Obama Refuses To Blame Radical Atheism For Chapel Hill Murders
Yesterday, the FBI opened an inquiry into the brutal and outrageous murders of Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, Deah Shaddy Barakat, and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. In addition to the ongoing investigation by local authorities, the FBI is taking steps to determine whether federal laws were violated. No one in the United States of America should ever be targeted because of who they are, what they look like, or how they worship. Michelle and I offer our condolences to the victims’ loved ones. As we saw with the overwhelming presence at the funeral of these young Americans, we are all one American family. Whenever anyone is taken from us before their time, we remember how they lived their lives – and the words of one of the victims should inspire the way we live ours.
“Growing up in America has been such a blessing,” Yusor said recently. “It doesn’t matter where you come from. There’s so many different people from so many different places, of different backgrounds and religions – but here, we’re all one.”
As per usual, President Selfie-Stick is refusing to call this act of terror an act of terror, and failing to identify the real enemy as radical atheism. What’s different this time is that no one is demanding that he do so. When the perpetrators of violent acts are Muslims…READ MORE
Copyright 2015 Liberaland
By: Tommy Christopher
Tommy Christopher is The Daily Banter's White House Correspondent and Political Analyst. He's been a political reporter and liberal commentator since 2007, and has covered the White House since the beginning of the Obama administration, first for PoliticsDaily, and then for Mediaite. Christopher is a frequent guest on a variety of television, radio, and online programs, and was the villain in the documentaries The Audacity of Democracy and Hating Breitbart. He's also That Guy Who Live-Tweeted His Own Heart Attack, and the only person to have ever received public apologies from both Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck.
tiredoftea February 13th, 2015 at 23:02
I don’t hear southern christians decrying their ilk committing political murders and economic terrorism, why should POTUS kowtow to the ignorant idiots who enjoy the deflection of blame?
whatthe46 February 14th, 2015 at 00:08
nice
tiredoftea February 14th, 2015 at 00:02
I don’t hear southern christians decrying their ilk committing political murders and economic terrorism, why should POTUS kowtow to the ignorant idiots who enjoy the deflection of blame?
whatthe46 February 14th, 2015 at 01:08
nice
cecilia February 13th, 2015 at 23:36
“radical atheism”?
seriously?
shame on you
cecilia February 14th, 2015 at 00:36
“radical atheism”?
seriously?
shame on you
Dwendt44 February 14th, 2015 at 00:18
IF he was a ‘god hater’ he wasn’t really an Atheist.
You can’t hate what doesn’t exist.
On the whole, Atheists are much more law abiding then christians. Atheists make up about 9%-12% of the population and way less than 1% of the prison inmates.
whatthe46 February 14th, 2015 at 00:19
good points. i didn’t think of it that way.
burqa February 14th, 2015 at 21:13
Uh oh.
Facts.
People in prison claim membership in various religious sects for reasons other than personal belief:
“When I entered New York state’s prison system in 2004 to serve 10 years, I was shaved, given a number and told to check the box next to my religion. Prison guards handed me a long list of faiths: In addition to the regulars, there were Odinism, Rastafarianism, and the Nation of Gods and Earths. (The latter was once considered a gang, but years of lawsuits had turned it into a viable religious option.) Had I been honest, I would have checked the box next to “atheist.” Instead, I marked “Jewish,” reflecting my father’s heritage. …”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/i-was-an-atheist-prisoner-fringe-religions-fought-hard-for-my-soul/2015/02/06/b7ed76d4-ad7b-11e4-ad71-7b9eba0f87d6_story.html
Dwendt44 February 15th, 2015 at 01:15
Where’s the facts? One guys portrayal of his supposed actions doesn’t a trend make.
burqa February 15th, 2015 at 02:14
He speaks of others besides himself:
“… My motivation wasn’t the access to kosher meals or a desire to belong to a clan in prison, though both drive convicts’ religious affiliations behind bars. …”
This is pretty commonly found in articles about prison. I have heard the same thing from people I have known who did time.
Another motivation is some will join a group and go to Bible study, for example, in order to look better when they come up for parole. Yeah, criminals lie sometimes, no, really, they do!
searambler February 14th, 2015 at 23:23
What is a “god hater”? Someone who believes in god, but hates it for some reason?
Dwendt44 February 15th, 2015 at 01:13
Yes.
searambler February 15th, 2015 at 02:07
I didn’t realize they were a thing.
Dwendt44 February 14th, 2015 at 01:18
IF he was a ‘god hater’ he wasn’t really an Atheist.
You can’t hate what doesn’t exist.
