Should NYU faculty and their dependent children receive full tuition remission?
It's been 40 years since the Stonewall Riots. Annise Parker, an open lesbian, is in a run-off election to become mayor of Houston, Texas. Last month, 75,000 people gathered in Washington, D.C. for the National Equality March to demand gay rights.
Well, 40 years, multiple anti-discrimination laws and tens of thousands of passionate people later, intolerance still manages to slither into even the most liberal communities. On Monday, Nov. 4, an East Village taxi driver kicked Paul Bruno and his partner out of his cab after catching the heathen couple in the ribald act of — prepare yourself — hugging. Filthy, I know. The driver, Medhat Mohamed screamed, "You guys have to get out of the taxi! Hugging is not allowed in here!" leaving the stunned lovers on the street after only two blocks. To make things even more peachy, Taxi and Limousine Commission spokesman Allan Fromberg told the New York Post that the commission "would take such an allegation very seriously and fully investigate." Then, they labeled the offense simply as "service refusal," resulting in a $200 to $500 fine. Thanks, Allan.
Still, possibly the most upsetting part of this whole brouhaha is the comments left by several readers on the article posted by the New York Post, a publication that harbors readers that apparently can't stomach gays and beatniks. One states, "Ride the gay taxi next time if you're not happy. A bunch of AIDs [sic] breeders," while another reads, "HA HA, MAINE VOTED DOWN GAY MARRIAGE. NOWHERE IN AMERICA WILL IT PASS BY VOTERS. MASSACHUSETTS MUST HAVE A VOTE BY THE PEOPLE NOT LESBO [sic] JUDGES!!" And so on.
I come from Orange County, California, where people comment on how thin my Asian eyes are and throw around the phrase "You're so gay" to refer to something stupid. So when I came to New York City, it felt as if the thoughts that were once stifled beneath layers and layers of my terrified heart were liberated. Now, after escaping the insipid and passive-aggressive intolerance of the suburbs, it pains me to have to be reminded that hate, no matter where we go, is constantly existing and painfully vivid.
The taxi driver's actions, the commission's indifference, the mockery in the online comments: These are acts of violence. The perpetrators treat homosexuals as if they were fiends that do not deserve either respect or peace. That is brutality. That sort of abuse is offensive to victims, their family and friends, and all LGBT individuals. It is offensive to me, a heterosexual woman, for I am human and I know how difficult it is just to live with discrimination. It breaks my heart to watch my gay friends just shake their heads and laugh upon hearing this news. They aren't surprised. The fact that they expect it is tragic; no one should expect to be mistreated. I am appalled that these offenses still occur in this day and age, in my community and augur the potential of the same happening to my peers.
The Taxi and Limousine Commission needs to take this situation seriously. They must enforce strict retribution to the driver and offer the affronted couple an apology and compensation. Unfortunately, complete equality and respect for all people will probably never come; still, we must confront these issues day by day, no matter how small the situation may seem and try as hard as we can to fight prejudice and injustice.
Ali
Nov 09, 2009
8:55 a.m.
Youmi,
What you've left out of the article is the religion of the taxi driver. The reason the gay couple were evicted from the cab was because they were gay and because Islam has no place in it for gays.
Islam is intolerant (not tolerant as they tell us) as the following short video shows quite clearly:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qxjocm5fCc
PS. Youmi, only if you have the time you might find it worthwhile to look into Muslim taxi drivers and alchohol. This became a pretty big issue in Minneapolis where Muslim cabbies were refusing entry to anyone who was drinking or anyone who flew into Minneapolis and was carrying closed bottles of alcohol, such as gifts of wine.
NYUTA student
Nov 09, 2009
5:59 p.m.
Ali--
As soon as I read this article I knew that someone was probably going to see the cab driver's name and either assume that he was a Muslim (if they didn't know the story, and I'm assuming that you know the facts about that) or know that he was a Muslim and point this out. You should have also pointed out that the comments left on the official article reporting the story were most likely written by at least some Christians, the dominant religion in the United States. You should have also made a point that all of the major religions (Abrahamic and Far Eastern) and even most of the smaller religions of the world hold in their most widely perceived ideologies at least some intolerance towards homosexuality based on doctrine, ideological, and societal reasons. But no. Like most people in this country you single out the most targeted religion here. I'm not saying that the cab driver wasn't horrifyingly wrong, nor am I saying that his religion probably didn't have any impact on the development of his values and his intolerance towards gays. But acknowledge that, first, there are always tolerant and understanding people within every religion, including Islam, and even many who choose to reconcile seemingly absolutely and definitively non-accepting religions like Islam with their homosexuality (maybe look into seeing "A Jihad for Love"). By singling out Islam in this stereotypical way, you perpetrate what you rally against: intolerance and fear.
Ali
Nov 09, 2009
9:48 p.m.
It was made clear in the video I pasted above that all religions perceive homo sexuality in a negative light. But what was also made clear in the video is no religion other than Islam condones torturing and killing homo sexuals. (You might want to watch the video again in case you missed this.)
