I chalk up to the "cultural Muslim" thing, of course.
Kirb Brimstone - No problem Moe. I'd like to think we are friends. Friends who are both concerned about the others destiny and wish to fallow what they both believe to the one true God.
Muhammad Rasheed - Kirb Brimstone wrote: "Friends who are both concerned about the others destiny and wish to fallow what they both believe to the one true God."
There's only One God. Our actual issue is how the messenger[s] are perceived.
Kirb Brimstone - Well, we will just have to agree to disagree because I believe you worship one who is not the God I worship. I worship Yahweh who is the Father, who is the Son, and who is the Holy Spirit. You do not worship that God. So you do not worship my God. 
It's not a matter of differing on perceiving how the "messengers" of God are perceived. That's begging the question in favor of Islam.
We as Christians do not think Jesus is a messenger of God. We think he is God speaking on his own authority. To say otherwise is blaspheme to a Christian (And has been since it's inception  ). 
You say to say so is shirk. Okay.
So we worship completely different Gods. Even if the Qur'an tells you we don't.
Muhammad Rasheed - I worship the same God that created Adam, and gifted him with Eve, the God that instructed Noah to build the ark, the God that called Abraham "friend," who created the Christ Jesus from scratch in his mother's womb. That God. My God and your God are One. The reason the three faiths are referred to as "Abrahamic" in the first place.
Muhammad Rasheed - There is only One God to worship.
Muhammad Rasheed - Kirb Brimstone wrote: "I don't think Jesus is a messenger of God."
The fact that he walked the earth, and interacted with the people in the same role as all the other Hebrew prophet-messengers before him is the biggest clue. He did what all the others in that brotherhood did, which included worshipping and calling out to the One God who made him. It's impossible for me to ignore that, just brush it to the side, especially when the next scripture in the canon confirms the truth represented by those same very obvious clues.
Kirb Brimstone - Again that's where we disagree. We Christians believe that the Logos created Adam. The Logos became flesh in the uncreated only begotten Jesus. So no according to Christianity you don't worship the God that created Adam. You don't Soooo.... not the same being or entity. Not the same God. 
Even if the Qur'an forces you to say so. 
Honestly as I read the Qur'an I'm convinced whoever wrote it didn't even understand Christianity it tries to Co-Op/Refute. 
So that's why you've gotta say something that sounds honestly so ridiculous to me.
Muhammad Rasheed - This: "Even if the Qur'an forces you to say so." 
Plus this: "So that's why you've gotta say something that sounds honestly so ridiculous to me."
Kirb, what forces you to say the things you do? What forces you to accept the concept of the trinity, to ignore the fact that Jesus worshipped and called out to the One God?
Muhammad Rasheed - What forces you to utter terms like 'Logos' and 'son,' and 'father,' and 'three-in-one?'
Muhammad Rasheed - Following John 1, the early Christian apologist Justin Martyr (c 150) identified Jesus as the Logos. Like Philo, Justin also identified the Logos with the Angel of the LORD, and used this as a way of arguing for Christianity to Jews:
I shall give you another testimony, my friends, from the Scriptures, that God begot before all creatures a Beginning, [who was] a certain rational power [proceeding] from Himself, who is called by the Holy Spirit, now the Glory of the Lord, now the Son, again Wisdom, again an Angel, then God, and then Lord and Logos;
In his First Apology, Justin used the Stoic concept of the Logos as a way of arguing for Christianity to non-Jews. Since a Greek audience would accept this concept, his argument could concentrate on identifying this Logos with Jesus. However, Justin does not go so far as to articulate a fully consistent doctrine of the Logos.
~Erwin R. Goodenough, The Theology of Justin Martyr (1923)
Kirb Brimstone - There is a parable that Jesus told his disciples. Keep in mind most all Historians agree this is authentic words from Jesus. 
Mathew 1-12: Then Jesus started telling them stories. “A man planted a vineyard. He fenced it, dug a winepress, erected a watchtower, turned it over to the farmhands, and went off on a trip. At the time for harvest, he sent a servant back to the farmhands to collect his profits.
3-5 “They grabbed him, beat him up, and sent him off empty-handed. So he sent another servant. That one they tarred and feathered. He sent another and that one they killed. And on and on, many others. Some they beat up, some they killed.
6 “Finally there was only one left: a beloved son. In a last-ditch effort, he sent him, thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’
7-8 “But those farmhands saw their chance. They rubbed their hands together in greed and said, ‘This is the heir! Let’s kill him and have it all for ourselves.’ They grabbed him, killed him, and threw him over the fence.
9-11 “What do you think the owner of the vineyard will do? Right. He’ll come and clean house. Then he’ll assign the care of the vineyard to others. Read it for yourselves in Scripture:
That stone the masons threw outis now the cornerstone!This is God’s work;we rub our eyes—we can hardly believe it!”
12 They wanted to lynch him then and there but, intimidated by public opinion, held back. They knew the story was about them. They got away from there as fast as they could.
Clearly Jesus is ascribing a title to himself that he doesn't ascribe to the other "messengers" Here Jesus is talking about the Jewish religious leader treated prophets of God. 
In the story God is the vineyard owner, the religious leaders are the farmhands, and the many prophets are the many servants the owner sends to collect the profits from the vineyard owners, 
Notice Jesus doesn't ascribe him self as just one of the servants,. no he is a beloved son. 
Understand that in ancient Jewish society like today a Son unlike a servant is co-air with the father. Jesus was separating himself from the prior servants. 
This is Mark.
Muhammad Rasheed - Kirb Brimstone wrote: "Keep in mind most all Historians agree this is authentic words from Jesus."
1.) We NEVER agree when you say stuff like that.
2.) What would "most" of these "historians" base such an agreement upon outside of blind faith?
Muhammad Rasheed - Why would I "keep in mind" something that i disagree with completely?
Kirb Brimstone - "Like Philo, Justin also identified the Logos with the Angel of the LORD"
So? Justin was saying to the Jews that the Angel of the Lord that appeared to Joshua was the second person of the Trinity. Many Christians today believe that Jesus, the Logos, and the Angel of the Lord are one in the same. 
But again who cares what Justin Martyr said? You can't trust 1st century eyewitness testimony but we can trust 2nd century Justin Martyr?
Confirmation bias much? Even though it doesn't even confirm you're point.
Muhammad Rasheed - btw Deacon likes to say that a lot, too. Because of that, I'm starting to suspect it is a pet phrase used from the pulpit that you two are echoing. Like "Turn to your neighbor and tell him such-n-such," and those other little churchisms.
Muhammad Rasheed - Kirb brimstone wrote: "Even though it doesn't even confirm you're point."
But I didn't say what my point was after I posted it; I was sidetracked by that thing you posted next.
How do you know what I intended it to be as my point? Tell me.
Kirb Brimstone - You can agree or not agree the facts are that it's historical facts despite what Islamic polemics tells you. 
I love you quote some radical secular/atheist/agnostic historians who is outside of mainstream scholarship (while calling them Christian) and then dismiss the majority mainstream of scholarship on no basis what-so-ever.
It's confirmation bias Moe. You're not being fair with the evidence. You only accept what has already agrees with your beliefs. 
What is your criteria for who you accept and you you don't accept?
Muhammad Rasheed - ^This. You are going off on the deep end, following some thing that you made up. 
I never told you the point of why I quoted that.
Muhammad Rasheed - It did say that this Justin Martyr identified Jesus as the "logos," something you just claimed to believe. Why are you distancing yourself from him?
Again, you have no idea why I even posted that since I haven't gone back to it yet.
Muhammad Rasheed - How do you know what I intended it to be as my point? Tell me.
Kirb Brimstone - "How do you know what I intended it to be as my point? Tell me?'
I thought is was implied but I apologize please tell me your point. 
"^This. You are going off on the deep end, following some thing that you made up.
I never told you the point of why I quoted that."
The post this quote is responding to was a response to: "Why would I "keep in mind" something that i disagree with completely?"
Read it again in that light.
Muhammad Rasheed - No, I wasn't trying to imply anything with you. Experience has shown that it is VERY easy for us to mis-communicate, so it's better if we are very clear with each other and spell everything out. We think VERY differently.
Muhammad Rasheed - Kirb Brimstone wrote: "The post this quote is responding to was a response to..."
And that is why I quote the exact comment I am responding to, to prevent just such miscommunication. A technique picked up from the HeroTalk message board format. Naturally I suggest you do it yourself, at least when you and I talk.
Muhammad Rasheed - Between you and Deacon, I notice you always ask me the exact same questions, and approach the argument the exact same way. It gives the impression that you aren't listening to me; that you never analyze my position to know what strategy to take. 
To be honest it is a bit disappointing, and actually makes it easy to dismiss you. Deacon actually puts effort into our discussions. I know this is off topic. It's just an observation.
Kirb Brimstone - If you want to see where contemporary scholarship is I must again recommended this video----> Contemporary Scholarship and the Historicity of the Resurrection of Jesus (William Lane Craig)
Because I'm not sure you know. Also this means secular, Jewish atheist skeptical as well as Christian scholarship. This is something Koranic scholarship doesn't have the luxury of boasting about. 
So no, you can't wave the wand of "well they are all Christians who base it on faith" NT scholarship is rigorous and filled with non-believers. 
Is your understanding of Christianity that flawed Moe? Do you think any westerner or white man who studies the New Testament is a Christian? lol Even if they don't believe God exists and are an agnostic or atheist?
Kirb Brimstone - Muhammad Rasheed wrote: "And that is why I quote the exact comment I am responding to, to prevent just such miscommunication. A technique picked up from the HeroTalk message board format. Naturally I suggest you do it yourself, at least when you and I talk."
Okay I'll try going forward. Even though I hate texting or typing. I prefer talking.
Muhammad Rasheed - I see no value in a verbal debate in which what we say can't be easily referred to in a clear record.
Muhammad Rasheed - I like quoting people precisely, as typed responses allow, and I hate it when people talk over me and think shouting is somehow winning the debate.
Muhammad Rasheed - Kirb Brimstone wrote: “If you want to see where contemporary scholarship is I must again recommended this video----> Because I'm not sure you know.”
Do they still worship the very human messenger Jesus as a divine entity that shares in the Godhead? Then why would it matter? Nothing has changed. 
Kirb Brimstone wrote: “Also this means secular, Jewish atheist skeptical as well as Christian scholarship. This is something Koranic scholarship doesn't have the luxury of boasting about. So no, you can't wave the wand of ‘well they are all Christians who base it on faith’ NT scholarship is rigorous and filled with non-believers.”
I told you many, many times before that in my research I am only interested in what the true believer Christian scholars reveal among each other. It holds FAR more weight to me, even though you and Deacon pretend that those guys are somehow not really Christians. 
Kirb Brimstone wrote: “Is your understanding of Christianity that flawed Moe? Do you think any westerner or white man who studies the New Testament is a Christian?”
Only the ones that accept the divine sonship of Jesus doctrine of Paul.
Kirb Brimstone wrote: “lol Even if they don't believe God exists and are an agnostic or atheist?”
I literally have zero interest in those folks’ opinions, to the point where you may safely consider this line of questioning a strawman.
Muhammad Rasheed - Anyway, the reason I quoted that thing about Justin Martyr, is because it stood out to me as one of the links in the chain of evolution as that Jesus as logos philosophy was kneaded, molded, shaped over the centuries into the doctrine you believe today. I cannot accept your concepts as true for that reason; it is man-made and false. The historical record of it forming before our eyes is plain as day, as it is passed from one theologian philosopher parent to the next. There is no truth there, only doctrinized opinion based on the foundation of Paul's falsehood. Really, what am I supposed to do with that? I cannot use it. 
By contrast, the Pillars of Islam and the Pillars of Faith were solidified by God Himself in the Book. I didn't need 1,500 years of Islamic theologians, kneading a raw concept invented by some jackass that never met Muhammad, for example, until it finally became a doctrine that kinda made sense sorta. God was clear from the beginning, and the kneadings of mere men stand out from it as a treacherous annoyance.
Muhammad Rasheed - Jesus walked the Word of God out in his life, demonstrating to the people around him how God's instructions were supposed to be done. In this it made the Christ the walking Word of God in the flesh. Such was his job on earth, no different than that of the other messengers, who also were tasked by their Lord to walk His Word out on earth, instructing us in scripture and wisdom. In that sense, of course Jesus was the Logos, as were they all. It doesn't go any further than that.