On the whole, Atheists are much more law abiding then christians. Atheists make up about 9%-12% of the population and way less than 1% of the prison inmates.
whatthe46 February 14th, 2015 at 01:19
good points. i didn’t think of it that way.
burqa February 14th, 2015 at 22:13
Uh oh.
Facts.
People in prison claim membership in various religious sects for reasons other than personal belief:
“When I entered New York state’s prison system in 2004 to serve 10 years, I was shaved, given a number and told to check the box next to my religion. Prison guards handed me a long list of faiths: In addition to the regulars, there were Odinism, Rastafarianism, and the Nation of Gods and Earths. (The latter was once considered a gang, but years of lawsuits had turned it into a viable religious option.) Had I been honest, I would have checked the box next to “atheist.” Instead, I marked “Jewish,” reflecting my father’s heritage.
My motivation wasn’t the access to kosher meals or a desire to belong to a clan in prison, though both drive convicts’ religious affiliations behind bars. I opted in because I wanted to work for rabbis, a job that would put me in the company of educated thinkers whom I could relate to during the lonely decade I had stretching before me. …”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/i-was-an-atheist-prisoner-fringe-religions-fought-hard-for-my-soul/2015/02/06/b7ed76d4-ad7b-11e4-ad71-7b9eba0f87d6_story.html
Dwendt44 February 15th, 2015 at 02:15
Where’s the facts? One guys portrayal of his supposed actions doesn’t a trend make.
burqa February 15th, 2015 at 03:14
He speaks of others besides himself:
“… My motivation wasn’t the access to kosher meals or a desire to belong to a clan in prison, though both drive convicts’ religious affiliations behind bars. …”
This is pretty commonly found in articles about prison. I have heard the same thing from people I have known who did time.
Another motivation is some will join a group and go to Bible study, for example, in order to look better when they come up for parole. Yeah, criminals lie sometimes, no, really, they do!
Come on Dwendt44, be the icebreaker! Be the first here to take my challenge and google your local interfaith council and then google up the home pages of local churches and get back to us on the sorts of programs they are running. Here they run homeless shelters – a great blessing on a night like this where the temps are in the teens and wind chill is taking it down around zero. They also operate over 75% of the food pantries, have youth sports leagues, and collect all sorts of needed items for the poor. One church has a specific program to raise money to purchase dentists’s chairs and equipment to be sent to poor countries.
One can choose to be more than a distant spectator and get involved. It’s great to see so many doing such good things, and it’ll give you a whole new outlook on your fellow man when you get to help out and are elbow-to-elbow with these wonderful people. There are angels all around us and if you’ll look you can find them.
And if you ever find yourself in the Fredericksburg Va. area, I’ll be glad to introduce you to these people who are doing so much for those in need…..
searambler February 15th, 2015 at 00:23
What is a “god hater”? Someone who believes in god, but hates it for some reason?
Dwendt44 February 15th, 2015 at 02:13
Yes.
searambler February 15th, 2015 at 03:07
I didn’t realize they were a thing.
fahvel February 14th, 2015 at 01:21
the west has fallen victim to the abuse of the word terror. It is now used to control the population under the guise of security. Sometimes there are nut jobs, not terrorists, and shit happens. Heads out of the hole actually might allow folks to see beyond the scare propaganda.
fahvel February 14th, 2015 at 02:21
the west has fallen victim to the abuse of the word terror. It is now used to control the population under the guise of security. Sometimes there are nut jobs, not terrorists, and shit happens. Heads out of the hole actually might allow folks to see beyond the scare propaganda.
Candide Thirtythree February 14th, 2015 at 03:11
This story is all over the place, not a single shred of evidence points to a hate crime, it was over parking, he was crazy, angry, an asshole, all the neighbors disliked him because he was uber territorial etc. but he did not target them because of religion or nationality.
He had issues and snapped and now 3 people are dead and he will spend the rest of his life in jail but it was not terrorism, it was not plotted out for months or years, there is zero evidence that he planned to do it at all much less that he chose victims for a political reason.
It does not fit the definition of terrorism at all.
Calling it that solves nothing and actually makes things worse because it does not address the real cause, whatever it was that made the guy an asshole in the first place.
Budda February 14th, 2015 at 07:59
You nailed it. Simply put the guy was just an aszhole.
Dwendt44 February 14th, 2015 at 14:56
“not a single shred of evidence points to a hate crime.” I disagree. He didn’t go on a rampage until the new wife showed up in traditional Muslim clothes. That would indicate that he was totally upset with having Muslims in the building/complex.