It is also not the least bit surprising that the cabbie who kicked out the gay couple was a Muslim. It is like the Fort Hood killer in this "to be expected" drumbeat of Muslim intolerance and murderous mayhem.
I do get tired of people like you trying to muddy the waters; to obfuscate about the obvious. I am not one to say Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists and Atheists do not commit awful crimes. They do. And they do so every single day. But none of these religions condone cruelty, sadism, and murder as Islam does. Mohammed was a killer, rapist and warrior. Buddha was not. Jesus was not.
It is for these reasons that every day when we turn on the news we hear about another Islmaist bombing another mosque or another church or synagogue. How many days a week do we read about another Muslim decapitating a school principal as was done yesterday in the Phillipines, or of another Muslim nation committing genocide in the name of Islam as is being done in Sudan and Somalia today.
I get tired of people like you trying to disguise what is real, what is the reality that is Islam.
When Muslim cabbies in Minneapolis go to court to insist they have the legal right to not pick up passengers with their seeing eye dogs or with gift bottles of wine, it does not do anyone any good to pretend this is not unique to Muslim cab drivers. Do they think we should bend to their rules? Last I checked this is America, and if a blind person needs to take a cab and needs to bring his companion dog with him then damnit this is what happens in America. I may sound like a close minded bigot, but if a Muslim cabbie does not want to play by OUR rules then maybe he should drive a cab in The Islamic Republic of Iran instead.
What you are doing is no different than those who are creating convoluted theories as to why the Muslim Major murdered 13 people yesterday. He clearly did it because he believed Islam condoned his behavior. He said as much on several different occassions. The following short audio says without any equivocation how some Muslims believe killing non-Muslims is hunky-dorey. Unlike you, this Muslim does not pull any punches:
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2009/11/muslim-at-islamic-community-of-greater-killeen-texas-i-honestly-have-no-pity-for-victims-of-the-fort.html
Andrew
Nov 09, 2009
9:55 p.m.
Ali, do you have any ties at all to NYU or are you just some Islamophobic troll who wandered onto this website?
I'm sure if you ask any gay American who represents the biggest danger to their rights "Muslims" would be near the bottom of their list. Last time I checked, the Taliban wasn't arresting people in the US for sodomy, murdering Matthew Shepard, or passing laws making it legal to discriminate based on sexual orientation.
Ali
Nov 10, 2009
9:01 a.m.
Andrew,
You are right. My comments did not directly relate to Youmi's fine article.
As to your specific comment. I think if you were to do some open-minded research on Islam and the reason Islam is the cause of 90+% of terrorist acts and inter-country conflicts, why Islam's treatment of minorities including homo sexuals is far, far worse than the West's less than stellar record, you will find that I am anything but an Islamophobe, but am simply conveying the facts.
In any case I appreciate your comments and apologize for reading more into Youmi's article than was intended.
Andrew
Nov 10, 2009
12:41 p.m.
What the hell. Just admit you completely made those numbers up. Did you know that by far the most suicide bombings were comitted by Hindus? How many terrorist attacks did Muslims commit in Ireland during The Troubles?
Whoa, you're right! I just realized that 100% of Wars America decided to fight are now are with Muslim countries! Clearly Islam is at war with the West.
I don't think anyone in Congress is advocating that we base treatment of homosexuals on Shariah. Good straw man though. They are however, trying to base it off the Old Testament.
Again, do you have any connection with NYU? Also, people would take your arguments more seriously if they didn't come from radical right-wing blogs like jihadwatch.
Ali
Nov 11, 2009
4:21 p.m.
"..would take your arguments more seriously if they didn't come from radical right-wing blogs like Jihadwatch."
Have you taken a poll on whether people take me seriously or is it you who is making up numbers on the fly?
"Did you know that by far the most suicide bombings were committed by Hindus?"
Can you provide independent backing for this? What I do know is that in our lifetime there is no question what religious group has been responsible for the lion's share of suicide bombings.
"How many terrorist attacks did Muslims commit in Ireland...?"
Talk about a "straw man". This is silly. As an aside, how many people did the IRA kill or wound in total comapred to the numbers from any given month related to Muslim acts of terrorism?
"Clearly Islam is now at war with the West."
According to the Koran Islam is at war with all unbelievers. It is the Koran's words, not mine.
"I don't think anyine in Congress....They are however, trying to base it off the Old Testament."
No argument here, and this is pretty much consistent with what I've already written, but if you read my comments and watch the videos it is impossible not to notice the glaring difference between the words of The Old Testament and The Koran. The Old Testament looks negatively about homosexuality but does not recommend torturing AND killing homosexuals. Do you not consider that a pretty profoud difference. I know that if I were gay, I would.
sean murray
Nov 09, 2009
1:26 p.m.
Youmi- this was an extremely touching and relevant article. Thank you for writing this.
Peter S.
Nov 09, 2009
3:58 p.m.
I agree wholeheartedly, but looking to the NY Post as a representative sample of America is pretty inadvisable (I hope). It's a sounding board for the most vile, racist, bigoted, disgusting nonsense you'll read on something that mainstream
Andrew
Nov 10, 2009
12:42 p.m.