Settling for Hollywood's Crumbs

Rick Smallwood - Watching Shaolin Soccer and heard this blasphemy "Shaolin is the source of all martial arts."
John Grace - Stephen Chow would make a great Chiun.
Joel Yohn - YEEEESSSSSS^^^^^^^^^^!!!!!!!!!
Victor Donald Smith - Today Shaolin in China is a revenue stream for Foreigner martial tourists. Movies Ar but fictions after all. Sinanju Har outlasted the chicken thieves.
Bar Barian - As Chiun might say, "The english translation for Shaolin is huxter. Trust them not."
CE Martin - Kung fu Hustle is better...
John Grace - Kung Fu Hustle is essential viewing.
Leo Aromaa - I once was in gym's treadmill when Shaolin Soccer came from tv on the opposite wall monitors. Big mistake, I almost did myself serious injury by laughing at the final football match.
Muhammad Rasheed - John Grace wrote: "Stephen Chow would make a great Chiun."
Joel Yohn wrote: "YEEEESSSSSS^^^^^^^^^^!!!!!!!!!"
Is Stephen Chow Korean? Then I'm pretty sure Chiun would pimp slap you both in the mouth.
To death.
John Grace - Chow is Chinese, but were Joel Grey and Roddy McDowell Korean? Perhaps Chiun cursed the movie to bomb and the pilot to unsold status. I have a hunch that Dr. Ken Jeong will be cast as Chiun with a ton of "movement doubling" by stuntmen.
Muhammad Rasheed - John Grace wrote: "Perhaps Chiun cursed the movie to bomb and the pilot to unsold status."
"Cursed" meaning some behind-the-scenes folk were found dead. lol
Joel Yohn - I'd like to think that Chiun could recognize the talents of Chow. Even if he is a lowly Chinese. He was able to appreciate the acting skills of Rad Rex even though he was just a white.
Muhammad Rasheed - Joel Yohn wrote: "I'd like to think that Chiun could recognize the talents of Chow. Even if he is a lowly Chinese."
If he was attempting to portray HIM??? No. lol
Joel Yohn wrote: "He was able to appreciate the acting skills of Rad Rex even though he was just a white."
Was Rad Rex at any point during that show attempting to imitate a Korean from the village of Sinanju though?
Muhammad Rasheed - Sure, Chiun could appreciate their talents, as long as they stayed in their proper lanes.
Muhammad Rasheed - (amused at the irony of finding myself explaining how racism works)
Joel Yohn - Whoa... Muhammad. I thought we were just having fun in a world where we have to worry about what Chiun would really think. Of course it would be awesome if a Korean actor could portray Chiun. But... If there is no worthy Korean actors, they may have to look elsewhere. Just like Chiun did when he needed to find a new student.
Muhammad Rasheed - Joel Yohn wrote: "Whoa... Muhammad. I thought we were just having fun in a world where we have to worry about what Chiun would really think."
We 100% are. I was just amused by the side note. Not trying to take this anywhere else. But Chiun really is racist as heck. It's part of his over-the-top appeal, because both black and white Americans can watch his antics with a level of objectivity.
Joel Yohn wrote: "Of course it would be awesome if a Korean actor could portray Chiun."
It would be ridiculous for them not to make that happen. Crazy really.
Joel Yohn wrote: "But... If there is no worthy Korean actors..."
Why wouldn't there be? Someone who can act, someone young, handsome with gymnastics/flexibility training (not necessarily martial arts), and can speak English. There HAS to be someone like that. 
Joel Yohn wrote: "...they may have to look elsewhere."
If they do it means they were lazy.
Joel Yohn wrote: "Just like Chiun did when he needed to find a new student."
I'm pretty sure Chiun didn't test every kid in Korea for that position, Joel. lol
Joel Yohn - In all honesty, I just really love Stephen Chow and think he would be great.
Muhammad Rasheed - Then I agree he can have a role in the story, sure. Just not THAT role. He can play "Sagwa."
Muhammad Rasheed - OMG I wish SOOO much I had creative control in the casting on this. As a big fan myself, I honestly don't want them to mess this up. 
This is NOT 1985. There's no excuse for nonsense.
Muhammad Rasheed - We live in an era where Hollywood has proven it can put together a product that doesn't alienate the True Fans of the intellectual properties they adapt. If the Harry Potter, Twilight, and Marvel Comics fans can be happy when they come out of the theatre, then why can't we Destroyer fans?
You see what I'm saying? NO EXCUSES! We don't HAVE to settle.
Muhammad Rasheed - If Hollywood can actually convincingly have The Avengers battle Loki, the Guardians of the Galaxy battle Ronan the Accuser, then the significantly simpler Destroyer Universe should be a freakin' walk-in-the-park.
Bar Barian - Let's hope they don't shoot themselves in the foot by making Remo a woman or some nonsense
Muhammad Rasheed - I'm personally busting my ass to make sure you fellow True Fans are happy with my Destroyer stories, and I don't have a damn multi-million dollar Sony Films budget. I really don't want to see any bullshit on that silver screen.
Muhammad Rasheed - They don't have any excuses not to do it correctly.
Muhammad Rasheed - I swear if it turns out like Shyamalan's Air Bender, I will set Hollywood on fire.
Muhammad Rasheed - Me: "Hello, ISIS? Put Mohamed on the phone, please. Hey, how soon can y'all get to California? Sweet. Oh, and Mohamed...? 
"Bring your guitars."


Bar Barian - Yes they have a history of taking a good thing and dressing it in drag while they bend it over.
Muhammad Rasheed - Here:  Top 20 Korean actors and actresses according to industry insiders
They can start there.
Muhammad Rasheed - One of them's name is actually "Song" for Christ's sake! How perfect would THAT be???  lol

Victor Donald Smith - When you try to do so yourself, you find out how much work it is. 
Muhammad Rasheed - It IS work, no doubt. That's why they get the big bucks for doing it. And record-breaking amounts of the big bucks for not pissing off the True Fans that made the property successful in the first place.

John Grace - I'd love to see a previously unknown Korean-American actor play Chiun and get a big break with this film. Hollywood used to be good at developing new stars, but they've faltered at it in recent decades. As long as we get something better than Remo dropping wood on jeeps, I should dig it. 
Muhammad Rasheed - That would be the best case scenario to me. An unknown young actor in the Chiun makeup, who also plays the younger Nuihc. In the marketing/promos they can have him walk around in the makeup, pretending to be the real Master of Sinanju, who insisted he play himself to prevent the 'Caucasian in Korean makeup' fiasco from the '80s (where they casually hint that it was indeed his deadly skills responsible for the previous film's flop). 
Muhammad Rasheed - That would be awesome. 
Muhammad Rasheed - You can only pull something like that off most effectively with an unknown.

John Grace - It's a big town of actors, so it would be nice to see some fresh faces in the roles. Hollywood is so bad at making new stars that people are still paying to see Social Security-aged, HGH-pumped Stallone and Schwarzeneggar in big budget movies. 
Muhammad Rasheed - They're not actually bad at it, they are just risk adverse and prefer not to. 
John Grace - That's the problem. I miss the idea of taking a chance on an unknown, like they did with SUPERMAN THE MOVIE, DR. NO, THOR, nearly every Tarzan movie and even CASINO ROYALE. When rumors of a new movie would surface since the Orion film flopped, I feared the worst: "Michael J. Fox is Remo."

Treat Yourself to a MONSTROUS Binge Read!

