Political correctness is literally killing us.
Why?
Because when you refuse to name the explicit motives and reasons for systematic violence, you convey to the violent offenders that you are afraid of them.
When you convey fear to violent people, it empowers them to do more. It makes them bolder.
Look at it from the point-of-view of the terrorist. Terrorists are called that name for a reason. They wish to make people afraid; so afraid that they will give in to fear and intimidation.
This is precisely what political correctness does.
Most recent example? The shooting of Philadelphia police officer Jesse Hartnett.
A 33-year-old Philadelphia policeman, Jesse Hartnett, was ambushed late Thursday when Edward Archer, a Muslim man, reportedly tried to execute him while he was sitting in his police vehicle. Images from the incident show a man dressed in Muslim attire firing off a reported 13 rounds at officer Hartnett. The police officer was hit three times, but did not suffer life-threatening injuries and is expected to recover fully, reports said.
The mayor of Philadelphia, Jim Kenney, insists that the attempted murder of the policeman has nothing whatsoever to do with Islam.
On Friday, the mayor tweeted: “Last night’s shooting had nothing to do with any faith. It was a violent assault by a criminal. I urge all Philadelphians to stand together.”
Both the chief of police and the shooter himself beg to differ.
According to Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross, the suspect said he had committed the attempted execution in the name of the Islamic State, the jihadi terrorist insurgent group that controls territory in the Middle East.
“According to him [the shooter], police bend laws that are contrary to the teachings of the Quran,” said Commissioner Ross.
Imagine if someone shot a police officer in the name of white supremacy. Or if someone shot a gay/lesbian police officer in the name of anti-gay hostility. In such a case, the mayor would not hesitate to condemn the shooter for his explicit ideology as much, if not more, than for the shooting itself. The mayor would not say, “It isn’t about racism (or homophobia); it’s about guns.”
It’s almost comical, in a dark sort of way, to watch these “progressive,” politically correct officials when something happens. “It’s not about Islam! It’s not about Islam!” they reflexively scream. “It’s only about guns. It’s only about guns!”
Do they think saying a falsehood over and over again will somehow make it true? This break from reality represents insanity, in its own way, as much as the delusions of the killers themselves.
It’s as if the politically correct actually believe that if we simply took guns away from peaceful people, these militant Muslims would suddenly be unable and unwilling to launch attacks on Christmas parties, police officers or skyscrapers. The violence would stop, right then and there.
Interestingly, if someone shot a police officer because of white or antigay bigotry, this very same mayor would want the shooter prosecuted under “hate crime” laws. I don’t agree, because the government should only be prosecuting people for their actions, not for their ideas, however irrational those ideas might be.
Yet in the case of people killing in the name of Islam, we would never consider hate crime laws. If anything, you face legal threats from the federal government if you even criticize Islam aloud. Obama’s Attorney General, remember, wants to do just that.
It’s not about Islam? Then what in the world is it about, then?
In July, this same Philadelphia mayor signed a “pledge to combat bigotry” at the Al-Aqsa Islamic Society. The pledge was created by the Arab American Institute, an anti-Israel organization that seeks to promote Arab politicians for higher office. In signing the pledge, Kenney, agreed to combat criticism of Islam, and to “speak out” against “Islamophobia.”
Ah, there it is. For the mayor, it is about Islam — only he’s on Islam’s side.
Officer Jesse Hartnett, 33, was reportedly hit three times in the left arm on Thursday night and suffered “some very serious injuries that will require multiple surgeries,” police Commissioner Richard Ross told reporters.
Despite being seriously injured and bleeding heavily, the veteran officer got out of his patrol car and shot the assailant in the buttocks, Ross said. The gunman was apprehended by other officers, Ross said.
It’s not politically correct, but this is the kind of self-asserting, determined mindset that will defeat Islamic terrorism. First, you have to be willing to call it by its real name. The killers keep doing so. When will the rest of us?
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