Candide Thirtythree February 14th, 2015 at 19:56
He had been harassing them and everyone else for months if not years, it had nothing to do with how they dressed since they always dressed that way.
Dwendt44 February 15th, 2015 at 01:13
No indication of that. The men, as far as we know, dressed much like you and I do, every day clothes. When the wife moved in in traditional Muslim garb, that’s when the sh!t hit the fan.
Candide Thirtythree February 16th, 2015 at 00:16
Then he would have killed them months ago when she was visiting or even when she first moved in, months ago. He had been harassing his neighbors for years.
Dwendt44 February 16th, 2015 at 01:40
According to the story, she didn’t move in until after they married and that was when this nut case ampped up his hate.
Candide Thirtythree February 14th, 2015 at 04:11
This story is all over the place, not a single shred of evidence points to a hate crime, it was over parking, he was crazy, angry, an asshole, all the neighbors disliked him because he was uber territorial etc. but he did not target them because of religion or nationality.
He had issues and snapped and now 3 people are dead and he will spend the rest of his life in jail but it was not terrorism, it was not plotted out for months or years, there is zero evidence that he planned to do it at all much less that he chose victims for a political reason.
It does not fit the definition of terrorism at all.
Calling it that solves nothing and actually makes things worse because it does not address the real cause, whatever it was that made the guy an asshole in the first place.
Budda February 14th, 2015 at 08:59
You nailed it. Simply put the guy was just an aszhole.
Dwendt44 February 14th, 2015 at 15:56
“not a single shred of evidence points to a hate crime.” I disagree. He didn’t go on a rampage until the new wife showed up in traditional Muslim clothes. That would indicate that he was totally upset with having Muslims in the building/complex.
Candide Thirtythree February 14th, 2015 at 20:56
He had been harassing them and everyone else for months if not years, it had nothing to do with how they dressed since they always dressed that way.
Dwendt44 February 15th, 2015 at 02:13
No indication of that. The men, as far as we know, dressed much like you and I do, every day clothes. When the wife moved in in traditional Muslim garb, that’s when the sh!t hit the fan.
Candide Thirtythree February 16th, 2015 at 01:16
Then he would have killed them months ago when she was visiting or even when she first moved in, months ago. He had been harassing his neighbors for years.
Dwendt44 February 16th, 2015 at 02:40
According to the story, she didn’t move in until after they married and that was when this nut case ampped up his hate.
Jake February 14th, 2015 at 11:30
Hmm – an atheist doesn’t believe in a god. So I guess a radical atheist REALLY doesn’t believe in a god. If that is the case then I am a radical atheist.
cogitoergodavesum February 14th, 2015 at 12:04
How some religious people see atheists:
cogitoergodavesum February 14th, 2015 at 13:04
How some religious people see atheists:
Janet D'Angelo Beardsley February 14th, 2015 at 12:37
But did he do it in the name of Atheism? Did the atheist voices in his head tell him to murder?
burqa February 14th, 2015 at 21:02
Who knows? There are certainly some atheists out there who go beyond simply not having a belief there is a God or not, but who appear to think being an atheist means attacking those who do. These people are very aggressive in their hostility and seek to whip up anger and hatred, so it is natural that such a thing would follow sooner or later.
I’m not saying that is the case here, it is still early and we need to wait before coming to hard conclusions. At this point in the Michael Brown case we thought a white cop had walked up and shot him in the back while he was reaching for the sky in surrender.
StoneyCurtisll February 15th, 2015 at 00:15
I seriously doubt that his “atheism” was a motovation for the murder of those three people…
If he wanted to kill “people of faith” he could have done so long ago..
I’m sure were no shortage of ‘christians’ in his neighborhood he could have gunned down if killing religious people was his intent.
burqa February 15th, 2015 at 00:37
I have no idea what his motivation was. Somewhere along the line people got the idea they had to form conclusions on such cases instantly and then they only look at the case through that filter. So then when the facts emerge, they flounder about looking more and more ridiculous because they don’t have the sense to realize that when additional facts come in, one may need to change one’s perception as to what took place.
Me, I’m just waiting for the facts to come in and am not coming to any conclusions nor am I ruling anything out because of my personal opinion.
As to being able to kill people of faith long ago, sure, and OJ could have chosen to kill his wife long before, too. It doesn’t matter.
As to the last point, I don’t see why it should matter, either.