Learn More about Monsters 101 by M. Rasheed

Putting in the Work

Muhammad Rasheed - Y'all kill me when you say stuff like, "I can't believe that Fill-In-The-Blank Traditional Societal Bullshit is still going on in 2015!"
Well, what happened along the way that would make it NOT happen any more? Racism? Okay, we still have that. Colorism? Check.. we still have that, too. Et Cetera. Do you remember a cure for any of that stuff happening? Because I sure don't. Did you think all of the wrongs of society would just magically go away every time that New Year's ball dropped?
If we're not actively working to fix it, then it isn't going anywhere. Ignoring it and pretending it no longer exists is certainly NOT fixing it when we're all still walking around damaged, and continuing to pass that damage along to our children. Stop talking crazy.
Abdur Rasheed - You're racist!
Marc Keelan-Bishop - There certainly have been some things done to fix societal problems. Some more successful than others.
Muhammad Rasheed - Okay, American slavery. Cured. That's gone now. What else?
Child labor abuse? Cured. That's gone now. What else?
Women voting? Cured. They can do that now. What else?
Black people voting. Cured... but now their ideological enemies are actively trying to repeal that cure. 
What else?
Marc Keelan-Bishop - Racism has not disappeared but has certainly lessened in Canada ( I can't speak for the experience in America).
Violence against women is no longer the "keep it quiet, do what your husband says" issue it once was.
School drop-outs and teen pregnancy have been dramatically reduced.
Literacy is up dramatically.
Those are off the top of my head.
Marc Keelan-Bishop - (what's the difference between racism and colorism?)
Muhammad Rasheed - Colorism is internal. Skin color prejudices within the same ethnic group. It's a fruit of the greater racism issue. Basically a side effect.
Marc Keelan-Bishop - I think one of the things people forget when it comes to societal issues like this is how long it takes to change things. Native North Americans speak of acting now for change in 7 generations. It takes a long time to turn this ship of humanity, but it can be done. The civil rights movement in America was pretty darned recent.
Marc Keelan-Bishop - I can't believe I forgot the rapid disintegration of homophobia. Not gone, but wow it's happening fast. Just 20 years ago, Will & Grace came out and it was a gigantic deal. Now there are dozens of gay characters on television and tonnes of gay teens who no longer need to hide.
Muhammad Rasheed - Marc Keelan-Bishop wrote: "Those are off the top of my head."
Those are great of course, and should be used to illustrate the lesson. All of these items are lessoned or cured by active work to do so. The racism and colorism issue are not worked on. Peoples' idea of fixing them are literally to pretend they don't exist. Of course that's bullshit.
Marc Keelan-Bishop - I think the only people who pretend they don't exist are people who are afraid to face their own privilege. There are tonnes of people working on racism issues.
Muhammad Rasheed - Marc Keelan-Bishop wrote: "I can't believe I forgot the rapid disintegration of homophobia."
The gay/lesbian/trans community has something now they didn't have before during the "homophobic" era... a strong political lobby actively working to cure society of it's ills. When those issues pop up they are instantly pounced upon, with the same ferocious and scary intensity the ADL pounces upon anti-semitic items that dare show their head.
For those items however that zero work is going into, and the populace expresses they wish folk would just shut up talking about it so they can stay in La-La Land pretending they don't exist...? Stop acting surprised when you see them keep popping up.
Muhammad Rasheed - "What??? Another unarmed, savage darkie was shot by one of our brave & courageous law men? When will those damn people get it together??? Go back to Africa you damn, dirty apes!!!"
Marc Keelan-Bishop - Agreed. The expression "eternal vigilance" comes to mind.
Marc Keelan-Bishop - Well, you can't account for idiots. I don't think those people are the majority, however.
Todd Holland - Other groups realize FIRST,that they have an enemy.Second,they identify that enemy.Third,they come up with a pro-active plan to defeat said enemy...Black folks march around and beg their enemy to "Love' them,ignore their enemies weapons against them,and wait and pray that those in power will concede some....That's why Jews overcame and Black didn't. It's why Gays are overcoming and Blacks aren't,we don't FIGHT because we want to be "loved".Hell, we're more likely to fight someone else's battles and ignore our own.
Muhammad Rasheed - ^Meanwhile, our ideological enemy has convinced himself that the "big black guy" is the scariest, most hateful being in the universe.
Todd Holland - his fear of Karma is why he does that mess...He's scared to DEATH that one day he'll reap all the death and destruction he has sown.
Brett Barton - "What??? Another unarmed, savage darkie was shot by one of our brave & courageous law men? When will those damn people get it together??? Go back to Africa you damn, dirty apes!!!"
::sprinkles crack::
Alan Groening - Draw cartoons
Muhammad Rasheed  - You just stepped into my Kill Zone, Groening. Good luck.
Alan Groening - wait.. JUST?
Muhammad Rasheed  - 



Heide Mechel - True story.


Jeremy Travis - 'WHAT ABOUT BLACK-ON-BLACK CRIME?!'
Brett Barton - ^Never mention that.
Only white on black and blue on black HATE crime exists.
You know what I'm saying young blood.
Muhammad Rasheed - Brett Barton wrote: "^Never mention that."
It's a strange misdirection effort when they say that. Like the US government should've allowed the German forces to defeat them and the allies because there are criminals found in their cities. "You kill yourselves, so it should be okay that we kill you."
Muhammad Rasheed - Very weird.
Muhammad Rasheed - "When are you going to control your criminal element? Well, until you do, you shouldn't get mad when our cops kill you."
Muhammad Rasheed - It's extremely hypocritical considering white-on-white homicide numbers are comparable.
Muhammad Rasheed  - "Then why do you scream in terror over the 'Big Scary Black Guy' image you create ("He was like a demon!"), when you are killing each other?"
Brett Barton - Black kill black, white kill white, black kill white, white kill black
It's all the same. People killing each other. Shouldn't get hung up on the scenario and just agree killing each other isn't the best way to make friends
Brett Barton - Hey man nice to meet you, 
::kill Muhammad Rasheed::
Muhammad Rasheed - Stop going around killing people, Brett. It's rude.
Muhammad Rasheed - (and punching cars)
Brett Barton - ^You know my stance on what that guy was.

Alan Groening - For the record, I never said Muslims were stupid dude

Muhammad Rasheed - Did you have to? When the Muslim defended his faith from a bigoted, nonsense message, you called him a troublemaker.



See Also:
Supporting Hebdo: A Cartoonist's Critique of a Critique
A Cartoonists' Group to Celebrate Anti-Free Speech

NOW AVAILABLE: New Destroyer Comics!

Destroyer Comics by M. Rasheed (based on characters created by Warren Murphy & Richard Sapir). GET YOURS TODAY!


See Also:

AT LAST! The Destroyer Returns to the Comic Pages
Destroyer Comics: Pagination Process
Favorite Movie Scenes from Remo Williams - comic strip format

Racism is "Karma-phobia"

Jiba Molei Anderson – [shared link] Why is the celebration of one's own culture, when it does NOT denigrate another culture, considered racist?

This Is Why We Still Don't Need #WhiteGirlsRock
Brian Colding - Anyone who asks us for an accounting of celebrating ourselves needs be to told to beat it in no other words than f*** off, shut the f** up and go the f** away. I REFUSE to debate or argue with anyone especially WHite folks about celebrating who we are, our history or what we collectively accomplish. They can either positively contribute or go away. There is no middle ground.
Muhammad Rasheed - Jiba Molei Anderson wrote: "Why is the celebration of one's own culture, when it does NOT denigrate another culture, considered racist?"
Because they can't celebrate themselves without denigrating someone else, so they refuse to believe you can do it. When you celebrate yourself they expect some form of payback revenge and read that into it.
Yumy Odom - Cognitive dissonance peppered with guilt! Move forward!

Torri Taite - So much I am learning here and the one thing the dominant society wants to destroy is empowerment of the people of color.#WhiteGirlsRock is just as ridiculous as #AllLivesMatter! Because they really don't care about addressing any issues, just deflecting.
Karl Eburne - Why?

Jeff Musser - Every comment above me is right on point. We (white people) have been on the top shelf of this hemisphere for what, 500 years? We're not good at sharing. We're used to controlling the narrative for EVERYTHING. Like Muhammad above me wrote, when black people want something of their own, something that will counteract all the shit white people have put them through, many of us tend to freak out. Many of us freak out because we know that this amazing thing called being white was born out of bloodshed and that somehow, someday, sometime in the future karma is going to bite us in the ass.
Monty Nielsen - This is insane! Both black girls and white girls can rock...smdh!
Torri Taite - But white girls have been getting attention for a very long time now! When they used the 2 categories of, "Hello gorgeous" & "RIP" quite a few of the women that were RIP were women of color! They probably did put some white women in the category. But there were no women of color in the OTHER side! White hasalways been the gold standard for anything great in this world. European beauty is also the gold standard!
Karl Eburne - Saying "White girls can rock" is like walking into a Hanukkah ceremony and yelling "Yeah, but Christmas is pretty awesome too!". For starters, nobody said it wasn't, and second, you're inserting yourself in a situation where your participation isn't needed, wanted or necessary.
Little white girls have ALL of American popular culture celebrating them. What they do as they grow from girls to women becomes the standard of beauty that all other women will be held to. When they enter the workplace, even though they'll be paid less than white men, they'll be getting paid more than both black women AND black men! Nobody's kicking white girls out of school because of their hair, nobody's saying white women look like apes. Natalee Holloway and JonBenet Ramsey had the entire planet searching for their murderers, young black girls barely get coverage on the local network news though they are disappearing at a greater number than white girls.
Saying #BlackGirlsRock ain't about excluding white people, it's about including black girls and women, letting them know they are loved and appreciated for who they are, just the way they are.
What's so hard for white people to understand about that? Geez...
Monty Nielsen - Well my daughter is mixed half white and half black. She is only three, but when she gets older I don't know if she will identify herself as white or black so until then I say it is ok for all girls to rock no mater if they are black, white or any other color for that matter! If my daughter was blue I would still tell her she rocks!
Corey J. Gilson - Because racism is rooted in self-loathing and insecurity?
Torri Taite - Don't forget "reverse racism" now, where white people can now cry foul when they feel as if they aren't getting their way and could care less about introspection! And some of the self hating black people I've seen over time cover for them.
Karl Eburne - You're missing the point. 
We are aware that all girls rock, just as we're aware that all lives matter. The reason why we have to say #BlackLivesMatter and #BlackGirlsRock is because this culture behaves as if their lives don't and their girls aren't good enough. You have the privilege to declare that ALL lives matter and ALL girls rock because you've never been in a position where you were told and treated otherwise. Black girls, mixed race or not, have and continue to be maligned by the culture, which is why #BlackGirlsRock exists.
Torri Taite - In truth ALL lives DO matter! Unfortunately not enough people act as if they do!
Jude W Mire - While all lives matter, nobody's gotta remind people that white lives matter. That's the default setting. The issue here is the default is NOT set to all lives matter. Reminding people that all lives matter doesn't take any steps to addressing the reality that, in actuality, white lives are what are treated like they matter. 
Lemmie break this down simple. The class motto is "everybody gets cookies", but in reality, only the white kids get cookies. So, somebody speaks up and says "black kids need cookies too" because they're not getting any. Repeating the class motto that "everybody gets cookies" in that situation is absurd and insulting. While it's true that it's what SHOULD be it fails completely at recognizing what IS. And, an inability to see reality as it is, not as it should be, is an obstacle to actually getting where we should be.
Mark Dundon - I collectively rock harder than any and all challengers and will continue with said rocking in perpetuity
Muhammad Rasheed - White Fear & Greed

Obamacare - Building Jobs, Protecting the American Way

Muhammad Rasheed – [shared link] The Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) ended the corporatist cartel in the health insurance industry, opening up a Free Market for entrepreneurs, who immediately saw the potential and began creating new jobs, and new competition. That's a good thing.

