I am sorry this thread was derailed by a discussion on Muslims. This was partially my fault as I made a comment about some very hateful racist things some one posted on my Facebook feed. It was actually a comment on racism, but not a comment about Muslims, so I don't know why anyone would bring that into the discussion. I generally try to stay out of the threads on Muslims, but since this has been raised, I feel I have to respond.
Of course rapists must be dealt with, I don't think anyone would question that, but it makes me sad that people have become so intolerant and hateful towards anyone simply because of their race, religion or sexual orientation. There are millions of Muslims, of course some of them are going to be evil, bad, horrible people and it's true that some Muslim cultures treat women very badly. But I still don't believe that we must condemn every Muslim simply because of their religion.
I think people have become fearful, as people are always fearful of those that are different and that fear makes them intolerant. I think those fears have some basis in fact, but the danger is greatly exaggerated. Anytime you have any large group of immigrants you will have issues, sometimes serious issues. I don't know what the solution is, but I know the solution is not hatred, that just makes things worse.
As Jehovah's Witnesses we were often looked down upon by others because of our religion, we all know what that is like, it didn't feel good . Of course now we know our former religion was a bunch of lies and did not help us or make us better people, but that did not make US bad or evil, just mistaken, we all tried to do the best we could with what we thought to be true at the time. Still, we did things that are wrong, like shunning others, and we even would have let our own children die because of what our leaders told us to do. I imagine most Muslims are just doing what they have been raised to believe is the right thing also and their religion is also just part of who they are.
But obviously I am in the minority on this issue, I've tried to avoid the subject, but it's impossible, so I think it's best if I take a break from this place for a while and focus on more positive things in my life.