I feel I should be clear that in my previous post I am referring to a subset of atheists as a whole, the majority of whom I’ve found to be pretty much live-and-let-live kinda people. There is another group who have an irrational hatred to people of faith and they can barely control it. I think they are kinda like Libertarians – there are not many of them, but a handful of them on the net can make it seem as if there are more than there are.
StoneyCurtisll February 15th, 2015 at 00:49
I dont know any fellow atheist who have irrational hatred of religious people..
But who knows what this crazy fugger was thinking, cause what ever it was got him at the very least a life sentence in prison..
He isn’t going to have to worry about a parking space anymore.
Or the ‘furriners’ and ‘mooslims’ in his apartment complex.
burqa February 15th, 2015 at 01:16
We have a few of them around here. Their irrationality is seen in their inability to see, for example, that the overwhelming majority of Christians do not fit their stereotypes. seeing this irrational hatred, I have repeatedly challenged them to google up their local interfaith council and a half dozen or so local churches to get an idea of what is taking place where they live. I am sure they will find what can be seen where I live, that they are engaged in efforts to feed the hungry, house the homeless and give to the poor. But this would bust up their stereotype so they get real quiet and don’t take me up on it.
Besides being irrational, there is an aspect of obsession to it. Not only are they unable to judge the objects of their hatred by what the overwhelming majority are up to, but they can’t seem to be able to control it. Anything vaguely related to faith brings them running.
One way to see it is by looking at the characteristics of the haters on the Right and then look, and you’ll find a mirror-image of them in a few people on the Left. Not only do they say the same things (with different targets), but just as the Muslim-haters are given safe harbor on the Right, the Christian-haters are given safe haven on the Left.
Janet D'Angelo Beardsley February 14th, 2015 at 13:37
But did he do it in the name of Atheism? Did the atheist voices in his head tell him to murder?
burqa February 14th, 2015 at 22:02
Who knows? There are certainly some atheists out there who go beyond simply not having a belief there is a God or not, but who appear to think being an atheist means attacking those who do. These people are very aggressive in their hostility and seek to whip up anger and hatred, so it is natural that such a thing would follow sooner or later.
I’m not saying that is the case here, it is still early and we need to wait before coming to hard conclusions. At this point in the Michael Brown case we thought a white cop had walked up and shot him in the back while he was reaching for the sky in surrender.
But it is also reasonable to expect such a thing to result when there are people obsessively spewing hatred, especially when others around them are willing to let it slide because they agree on political issues. It perpetuates the notion that hatred of people of faith is acceptable, and extreme rhetoric leads to extreme acts.
StoneyCurtisll February 15th, 2015 at 01:15
I seriously doubt that his “atheism” was a motovation for the murder of those three people…
If he wanted to kill “people of faith” he could have done so long ago..
I’m sure were no shortage of ‘christians’ in his neighborhood he could have gunned down if killing religious people was his intent.
burqa February 15th, 2015 at 01:37
I have no idea what his motivation was. Somewhere along the line people got the idea they had to form conclusions on such cases instantly and then they only look at the case through that filter. So then when the facts emerge, they flounder about looking more and more ridiculous because they don’t have the sense to realize that when additional facts come in, one may need to change one’s perception as to what took place.
Me, I’m just waiting for the facts to come in and am not coming to any conclusions nor am I ruling anything out because of my personal opinion. You may very well be right that his atheism had nothing to do with it. Since human nature spans ideology, it is also possible it did. We just don’t know right now.
As to being able to kill people of faith long ago, sure, and OJ could have chosen to kill his wife long before, too. It doesn’t matter.
As to the last point, I don’t see why it should matter, either.
I feel I should be clear that in my previous post I am referring to a subset of atheists as a whole, the majority of whom I’ve found to be pretty much live-and-let-live kinda people. There is another group who have an irrational hatred to people of faith and they can barely control it. I think they are kinda like Libertarians – there are not many of them, but a handful of them on the net can make it seem as if there are more than there are.
But when hatred is given a green light here and in other forums by other atheists and by my friends on the Left, then we can expect somewhere along the line that acquiescence will be the straw that broke the camel’s back for some kook.
We all easily saw that when Gabriel Giffords was shot, but we are blind to it on the Left, just as many on the Right were blind to such a thing in the Giffords case.
StoneyCurtisll February 15th, 2015 at 01:49
I dont know any fellow atheist who have irrational hatred of religious people..
But who knows what this crazy fugger was thinking, cause what ever it was got him at the very least a life sentence in prison..
He isn’t going to have to worry about a parking space anymore.