Obamacare is Spurring Startups & Creating Jobs
Brett Barton - Oh, I've got all kinda of personal experience with this.
The affordable care act is good in theory.
The execution was very poor...it's getting "better"
Loads of "gray" area for businesses to exploit and states to ignore.
Government "call centers" that have little or no training and take about 3 hrs just to get simple questions answered, even still answered vary.
I have heard good things and smooth sailing for some people, but that just wasn't the case here.
It caused a lot of price change in the market, the plan I used to pay $210.00 a month for, barely changed at all and went to $440.00
Now, I signed up for nearly the exact same plan that covered me and my son before but I did it through the website $240.00 with my $200.00 a month credit. So basically I paid $30.00 more for nearly the exact same plan. Not that terrible, but wait, there's more.
Very 1st Dr. bill, my son wasn't covered, he wasn't even on the plan. Though the cars states family plan and pediatric dental and vision are right on the card.
Me: Well, I put him on it.
Gov: We ( the government) took him off...
Me: Wait, why?
Gov: your income wasn't high enough to cover him in a family plan.
Me: Wait, what?
Gov: Your child's insurance is the states problem, not yours.
Me: Wait, I can't put him on my private plan, and get the discount through the website?
Gov: Nope, you are now paying $240.00 a month for a plan that just covers you. (That plan used to cost $210.00 privately and cover you and your child.)
.....So I couldn't get him on my $240.00 plan, even though he was selected, he was removed without my knowledge or consent.
Me: Ok so what now
Gov: you'll have to talk to the insurance company.
Insurance company: Private plan $480.00 a month that covers me and my son. (Decent but not great plan, slightly better.)
Me: That's kinda high, I'm not rich you know.
Insurance company: thanks Obama 
In short, It took a long time to get things straight... 
We all have private plans and it's very difficult. I have more kids now.
A solution was supposed to be businesses provide "good" insurance.
Mine didn't, they offered the me a crap plan, I passed on, then later a government minimum at a $465.00 a month through the group plan. But since I passed in the the crap plan couldn't get dental or vision on my plan....
I could talk for days on this issue.
I literally spent over 100 hours on the phone with healthcare.gov, the state of Tennessee, and Blue Cross Blue Shield.
It's not all sunshine and rainbows, there is a lot of horse shit also.
Brett Barton - Kudos to it creating jobs for people... Even if they can't do the job worth a damn.
I went through an independent agent that is a certified for (by?) onhealthcare.Gov 
I highly suggest that route. You can talk to them in person and just don't bother calling the center
Muhammad Rasheed - Brett Barton wrote: "The affordable care act is good in theory. The execution was very poor...it's getting 'better.' It's not all sunshine and rainbows, there is a lot of horse shit also."
There are a lot of strawmen arguments built into your post. Who proclaimed that ObamaCare was perfect? Who said that? I didn't. President didn't even say it. The Affordable Care Act was the President's Plan B on his effort to reform the health care industry. His Plan A was destroyed by the Republicans, and ObamaCare was approved by the Republicans and criticized by the President's Democratic base because they felt it compromised too much. If he hadn't compromised, but stubbornly stuck to his Plan A, we wouldn't have health care reform at all. But it is designed so that it can be improved upon; it isn't a closed concept. That's a good thing. What it does provide does work, and is better than the corporatist cartel that was in place before.
Muhammad Rasheed - The Republicans changed their mind about it when they realized it would help Obama look good and be a major piece of his legacy. Also their corporate handlers panicked when they saw it also had a part built into it that would remove the banks as middlemen in the college loan process.
Brett Barton - It's personal experience, not straw-man dude, I spent a year getting shit ironed out.
I think it's a good idea. I'm not arguing that at all.
But I literally know more about the internal system and how things are done than anyone I ever talked to that worked for healthcare.gov
Training is the key. They are getting better
Muhammad Rasheed - Brett Barton wrote: "It's personal experience, not straw-man dude..."
The strawman argument is when someone creates a position and argues against it while pretending that's what your actual position is. That's where your "It's not all sunshine and rainbows" part came in at.
Muhammad Rasheed - [From the article] "The health law, which took full effect in 2014, represents the most dramatic change to the U.S. health system in 50 years."
lol Brett, you sound as if you are mad and salty that this brand new reform isn't being manned by people with a perfectly ironed-out staff that hold 20+ years of ObamaCare experience.
Brett Barton - I feel that is true. It's my take on it anyway.
A great deal of problems, I experienced as well as many others did spawn from the act.... I feel that is true. It's my take on it anyway.
A great deal of problems, I experienced as well as many others did spawn from the act.
Now down the line when all the kinks get worked out or at least the majority of them and people can get on board and along it won't be so bad.
Muhammad Rasheed - Well, that's what happens at the beginning of every new and worthwhile endeavour. I know it was frustrating during the journey; I'm not trying to minimize that part for you.
Brett Barton - Funny you mention that....like I mentioned get an independent agent that is certified or approved to do the healthcare.gov stuff and stay away from the actual cronies that work for the system.
All talking to those "call center" employees will end up giving you a headache and probably not solving any issues l.
Muhammad Rasheed - Nobody said it was perfect. There's probably a million quotes from the president saying how it needs to be tweaked over time until it works closer to the ideal, but at least the foundation is in place for the reform we all needed. Despite any frustrations the new sign-up guinea pigs went through, arguing that the system isn't perfect out the gate is unreasonable. Has any new system ever been?
Was America itself perfect when it first began? Come on.
Muhammad Rasheed - Anybody can reasonably expect hitches and bumps when it first began. "The health law, which took full effect in 2014..." smh.
Muhammad Rasheed - Do you remember when 2014 was?
Brett Barton - I'm saying that also.  However it's been exceptionally flawed in my opinion, but then again I've had "a bad experience"
Brett Barton - It's been smooth, point and click for some
Muhammad Rasheed - Your bad experience wasn't with the system, but with the staff who were apparently struggling to help you meet your needs.
Muhammad Rasheed -  GOP congresswoman gets surprise on Facebook after asking constituents for Obamacare horror stories
Brett Barton - I have issues with some system things as well.
Muhammad Rasheed - I fully expect them to work those bugs out with the help from data collected from people such as yourself. I suggest you take advantage of the part of the website that asks for suggestions as to how they can improve it.
Muhammad Rasheed - As a patriot.
Brett Barton - ^thanks Obama
Ken Peck - There are a lot of "personal experiences" with the system before the Affordable Care Act. Probably far more than those after ACA was implemented.
Ken Peck - Not to say, we wouldn't be better off with universal single payer which would provide everyone with better care at a lower cost.
Brett Barton - I had bad experiences before.
This was a whole new level. Conference calls between insurance companies and healthcare/gov each part not willing to admit a mistake or work something out or send me in the appropriate direction
Muhammad Rasheed - That's growing pains, Brett.
Dan DeLyon - You tend to grow and feel pains when strapped to the rack.
Muhammad Rasheed - People tend to not grow and feel pains when they deliberately confine their thinking to partisan rhetoric, too. It's comfy in there. No scary thoughts attempting to intrude on their tiny little mindsets.
Bar Barian - Here's a question: If you have health insurance now through the new "marketplace" (ha), and an unreasonably high deductible is imposed on any plan you can afford, such that you could never use it without taking a decade to pay it off, is it really insurance or a payout to the industry?
Muhammad Rasheed - It sounds like the answer to your question was what this lady was looking for. 
GOP congresswoman gets surprise on Facebook after asking constituents for Obamacare horror stories
Can you phrase it in the form of a smear campaign story?
Bar Barian - Way to deflect the question.
Muhammad Rasheed - Your hypothetical question was a deflection from the thread topic.
Muhammad Rasheed - Your "new 'marketplace' (ha)" comment was also my biggest pet peeve from you folk. 
Aren't you supposed to be FOR the Free Market?
Bar Barian - Its not like its not related, and you wouldn't see any topic I posted.
Bar Barian - Marketplaces are free of imposed penalties for not buying.
Muhammad Rasheed - When the President does things like this that are pro-capitalism, what reason have you to be against it? Tell me.
Muhammad Rasheed - Bar Barian wrote: "Marketplaces are free of imposed penalties for not buying."
That's 100% not true. There is always a cost one way or another.
Bar Barian - I would not call it "pro capitalism". I mean look at it, "Buy this or that but only these choices here, oh yeah if you don't buy SOMETHING you pay a penalty/tax." Da.
Bar Barian - The only cost for buying none of the above is saving money. If that means you end up spending more later, that was a CHOICE that you made, not the collective.
Muhammad Rasheed - Bar Barian wrote: "I would not call it 'pro capitalism.'"
Breaking up a monopoly/cartel is ALWAYS pro-capitalism. Why don't you know that?
Bar Barian wrote: "I mean look at it, 'Buy this or that but only these choices here...'"
You can purchase from any choice you want. Tell what reason you have to be against the president when he does things that are pro-capitalism, to the point where you literally just make up nonsense to support being against him? Why is that, Bar?
Muhammad Rasheed - Tell me.
Bar Barian - There is no monopoly here, only cartels which on their face I agree need some better management and transparency on prices and services. The Medical/Insurance/Regulation triad needs to be leashed.
Muhammad Rasheed - A cartel is when a group of companies form a collective monopoly, like the banking cartel that makes up the Federal Reserve. The Affordable Care Act broke up the healthcare insurance cartel enabling entrepreneurs to flood in and set up new businesses. A brand new free market has opened up.
Bar Barian - If there was a government based monopoly, all the lefties would be happy, tho the patients would not be.
Muhammad Rasheed - The gov didn't set up a monopoly. It's merely protecting the new marketplace, which is the government's actual job. Why don't you know THAT part?
Bar Barian - Well you can go to the equivalent of McDonald or Burger King. If you have real money you can go to a first class place. Poor people should have the option of comparison shopping and local deals. In my town there is a clinic that takes no insurance at all, the prices are way cheaper (xrays $50 etc.) and nobody is turned away. They make individual payment plans.and so far are doing a good business.
Bar Barian - The players the govt. uses are all in the game already, they are just working their way into the system.
Muhammad Rasheed - Bar Barian wrote: "Poor people should have the option of comparison shopping and local deals." 
That's what people have now, Bar. They didn't have that under the old cartel system.
Bar Barian - The local clinic I told you about has no govt. imposed mandate, they are a free enterprise operation.
Muhammad Rasheed - Bar Barian wrote: "The players the govt. uses are all in the game already, they are just working their way into the system."
The important part is that, now that the cartel has broken up, anyone can jump in there and compete with those guys. Monopolies and cartels are designed to keep out competition, stifling the market.
Muhammad Rasheed - Why don't you KNOW that???
Bar Barian - I don't recognize it as being equivalent to say, AT&T or Standard Oil. There wasn't a well known monopoly, and Hilarycare never got off the ground.
Muhammad Rasheed - Breaking the hold of a cartel is THE pro-capitalism act the government can do, and Obama has been ALL about that. 
But you guys keep attacking him. Why?
Bar Barian - If he didn't try to manage any replacement, it would have gone better for him. Trust the free enterprise system once you guard against fraud.
Muhammad Rasheed - Bar Barian wrote: "I don't recognize it as being equivalent to say, AT&T or Standard Oil."
There were definitely major powerplayers in that industry on that level in their own way. Big brand names.
Bar Barian wrote: "There wasn't a well known monopoly, and Hilarycare never got off the ground."
Why is that relevant to anything?
Bar Barian - She advocated a govt. monopoly, just as bad, different problems.
Muhammad Rasheed - Bar Barian wrote: "If he didn't try to manage any replacement, it would have gone better for him. Trust the free enterprise system once you guard against fraud."
What replacement? The whole point of that system is to enable you to shop around. The free market is being guarded; anyone can jump in there and start a new business. Only the big boy corporations were trying to stop that, not the gov.
Bar Barian - The "marketplace" is under the auspices of govt. control and not as free as it claims.
Muhammad Rasheed - Bar Barian wrote: "She advocated a govt. monopoly, just as bad, different problems."
"Just as bad" as what was already going on back under the cartel? How do you know?
Bar Barian - Ask Canada, the UK and many others.
Muhammad Rasheed - Bar Barian wrote: "The 'marketplace' is under the auspices of govt. control and not as free and it claims."
It's free enabling new job growth in the classic free market way. The gov is using it's force to protect it in the way Free Markets NEED to be protected.
Bar Barian - so you say, I disagree, lets leave it at that.
Muhammad Rasheed - I know, that's what y'all always do when you are challenged on the things you simply make up out of thin air about the president. You prefer to believe that craziness even when he is performing in the way you claim you want from a properly functioning government. 
It's insane.
Muhammad Rasheed - I think some of it may be partisan related, but there's something a little different about this president, isn't there?
Muhammad Rasheed - smh
Bar Barian - You are pretty deluded, its that flavor of Kool Aid you are drinking.
Muhammad Rasheed - Yes, let's agree to disagree. I don't care to be swayed to the darkside of crazytown. Y'all drive me crazy with that trash. I can't pretend to have the power to cure you of it.
Muhammad Rasheed - Right. I'm the one that's deluded. Sure.
Muhammad Rasheed - You complain about welfare, and the president attacks free welfare subsidies... the LARGEST part by far of the welfare pie... and you STILL attack him. But I'M the one that's delusional.
Muhammad Rasheed - You complain about "socialism," and the president throws his weight behind breaking up cartels and monopolies, and even preventing them from forming anew, but you STILL attack him. Yet I'M the one that's delusional.
Muhammad Rasheed - Enjoy living in your little hate-filled, partisan bubble of craziness, Bar. I cannot join you there.
Bar Barian - You cherry pick your arguments and ignore the wrong decisions, yet I'm delusional.
Muhammad Rasheed - Protecting our capitalistic society and keeping the markets open for American enterprise is one of the most important things he CAN do as POTUS. What are you complaining about NOW?
Muhammad Rasheed - Yes, you ARE delusional. All of your complaints are utter nonsense.
Muhammad Rasheed - There is no pleasing you because you have this brick of hate-filled crazy blocking your vision at all times. Only someone from your EXACT demographic in that position will do.
Bar Barian - You know nothing of my demographic, I'm not rich, I am white but don't factor race into it, northeast, underemployed. I should be a Obama cheerleader I suppose, but I have a brain.
Muhammad Rasheed - I know everything of your demographic. Am I not plugged in to "mainstream" popular culture where every aspect of your demographics’ diaspora is shoved down my fucking throat as "default normal?"
Muhammad Rasheed - It's YOU who don't know my demographic. You have zero interest in my people's stories; you prefer to make them up yourselves based on the "jokes" you tell in your bars and barbershops.
Bar Barian - Hardly. You cannot blame the majority for any issues you may have, only your desire to be a victim. Racism shouldn't be an issue in the 21st century. In the last one, it existed in more strength sure, but what do you think you need to have to feel better? I'd work more on you and succeed on your merits, overcome obstacles to your best ability and try and merge with the culture, which is changing all the time.
Bar Barian - I don't go to bars and barbershops any more than you hang out in whatever demographically linked place you choose.
Muhammad Rasheed - Bar Barian wrote: "Hardly."
Really? Here's an example of it right here. Your entire rant is based on the stereotype that all blacks are in the economically poor class and are all "thugs." Isn't that you demonstrating you think you know all about my demographic, while weirdly unaware of the black middle and upper classes?
Bar Barian wrote: "I don't go to bars and barbershops any more that you hang out in whatever demographically linked place you choose."
Sure, you don't. Right. Am I supposed to believe that when you refuse to acknowledge the facts of Obama's presidency? You've demonstrated numerous items of intellectual dishonesty, yet I'm supposed to believe a white American guy who hates Obama doesn't go to a bar?
Muhammad Rasheed - Gimme a break.
Muhammad Rasheed - While you are calling him the n-word, and saying he doesn't want to admit he's a Muslim, and calling him a socialist, and everything else you're fond of saying, but now you don't drink at your local watering hole, eh?
Bar Barian - I don't care what you believe. Express yourself in lots of places, it will give you more perspective
Bar Barian - Don't blame me for the actions/words of others, I'm not even a GOP guy. They act stupid as well.
Muhammad Rasheed - You realize you're not in my FB Friend List, right?
Muhammad Rasheed - OBVIOUSLY you care what I believe since you're hanging out on my posts.
Bar Barian - Yep. Probably saves me dozens of points on the BP meter. You too I imagine.
Bar Barian - I'll relent, it was amusing.
Muhammad Rasheed - What's a "BP?"
Bar Barian - Blood Pressure, a joke.
Muhammad Rasheed - Oh.
Muhammad Rasheed - Yeah, I should probably start paying more attention to that ole BP meter anyway.
Muhammad Rasheed - A cartoonist my age just had a stroke this week. And he's not even black.
Bar Barian - Don't stroke out, Mr. Murphy is counting on you.  :)