I just wanted to add that Youmi's article was really good and there's no way of knowing that the cab driver wasn't an Atheist or some other religion.
Ali
Nov 10, 2009
3:59 p.m.
Andrew,
We are in agreement. Youmi wrote a thoughtful article.
You are also right. The cabbie could have been most anything, even a Menonite.
That said you also know --whether you want to admit it-- that it is statistically highly likely the cabbie is a Muslim. This is because, first, lots of cabbies are Muslim. It may not be "PC" to ackonwledge this, but it's kind of like saying 90+% of great long distance runners are black. It is simply stating what is true.
So, you and I both understand most cabbies are Muslim assuming we're both willing to acknowledge reality. Secondly, most Muslims are completely intolerant of homo sexuals. I encourage you to actually watch this short video which shows clearly how deep seated Muslim hatred for homo sexuals is. I cannot imagine a Christian conservative Priest saying what the Iman says in this video without getting in serious trouble, but in Islam this is not the least bit looked down upon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qxjocm5fCc
Andrew
Nov 10, 2009
7:26 p.m.
How about you answer some of my original questions. I have no interest in watching random youtube videos; I'm aware that Islam LIKE EVERY SINGLE OTHER RELIGION IN THE WORLD has issues with homosexuality. Clearly some people are able to speak up on it because literally every single one of your posts on nyunews is a link to some random youtube video or jihadwatch. Did your girlfriend leave you for a Muslim guy or something? Why do you have such a pathological obsession? Quit acting like you care about the rights of homosexuals when you can't even spell the word and are just using it as a shroud to spew links to Islamaphobic websites and random youtube videos.
Ali
Nov 11, 2009
6:59 p.m.
Andrew wrote, "Did you know that by far the most suicide bombings were comitted by Hindus?"
Andrew, how can you expect to be taken seriously when you make statements like this without providing any mateerial to back it up. Every single day we read about another Islamic terrorist attack but I cannot remember the last time I read about a Hindu flying a plane into a high rise or blowing himself up while targeting tourists in a Mumbai hotel. Nor can I remember the last time I read about Hindus beheading a journalist or a civilian contractor while reading verses from the Upanishads.
It is becoming increasingly clear you are a snake oil salesman for Islam.
It has been my experience that people who make claims that "feel" outlandish and do not support the claims with any supporting documents then it is a good guess the claim is BS. Unless you provide supporting information on Hindus committing "...by far the most suicide bombings..." then I am left to believe you will make up whatever you think you can "sell" to win an argument. I call that deceit.
You do know Mohammed said "War is deceit", eh?
Xinjiang
Nov 13, 2009
4:29 p.m.
"Every single day we read about another Islamic terrorist attack but I cannot remember the last time I read about a Hindu flying a plane into a high rise or blowing himself up while targeting tourists in a Mumbai hotel."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_Tigers
"I cannot imagine a Christian conservative Priest saying what the Iman says in this video without getting in serious trouble, but in Islam this is not the least bit looked down upon."
http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/09/14/Falwell.apology/
You can stop being a really poor troll at any time
Ali
Nov 17, 2009
10:21 a.m.
Dear Andrew (pretending you're Xinjiang),
I'm sorry to inform you that you've taken last place in the "Moral Equivalency Contest".
(Before I respond to your comment can I ask you why would you picked a name that represents a region in the world where the Islamic terrorist organization The East Turkestan Islamic Movement carries out its Jihadist activities? Doing so seems to refute your argument from the get-go.)
In any case let me help you make your case against your own point of view. :)
If you are suggesting the small and isolated Tamil civil war is similar to the world-wide Islamic Jihad against all non-muslims than you really are nothing more than a con-man working for Islam. I seriously doubt many people lose sleep worrying about whether the Tamil Tigers will fly an airplance into a high rise, or blow up commuters in trains, or kill more of our enlisted men at American military bases. Do you? Last time I'd heard about a Tamil Tiger planning a terrorist attack against an American football stadium or shopping mall was in a dream. Do you live in a dream world?
And for you to compare Falwell's stupid comments to what Muslim clerics say everyday is an equally inane comparison. Here is an Muslim cleric encouraging Muslims to torture and kill homosexuals, a far cry from what Falwell said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qxjocm5fCc
and here is a Muslim cleric calling for the murder of a Dutch politician who has the courage to criticize Islam:
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2009/10/uk-muslim-protesters-threaten-geert-wilders-well-have-his-head.html
and here is a Muslim cleric calling for the genocide of Jews:
http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/2261.htm
It has become increasingly clear to me that you are not interested in an open, honest exchange. Your interest is in running interference for Islam; for prettying up Islam's endlesss acts of ugliness. So be it.
I'm not going anywhere and plan on being here for a while. Playing off your insipid comments is like shooting fish in a barrel, and I want to thank you for contributing to helping me get the word out about the true face of Islam. Your contributions are invaluable.
Xinjiang
Nov 19, 2009
9:33 a.m.
trolling the internet comments of a college you have no affiliation with is a great use of your time and could not be better used spending time with your kids/friends/etc
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