Or the ‘furriners’ and ‘mooslims’ in his apartment complex.
burqa February 15th, 2015 at 02:16
We have a few of them around here. Their irrationality is seen in their inability to see, for example, that the overwhelming majority of Christians do not fit their stereotypes. seeing this irrational hatred, I have repeatedly challenged them to google up their local interfaith council and a half dozen or so local churches to get an idea of what is taking place where they live. I am sure they will find what can be seen where I live, that they are engaged in efforts to feed the hungry, house the homeless and give to the poor. But this would bust up their stereotype so they get real quiet and don’t take me up on it.
Besides being irrational, there is an aspect of obsession to it. Not only are they unable to judge the objects of their hatred by what the overwhelming majority are up to, but they can’t seem to be able to control it. Anything vaguely related to faith brings them running.
One way to see it is by looking at the characteristics of the haters on the Right and then look, and you’ll find a mirror-image of them in a few people on the Left. Not only do they say the same things (with different targets), but just as the Muslim-haters are given safe harbor on the Right, the Christian-haters are given safe haven on the Left.
Once you spot it, it will be clear from then on in.
I would prefer the RLeft and Right recognize what is in their midst, but both have blind spots. If not that, I would prefer the Right have a monopoly on this sort of hate.
Apocalypse February 14th, 2015 at 13:21
He had over 12 guns and a speed loader. He was an ammo-sexual first and foremost.
“Meanwhile, Hicks’ social media posts show that he was an ardent atheist who equally mocked Muslims and Christians, an avid defender of the Constitution’s separation of church and state, and a gun nut who posted pictures of his revolver. The Associated Press quoted neighbors who say “he always seemed angry and frequently confronted his neighbors” and “his ex-wife said he was obsessed with the shooting rampage movie Falling Down” and showed “no compassion at all.”
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/02/angry-armed-and-white-the-typical-profile-of-americas-most-violent-extremists/comments/
Apocalypse February 14th, 2015 at 14:21
He had over 12 guns and a speed loader. He was an ammo-sexual first and foremost.
“Meanwhile, Hicks’ social media posts show that he was an ardent atheist who equally mocked Muslims and Christians, an avid defender of the Constitution’s separation of church and state, and a gun nut who posted pictures of his revolver. The Associated Press quoted neighbors who say “he always seemed angry and frequently confronted his neighbors” and “his ex-wife said he was obsessed with the shooting rampage movie Falling Down” and showed “no compassion at all.”
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/02/angry-armed-and-white-the-typical-profile-of-americas-most-violent-extremists/comments/
Candide Thirtythree February 14th, 2015 at 20:28
Atheism had nothing to do with it, he was an asshole and he treated all of his neighbors badly, one of them even said it was equal opportunity anger.
Ronald L February 16th, 2015 at 11:56
>> Atheism had nothing to do with it,
Do we know that? The police say it might.
I don’t assume it. But I don’t rule it out.
There is a very angry wing of atheism.
Candide Thirtythree February 16th, 2015 at 21:35
If it was the atheism then he would not have been harassing all his neighbors, just the openly religious ones. His posts had several where he was defending Muslim’s right to build a mosque that christians were trying to block. He didn’t like any religion but it seems that he liked hypocrisy even less.
maybe he had some anxiety disorder and he freaked out, but I think he was just an angry asshole.
Candide Thirtythree February 14th, 2015 at 21:28
Atheism had nothing to do with it, he was an asshole and he treated all of his neighbors badly, one of them even said it was equal opportunity anger.
Ronald L February 16th, 2015 at 12:56
>> Atheism had nothing to do with it,
Do we know that? The police say it might.
I don’t assume it. But I don’t rule it out.
There is a very angry wing of atheism.
Candide Thirtythree February 16th, 2015 at 22:35
If it was the atheism then he would not have been harassing all his neighbors, just the openly religious ones. His posts had several where he was defending Muslim’s right to build a mosque that christians were trying to block. He didn’t like any religion but it seems that he liked hypocrisy even less.
maybe he had some anxiety disorder and he freaked out, but I think he was just an angry asshole.
StoneyCurtisll February 15th, 2015 at 00:08
Law abiding gun owning Uhmerican citizen one minute…
A cold blooded murderer the next..
Remind me again how more guns make us safer..
Ronald L February 16th, 2015 at 11:53
If you drill down into the NRA’s statistics about criminal gun usage, you find what you mention.
The vast vast majority of gun owners are law abiding citizens… until they are not!
As a non-gun owner, I see this “good guys with guns killing bad guys with guns” as a civil war in the gun owning community that might kill me in the crossfire.
StoneyCurtisll February 16th, 2015 at 12:17
Bingo~!