Breaking Down Liberalism with Charles Mills

Kirb Brimstone – [tagged me in link] 

Provost Lecture: Liberalism & Racial Justice by Charles W. Mills
Muhammad Rasheed - [Amazon book description of The Racial Contract by Charles Mills] 
The Racial Contract puts classic Western social contract theory, deadpan, to extraordinary radical use. With a sweeping look at the European expansionism and racism of the last five hundred years, Charles W. Mills demonstrates how this peculiar and unacknowledged "contract" has shaped a system of global European domination: how it brings into existence "whites" and "non-whites," full persons and sub-persons, how it influences white moral theory and moral psychology; and how this system is imposed on non-whites through ideological conditioning and violence. The Racial Contract argues that the society we live in is a continuing white supremacist state.
Holding up a mirror to mainstream philosophy, this provocative book explains the evolving outline of the racial contract from the time of the New World conquest and subsequent colonialism to the written slavery contract, to the "separate but equal" system of segregation in the twentieth-century United States. According to Mills, the contract has provided the theoretical architecture justifying an entire history of European atrocity against non-whites, from David Hume's and Immanuel Kant's claims that blacks had inferior cognitive power, to the Holocaust, to the kind of imperialism in Asia that was demonstrated by the Vietnam War.
Mills suggests that the ghettoization of philosophical work on race is no accident. This work challenges the assumption that mainstream theory is itself raceless. Just as feminist theory has revealed orthodox political philosophy's invisible white male bias, Mills's explication of the racial contract exposes its racial underpinnings.
The Racial Contract by Charles W. Mills (Amazon)
Muhammad Rasheed - Thanks, Kirb! Good stuff.
Kamau Mkafele Mshale - Im gonna watch today
Kirb Brimstone - Why did you post a Amazon Summary Muhammad?
Muhammad Rasheed - It's the description of his book he plugged as a semi-gag. I thought it sounded awesome and bought it. It's great. So I shared it in case anyone else was interested who didn't know him.
Kirb Brimstone - Yeah but for whose benefit?
Muhammad Rasheed - lol You recognize that you tagged me in it and this is on my Timeline, yes?
Muhammad Rasheed - For the benefit of my FB Friends that may see it...?
Kirb Brimstone - If you say so.
Muhammad Rasheed - Kirb, we are different people with different ideologies that we see the world through. Please don't assume I know what you are talking about, since we often disagree on many items. As an example of that in action, I was genuinely surprised to discover actual value in this clip you tagged me in.
Kirb Brimstone - @Muhammad Rasheed… This is what I've been saying about the ontology of Race over at BSH.  Dr. Charles W. Mills - Does Race Exist?
Muhammad Rasheed - My wife discovered that "Race: The Power of an Illusion" mini-series at a class she took, and we were fans of it together. This was about a year or so before I met you. Trust me, you are preaching to the choir on that particular side of the race discussion.
Kirb Brimstone - Moe: "Please don't assume I know what you are talking about, since we often disagree on many items."
Where have I assumed that you knew what I was talking about?
Muhammad Rasheed - Your "If you say so" response means I'm lying to you about something you are making up in your own head. I have literally no idea what you are drilling me for.
Just spill it.
Kirb Brimstone - Just becuase you disagree with something doesn't mean it has no value.
Muhammad Rasheed - It depends on why I disagree with it.
Muhammad Rasheed - If I disagree with it because it is complete nonsense someone who lacks discernment is parading around as fact, then it absolutely has no value.
Muhammad Rasheed - Tell me what the "If you say so" was referring to.
Kirb Brimstone - I've observed that sometimes you disagree with something because you're being close minded.
Muhammad Rasheed - Give me an example.
Kamau Mkafele Mshale - Well isnt that a large part of the discussion? I like that he acknowledges "race" that term and idea is bullshit but its how we are determined in america. That doesn't mean to stop fighting for a better life or that the lives of people of african descent here And abroad arent connected and bout to a shared destiny. But 1 drop makes you black is a dumb ass rule. I also find recently its amazing how ridiculous many of the thigs white people did long ago that this culture seems to hold in reverence.
Muhammad Rasheed - What's a large part of what discussion, Kamau?
See Also:

RESPONSE - Former Muslim Turned Christian Conversion Tale
The Return of Kirb Brimstone

RESPONSE - Former Muslim Turned Christian Conversion Tale

Kirb Brimstone – [tags me in link]

Messiah or Prophet? - Nabeel Qureshi
Muhammad Rasheed - Another one of these guys? pfft...
Kirb Brimstone - What do you mean by "Another one of these guys?"
Muhammad Rasheed - Yes. These guys are very popular for y'all to circulate on FB.
They also lack value.
Muhammad Rasheed - RESPONSE - "A Message to President Obama from a Former Muslim"
Muhammad Rasheed - Wait... You Converted to Christianity Because of What the Qur'an Said About Jesus???
Kirb Brimstone - You didn't answer my question. What do you mean by "Another one of these guys?"
Kirb Brimstone - Did you even watch to the video?
Muhammad Rasheed - Kirb Brimstone wrote: "You didn't answer my question."
Did you answer my question asking you to clarify the "If you say so" response? Did you give me an example to the "close-minded" accusation like I asked?  Don't be an @sshole, Kirb.
Kirb Brimstone wrote: "What do you mean by 'Another one of these guys?'"
Did you see the links I posted with two guys exactly like that to which I responded on my blog? Former Muslims who are professional speakers that vilify my faith playing on their audience's ignorance. Those guys.
Muhammad Rasheed - Kirb Brimstone wrote: "Did you even watch to the video?"
I'm watching it now so I can add this dude to my collection. You realize the clip is 50 minutes long, right?
Muhammad Rasheed - 1.) The example he used that demonstrated how his father was kind, loving and peaceful is to point out that he joined the US military the second he got to America.
Kirb Brimstone - Muhammad Rasheed wrote: I'm watching it now so I can add this dude to my collection. You realize the clip is 50 minutes long, right?”
Then maybe you should write that this is "one of those guys" before you finished watching it.
Muhammad Rasheed - 2.) Wonders how his mom could learn what Christian westerners are really like if none ever invited her into their home. Meanwhile there are an awful lot of those westerners that demonize her people people they are different. Do you hear how that same demographic treats Obama, even though he is a self-confessed Christian himself?
Kirb Brimstone - 1.) The example he used that demonstrated how his father was kind, loving and peaceful is to point out that he joined the US military the second he got to America.
Oh that's a nit pick if I've ever heard one Moe. You're not even done watch the video and already you write this trivial foolishness? 
What does him telling his Christian audience that Muslims are generally peaceful people and using his father as an example have to really do with anything?
Muhammad Rasheed - Kirb Brimstone wrote: "Then maybe you should write that this is "one of those guys" before you finished watching it.
If he turns out not to be a dumbass like those other two then I'll apologize.
Muhammad Rasheed - Kirb Brimstone wrote: "What does him telling his Christian audience that Muslims are generally peaceful people and using his father as an example have to really do with anything?"
I'm just jotting notes as I go. Don't respond to them yet unless you want to delay me getting to the end of the clip by responding to your nonsense.
Make yourself useful and answer the questions I asked of you just prior to you pressing me to answer one of your questions.
Kirb Brimstone - I have a feeling nothing will get you to apologize and no matter what this guy says it's gonna be "dumbass" to you.
Muhammad Rasheed - 3.) There is a difference between the "stereotypes of the west" and what God said about Christians in scripture.
Muhammad Rasheed - Kirb Brimstone wrote: "I have a feeling nothing will get you to apologize and no matter what this guy says it's gonna be 'dumbass' to you."
This is a close-minded comment. Perhaps you should wait until I get to the end before you start with your foolishness...?
Muhammad Rasheed - 4.) His example of "being a good Muslim" is reading the Qur'an in Arabic before he's old enough to understand it.
Muhammad Rasheed - 5.) He makes the comment that Christians generally don't know why they believe what they believe, but very tellingly, the Former Muslim tells us that it was his mom that told him what to think when it came to knowing why he believed in Islam.
Muhammad Rasheed - 6.) "Most miraculous man that ever lived" isn't an Islamic principle. Part of the "Belief in the Prophets" pillar was that we aren't to uphold any of the prophets over any other. So how was he taught that from an Islamic standpoint? Besides, surely Moses was given permission to perform more miracles than Jesus did, right?
Muhammad Rasheed - 7.) "Gonna come back at the end of time and initiate Judgment" also isn't what the Qur'an says. All of the prophets will return to bear witness to/fro those they preached to during their lifetime. That's why Jesus is coming back, for the same reason they will all come back: to fulfill the final task in their prophethood role. Are you sure he was supposed to be a Muslim?
Muhammad Rasheed - 8.) He said he told David that he was just “making this stuff up” because David had his own understanding of scripture based on his own self-study and dialogs, compared to the usual responses he received from other Christians. 
9.) “The key was here was a man that was passionate about his faith, who was passionate about God, who was willing to talk with me. Even though he was my total foil, we were exact opposites, he was a Christian and I was a Muslim, we became best friends because he cared about his God.”
Muhammad Rasheed - 10.) He said it makes a big difference if someone who tells you that your worldview is wrong cares enough to be willing to die for you.
Muhammad Rasheed - 11.) Disagreeing with a particular doctrine doesn't mean I'm trying to tear down the individual who is presenting it.
Muhammad Rasheed - 12.) "Relationships are critical for sharing the Gospel." You may wish to think about how it comes across to other people when you duck their questions all while pressing them to answer yours, Kirb.  It's not an endearing habit.
Muhammad Rasheed - 13.) He says that he came to the conclusion that the New Testament couldn't have been altered in a way in which we wouldn't have been able to detect it. That the one we hold today is the same NT from the fragments.
Muhammad Rasheed - 14.) He said that literally it says in Surah 5, Ayats 72-73 that it says if you believe that Jesus is God you will go to hell. It says:
72. They do blaspheme who say: "Allah is Christ the son of Mary." But said Christ: "O Children of Israel! worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord." Whoever joins other gods with Allah,- Allah will forbid him the garden, and the Fire will be his abode. There will for the wrong-doers be no one to help. 
73 They do blaspheme who say: Allah is one of three in a Trinity: for there is no god except One Allah. If they desist not from their word (of blasphemy), verily a grievous penalty will befall the blasphemers among them.
I think the "blasphemers among them" part is significant, and refers to those who also they believe this unforgivable thing, still have their good deeds outweighing their bad deeds though. But don't take my word on it though. Why risk hellfire? It's better to repent and worship the One God alone. Stop worshipping the messenger.
Muhammad Rasheed 15.) "Did Jesus claim to be God or not?" Why would this be a serious question? Does he not understand how the revelation of sacred scripture through the prophets even works?
Muhammad Rasheed - 15.) "Did Jesus claim to be God or not?" Why would this be a serious question? Does he not understand how the revelation of sacred scripture through the prophets even works?
Muhammad Rasheed - 16.) "And I had been taught that Muhammad was the greatest man who had ever lived." (see: #6 above)
Muhammad Rasheed - 17.) His reference to the "earliest gospel" in which it shows Jesus saying he is god. Which gospel was that? One of the four that we have today?
Muhammad Rasheed - 18.) He said he doesn't have time to get into the details of why he believes the things he said about the Qur'an's preservation and Muhammad's life, but that it is "in his book." Kirb, do you have this book so we may analyze these claims?  Scan the relevant pages and post them, please.
Muhammad Rasheed - 19.) He said that Muslims put a lot of stock in dreams and visions, giving his own opinion as to why, and told the Christian audience not to take for granted their belief that God speaks to them directly. God said He listens to the prayers of all those that call upon Him, but there is indeed a strict rule to how He chooses to commune with mankind. Here's what God said about the matter in the Qur'an:
Surah 4251 "It is not fitting for a man that Allah should speak to him except by inspiration, or from behind a veil, or by the sending of a messenger to reveal, with Allah's permission, what Allah wills: for He is Most High, Most Wise."
Muhammad Rasheed - 20.) Interesting that when he reached a low moment of confidence in his beliefs, he didn't go to the Word of God, but opted for the "send me a dream" route. Naturally I would expect you to consider my contempt for this concept to be "closed-minded." lol But the Book has been sent here as a guide to mankind, and it has very definitive answers regarding these very matters that plagued him after his three year "critical study" of Christianity. Why didn't he go to the Qur'an instead of asking for an ambiguous dream?
Muhammad Rasheed - 21.) Takes note that the doctrinal (hellfire) aspect of the consequences for Nabeel's conversion are only an afterthought to him. He was FAR more concerned at the cultural/traditional part. It explains many of the things he said, and why his Islam understanding was so weak and surface-level.
Muhammad Rasheed - 22.) "For the first time in his life" he goes to the Qur'an for comfort/knowledge/wisdom instead of ritual recitation or searching for items for debate during this low moment. What happened to when he was supposed to have been studying Islam/Qur'an critically? But I suppose you would consider that "trivial foolishness" to bring that up, too, huh, Kirb?
Muhammad Rasheed - 23.) RE: the part where he's complaining that the Qur'an didn't apply to him, but the bible had the answer to everything he asked. At that point he had already made up his mind about converting, so he was looking for something to comfort the upcoming morning period of separation from his folks. He found stern warnings against converting in the Qur'an of course. Naturally their wouldn't be any comfort in that regard. lol In the bible he found a verse that he used as a generic greeting card moment to apply to what he felt in the moment. I'm supposed to take that seriously? 
Then he asked if God even heard his prayers, and found a biblical footnote showing him where to go. He should recognize the Qur'anic verse that I referenced above in which God said He hears the prayers of all those who call upon Him. He didn't consider that of comfort? It comforts me as a believer. I'm not even in med school...
Muhammad Rasheed - 24.) In the part where he's "interacting with God in the pages of scripture," where he said "Jesus was not unfamiliar with the cost," what does God say about Jesus in the Qur'an? What about that cost? Of saying of the messenger that of which is not true, and hinging your soul upon it? Was that not important? Why not?
Muhammad Rasheed - 25.) "I heard these words: 'Because this isn't about you.'"
Perhaps it was the adversary telling you this, rejoicing in that his scheme to help you give in to your temptations to accept a doctrine whose central thesis is the One Unforgivable Sin.
Muhammad Rasheed - 26.) "...after jumping through these hoops, then He MIGHT be happy enough with me to let me into heaven..."
This is strawman nonsense Christian missionaries are taught to tell weak Muslims. It absolutely does not reflect the message of God in the Qur'an. God said several times, definitively, that if you believe in Him, do good deeds (he lists the top good deeds at least 3 times), avoid the temptations of sin, and repent of those sins when you mess up, you will indeed get your reward. You will have no need to fear, nor shall you grieve. The revealed message to mankind from the Lord of all the worlds. God does not lie. where are the missionaries who specialize in converting these weak cultural Muslims getting this wishy-washy "maybe you'll go to heaven and maybe you won't after jumping through all these Five Pillar hoops?" 
God does not lie, but mankind (and the unseen adversary) often lie. I choose to believe God and am therefore saved. You may keep your lies. I have no use for Paul.
Muhammad Rasheed - CONCLUSION: Like the other two cultural Former Muslims, Nabeel Qureshi was also weak in faith, insight and understanding in what he claimed to believe. He never subscribed to Islam based on his own desire to strengthen his soul, but to please his parents. He followed it because that is what he was raised to do. His reasons for why he believed in Islam weren't his reasons, they were the route memorized reasons his mom gave him. Nabeel himself never believed. His presentation was weaker than the other "these guys" because it had more fluff to it, and was on a strict time restriction. Even still, the comments he did make revealed a weak understanding of what he claimed he used to believe in. If he truly believed in what the Qur'an said, if he really critically studied it to show himself approved in the eyes of his Lord, he would be a stronger Muslim today.  In other words, yes, I find him to be a dumbass just like those other guys.  I don't know what you expected to be any different. Weak cultural Former Muslims who convert to Christianity and are popular on the evangelical lecture circuit are so far all alike. What else do you have that is more challenging for me?

Muhammad Rasheed - The interesting thing about Kirb is that he doesn't listen to a damned thing I say, and yet remains confused as to how his efforts to convert me fail.

At least Deac will have the common sense to custom tailor his argument towards what I actually list as my deal breakers in his doctrine.

Abdur Rasheed - That's not really interesting. That's just Kirby tripe. The opposite of interesting.

Muhammad Rasheed - Well, I mean "interesting" like watching a rodent in an experiment and recording the stuff it does or doesn't do according to various stimuli. Like that.

Not "interesting" like Avengers 2.

Kirb Brimstone - I notice you critique him not hos argiements.

Kirb Brimstone - Not ducking anything like I said I am at work. Can't really spend work hours hdoing this but I can't wait to respond when I can.

Muhammad Rasheed - Kirb Brimstone wrote: "Not ducking anything like I said I am at work."

You deliberately ducked direct questions before you went to work, and before you pressed me to answer questions of yours.

Kirb Brimstone wrote: “I notice you critique him not hos argiements.”

I guess being at work is affecting your ability to "notice" stuff, too, then?


See Also:

RESPONSE - "A Message to President Obama from a Former Muslim"
Wait... You Converted to Christianity Because of What the Qur'an Said About Jesus???

The Return of Kirb Brimstone

Raccoon Poisoning by Abdur Rasheed

Last Saturday, my wife and I went over her mom’s house to visit. I don’t like going over there. Don’t get me wrong… I love my mother-in-law. Hell, I bought her a car, but her and my father-in-law live with her brother. He’s a creepy fucker. He lives in his own basement as if the rest of the house doesn’t exist. The roof is rotting away. The windows leak. The carpet upstairs was worn so thin that you could see through it. It was a dump. Plus he lives in the basement with his old dog. I just know this fucker has buried some puppies who shares some of his features before. I just know it. My in-laws moved in about three months ago. I offered to help out by she insisted on staying over there and helping her crazy, worthless ass brother pay the bills and save some money, but whatever. My fake bourgeoisie ass wife has to put a clean sheet down on the couch before she will even sit down while I insist on finding something to do to avoid the whole awkward social experience of watching my wife’s crazy freakshow uncle try and use his canines to finally get rid of that fungus between his own toes. When company is afoot he pulls out all the best entertainment…FUCK monopoly! 
Moms: Rah, when it rains, water pours in through my bedroom window. 
Rah: Say no more, mom, I’m on it! 
That was all the excuse I needed to get the fuck out of the house and keep myself busy until my wife got tired of the smell of dog ass and also wanted to get the fuck out of there. I go to the back yard and get a ladder and climb on the roof. Sure enough right above her window there is a board that is 80% rotted away. I reach down to wiggle the remaining 20% of the board to feel if it is to the point where it crumbles in my hand and if the joists are rotted as well when THIS FUCKING RACOON POKED HIS HEAD OUT AND BIT THE DOG SHIT OUT OF MY FINGER! No hissing, no growling, just mauled my finger and went back in the gotdamn hole in the roof. I snatched my finger out of its mouth and instantly gritted my teeth, curled my lips back as if I was going to bite the fucker back, and didn’t speak another word from an opened mouth for three days. I climbed down off the ladder and went back in the house making sure I applied direct pressure to my fresh wound in order to stop the bleeding. 
Rah: Apparently you have yourself a bit of a raccoon problem. 
My wife and mother in-law’s jaw bones were on the floor. 
Mrs. Rah/Mother in Rah: OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! Let me see… 
I took the pressure off my wound and blood instantly started to flow on her hard wood floor. Her cat went crazy licking up my blood as I showed her the mangled bite with the finger fat spewing out of it. I knew it would send them into panic mode, but I figured I might as well get some entertainment out of this. My wife kicked the cat as she started to wretch and dry heave. The cat didn’t go far. 
Mrs. Rah/Mother in Rah: OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! Does it hurt? 
Rah: No, Baby…I kinda like it. How about we go and get me some medical treatment before I start to foam at the mouth… ‘kay? 
Mrs. Rah/Mother in Rah: OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! 
It took forever to get to the hospital. It wasn’t because it was that far away, but because my wife was still in panic mode while she was driving and missed every turn on the way. I didn’t care. I was just staring out the window thinking about what kind of outfit one wears with a raccoon hat in this day and age. After all, the weather just broke in Michigan and it was a warm 50 + degrees. It would get a little warm with this furry fucker on my head, but that wouldn’t deter me from wearing it every single day this summer. 
Mrs. Rah: Ma, did you know you had a gotdamn raccoon in your attic?  
Mother in Rah: Well I heard something up there that sounded like little kittens. I assumed it was a mother with her babies. 
As my wife went on a rant about “why the hell this? and “why the hell didn’t you that?” to her mother, I tuned them out as the thought bubble over my head showing me try on stylish raccoon gear suddenly popped and a new thought bubble opened up with me trying on a single raccoon boot and using it to stomp the little raccoon babies through the crawl space floor and into the living room as the little fuckers wondered “Why is mommy raccoon so mad at us?” with their little dying breaths. 
That thought bubble popped as I tuned into my wife instructing her mother. 
Mrs. Rah: I want you to get on the damn phone and call the people to get those raccoons out of the damn attic! 
Rah: Bullshit! I’ll be damned! 
Mrs. Rah: Bae, why don’t you just let the people handle it? 
Rah: Because the bitch didn’t bite the damn people…she bit ME. You don’t get to bite ME and be released in the wild and live happily ever after. You don’t get to bite ME and brag to all your little raccoon friends and say shit like “Yeah, girl, I bit his mothafuckin’ ass! I know…Fuck him! He won’t be coming back to this motherfucka!” I will NOT be robbed out of my raccoon boot! 
It was at that moment judging by the look on my wife’s face that I realized that she wasn’t in my head and didn’t know about my new baby stomping raccoon boot. Whatever. 
My wife had that “Ooooooooh kaaaaaaaaay” look that you give crazy people on the bus and she promptly got me to the hell Botsford hospital. 
If you have been in the military (especially overseas in the military) you can’t possibly be scared of needles. Just through regular boot camp you have to go through The Gauntlet of Shots where you stand in line, single file, with your sleeves rolled up as navy corpmen start to jab you over and over with needles in the shoulder and triceps until blood runs down your arm. I’d been vaccinated for everything from anthrax to excessive boogers… but not rabies. 
We walk up to the check-in lady, who is sitting next to a security officer, and fill out the little form and she gives me a pager as if I’m going out to eat somewhere extra fancy like Olive Garden or Red Lobster or some shit, and I go to sit down in the waiting room. My ass didn’t even hit the chair when the nurses snatched me up and rushed me to the back to check my vitals and sent me straight to a room, before my fancy pager even went off. A young female doctor came in and looked at my finger and was clearly disturbed by the look of it even though I had stopped the bleeding at that point. 
Young Doc: Does it hurt? 
Rah: No, Doc. 
Young Doc: How did this happen. 
Rah: Raccoon poisoning. 
Young Doc: I see. Are you scared of needles? 
Rah: No, Doc. 
Young Doc: A LOT of men say that, but end up passing out. 
Rah: You won’t be telling that story today, sweetheart. 
I felt my wife stirring at my side and I knew I was getting the “Don’t call this bitch ‘sweetheart’” look without even turning my head. I turned and gave her the “my finger is half-chewed off and I have rabies look.” She calmed down until the Doc left out of our little curtained-off area.  
Mrs Rah: I don’t think she knows what she’s doing. 
Rah: Why you say that, Bae? 
As if I didn’t know why. 
Mrs. Rah: Cause she just seems to young. 
Rah: I was thinking that she was young. 
Mrs. Rah: Oh, the bitch is “young,” huh? 
Rah: Crazy woman, YOU said it first…re-the-hell-lax, woman! 
Mrs. Rah: I’m just saying. Why she gotta touch your shoulder to look at your damn finger? 
Rah: Re-the-hell-lax, woman. You better stand down or you gon’ be out there with your damn momma. 
The doc came back in the curtained room, and told me they were waiting on the nurse to come back from the pharmacy with the rabies shots, but in the meantime they were going to give me some antibiotics and tetanus shots. After a while, an old nurse came in and asked me again if I was scared of frickin’ needles. I told her that needles don’t bother me, but every additional second I don’t have my raccoon boot on is starting to piss me off. My wife told her not to ask and she didn’t. She gave me twelve shots of some shit. 
The doc came back in with my rabies shots. One huge needle with 7cc of shit in it. She told me that every drop has got to go in my finger, and would I mind if some nurses watched how she did it because they never watched rabies shots before. I told them the more the merrier. Nurses started to turn away, and then leave the room, as my finger was literally inflated with medicine. 
Nurse: Oh my GOD and he’s looking at it. I gotta go. 
She must have stuck me about twenty times in my mangled trigger finger trying to find a pocket in my finger where she could push the last cc of vaccine into. 
Rah: It feels like it’s going to bust. 
Young Doc: It won’t bu--! 
Medicine squirted into the air like a high-pressure sprinkler as she jabbed the needle in from one direction and got a little close to the new opening my new soon to be boot had made. She left out the room. 
My wife leaned over and whispered. 
Mrs. Rah: Told you she was too damn young. 
I just smiled. 
She came back after she regrouped and started to rub my finger and disperse some of the medicine into my arm to make room for the last little bit. Eventually she got it in there. She gave me a schedule of my next shots in a series up until day 28. I was going to gaff the rest of them off until the doc told me that rabies is incurable, and always fatal, once the symptoms start. My boot was going to feel that much better. 
It was about midnight when I was discharged. I was walking to the truck with my phone glued to my head and I tried to get a .22 from somebody, but I kept getting the same story over and over.
Knuckleheads: I don’t have nothing that small, Deuce. How about a cannon? 
Rah: I don’t need a cannon fucker. I got cannons. I need a .22. 
Knuckleheads: Sorry, Deuce. I can find you one tomorrow. Who you beefing with that you want to bounce a .22 around in ‘em? 
Rah: *click* 
The next morning I was at Dunham’s Sporting Goods eyeballing the .22’s when I saw it….there was a high-powered pellet gun with an actual picture of a fucking raccoon on the box. That’s when I knew it was a sign from up above. 
Rah: I’ll take THAT one right the hell there! 
I went to Wal-Mart and bought a 72 pack of Alka-Seltzer, a gallon jug of ammonia and a few other special ingredients for this special day. This would be the day that The Rah would expeiencer the warm feeling of underbelly fur between his toes on one foot, followed by the helpless squeaks of baby boots for me to hang on the rear view mirror of my truck. 
But before I could enjoy the comforts of my spoils I would have to keep my wits about me and crawl into a space about 1 foot by 2 feet in an area that is too low to stand and nowhere to sit on but on the edge of 2x4’s, with the gaps filled with insulation and an over-protective raccoon mother and her babies to keep me company. This is personal for both of us. 
So I go back to Mother in Rah’s house and set up camp. I take the Coonirator 5000 and proceed to mount the scope. I remove the sight caps and dig a dime out of my pocket and go into the backyard. The have a half acre strip in Redford Township with a huge oak tree in the middle of the yard. I took up an Indian style sitting position about 36 yards out from the tree. It was particularly windy this day, and I knew that zeroing in my weapon in these conditions would throw off my shot so I would have to take great care to fire between gusts. I opened up and set up the cardboard box that the weapon came in against the tree and put a water bottle with a squirt top that my wife had the day before in front. My wife’s freakshow uncle was following me around like a puppy, asking me freakshow questions, while I worked on my breath and trigger control. 
Uncle Freakshow: What are ya doing? 
Rah: Sighting in my new toy. 
Uncle Freakshow: You aiming for that bottle? 
Rah: I’m aiming for the top. 
Uncle Freakshow: Oh. Is that going to help? 
I stopped looking through the scope and slowly tilted my head to stare at him. 
Uncle Freakshow: Right. Sorry. 
I placed the crosshairs dead center on the top of the bottle. Held my breath and with a slow, steady squeeze pulled the trigger and maintained my aim on my mark until the weapon surprised me with a sound of a half of a fire cracker. 
The whole was about eight inches to the left of the bottle and only about an inch off the ground. 
Uncle Freakshow: You weren’t even close. 
Rah: Yeah, I know. That’s why you sight your weapon in BEFORE you go into battle. You don’t want to be where the metal hits the meat and find out your sights aren’t right. 
I grabbed the dime out of my pocket and started to adjust the sights. I went four clicks up and seven clicks right. Then I waited between breezes and took another shot. I took three more shots and adjustments until the pellet hole was the exact height of the top and not even a sixteenth of an inch to the left. I made one final adjustment. 
Uncle Freakshow: You think you’re gonna get it now? 
The weapon went off and the top exploded in about 35 pieces. 
Rah: Yeah. 
Uncle Freakshow: Wooooow! That’s good shooting. 
I continued to break the barrel down, reload and fire into the bottle about ten times or more to get used to the lighter weight of this new baby toy of mine. I heard Uncle Freakshow making a low groan in excitement. I refused to look behind me to see what he was doing. Hell, I already knew he was bananas and I didn’t want to run the risk of getting any potassium in my eyes before I killed this furry bitch. 
I took the weapon in the house and grabbed a metal baking pan out of the cabinet and commenced to opening packs of Alka-Seltzer and dropping the tablets in the pan. 
Uncle Freakshow: Whatcha doing? 
Rah: Waking up the nocturnal. Get a spoon and start crushing these up. 
Uncle Freakshow: How small? 
Rah: Powder. 
While this fucker was busy I got a couple of 20 oz squirt water bottles and a small grocery bag. I pulled the corners of the bag so I could fit about four inches easily into the bottles and cut off the excess. I opened the bag while it was in the bottle and split the powder between the two bottles. I added a few other ingredients for color and twisted the bags shut. Then I filled the bottles with ammonia, twisted the bags closed and cut off the excess. Then I tightly secured the tops. 
Rah: DON’T touch these! I’ll be right back. 
Uncle Freakshow: Ok, ok, ok! 
I popped my trunk and grabbed a length of 550 cord. Then I grabbed the ladder, drill, a few 3 inch screws and went on the roof. I tied a snare and looped it over the hole that the bitch came out of. This was the only access hole out of the attic. My phone rang. 
Mrs Rah: Hey baby, are you alright? 
Rah: I‘m good. 
Mrs Rah: What are you doing? 
Rah: Making a snare for my new boot. 
Mrs Rah: I thought you were going to shoot it? 
Rah: I plan on it but if she tries to run out of the hole she’s going to be hanging by her neck off the side of the house. Then I’m going to get my knife and open her up like a furry piñata, lie on my back under her and open and close my arms and legs until I make some raccoon gut angels. 
Mrs Rah: Blaaaaaah...! *click* 
I gotta get my thrills where I can. 
I armor up and get my mom’s mirror out of the bathroom. I push the cover of the crawlspace open and stick the mirror up the hole while shining my flashlight at the mirror for a little recon. I didn’t see anything. I climb up the ladder and realize that this job is going to be pain in the ass. There are 2x4’s nailed to the roof joists every other board and even if there weren’t there it is too tight to do anything more than a low crawl. So when I see her I’m going to be face level. My raccoon pellet gun isn’t looking as sexy as I thought because it’s one shot at a time. I’m not very spiritual but I would probably doubt that this stupid gun was a sign from up above if not for the fact that I knew that next time it would probably be a lot easier to put 7 cc’s of meds in my eyeball with a lot less of a problem than my damn finger. You gotta count the small miracles. 
I use a halogen spotlight and turn it on in the direction of the hole in the roof. I don’t see anything, but I hear a low warning growl that sounds like a civil rights attack dog coming from the general direction of the hole. I take my time and get as comfortable as I can in the tight space. I span the wooden hatch across a couple of floor joists and sit on it. I fold my legs Indian style, as I was taught many moons ago, and concentrate on my breathing. If I don’t drop her I have no idea what she’s going to do in her protective state. After a few minutes her tone changed. She started making noises that sounded like a combination of high pitched squeaks and some form of exotic bird chirps. Kinda like one of those raptors in Jurassic Park. I saw her right ear bobbing up and down as she was trying to see past my spot light but still remain in the shadows. I let her get more and more comfortable peaking into the light by not making a sound. I was amazed by how well his scope worked as I maintained a perfect cross hair point on her mask. Finally she peaked around the pink insulation but still was moving her head in a circle trying to project her vision past the glare of the light. I held my breath and started the slow steady squee… 
It’s time like this in the movies where the action guys always has a snappy little diddy they like to recite just before they shoot somebody. I felt that under the circumstances it was necessary to have a go at it myself. 
Some movies have the star saying something like “Hasta la vista …baby!” or even some bible quote. I guess it’s situational. It’s times like these when I think you should feel free to express yourself by whatever motivated you to pick up a gun in the first place.
“20 bucks for a blowjob my ass, bitch!” 
“Now who’s paying to get boned, bitch?” 
“Where’s my gerbil, bitch?” 
Or whatever you want. Like I said it’s situational.  
I went with a whispered, “There’s my boot, bitch.” 
*CRACK!!!!* 
She yelped like a dog and fell back. I couldn’t see where she hit the floor because apparently she fell between the floor joists so I couldn’t get a line of sight on her, but I heard no more noise or movement. Now I gotta crawl the entire length of this damn attic to get her. I reloaded my weapon and grabbed my ammonia bombs and started the long, dusty trek across the rafters and insulation, always making sure I keep my light in front of me. That made the trip three times as long as it should have been. 
When I get to the corner she’s gone. All I see is a trail of blood leading into a small hole that leads under the roof of the front porch. There’s no damn way I’m reaching in there. There’s no damn way I can fit in there. I’m going to have to rip down half the porch ceiling to get my damn boot. Besides I‘m willing to bet the bank that’s where her little bastards are. I unscrewed one of my bottles and untwisted the bag of goodies inside and put the cap on tight. I shook it three times and instantly felt the bottle expanding in my hand. I shoved it into the hole and waited for the pressure release. 
*FOOOOOOOOOSH!!!!!!!* 
I heard a variety of different pitched squeaking and growling and hollering. My bottle crunched from inside the wall as if something had bit it and then I heard a muffled combination of a sneeze and a cough then an exhaled sniff. I heard scouring and running of what sounded like a thousand little feet all moving with no particular direction. Then raccoons started popping out from in between the side wall and the floor as if I had pulled the lever on the slot machine. These were no damn “babies,” and if they were at one time they were just as worthless as Uncle Freakshow. I counted five in all. One caught on the snare, two were shot as fast as I could reload, and finally the momma who came up short in the crawlspace over the porch. The other two ran out of the attic and are at large. Call me if you see them. I sealed up the hole and had the roof re-sheeted.