Comments on First Born Son: alien (un)intelligence

omar, we need to hang out sometime soon so that yo...

2008-11-17T23:05:00.000-05:00

omar, we need to hang out sometime soon so that you DON'T keep your mouth closed at these opportune moments.

btw, Teacher Man - great book!

oh my! you are going to be a daddy!?!?! POST!!

2008-09-02T11:06:00.000-04:00

oh my! you are going to be a daddy!?!?!

POST!!

Hello, are you still alive out there? You could at...

2008-08-31T20:42:00.000-04:00

Hello, are you still alive out there? You could at least put up a post about being a daddy in a few months. Seriously!

Seriously?

2008-08-23T00:06:00.000-04:00

Seriously?

Crazy is as crazy does! in the revamped revised a...

2008-07-26T21:37:00.000-04:00

Crazy is as crazy does! in the revamped revised and rewritten almost words of Forrest Gump!

Ignorance truly is bliss for I can say, without too much stereotyping, since I am most likely from similar background, ethnicity, and class as a white, male, middle class son of a Coal mover for a Powerplant in Central Pennsylvania.

I must say you showed amazing restraint and at the same I wonder what you could have said being the outsider to them. This reminds me what I am supposed to do, to stand up against racism, classism, foreignism, classifications that hurt instead of help and lead to stereotypes and worse... At least my responsibility since I seem to be able to be tolerated if not listened to for calling out people of similar backgrounds as mine for poor behavior...

It was not long ago I was standing in a bathroom slinging slurs without a second thought and I would argue maybe even without a first thought....

But keep up the faith my brother for even though I may never really know what you are going through you are in my prayers and the prayers of everyone I know as I share your story, without your name, and ask for your uplifting.

God bless,
Corben

Gas is so high because the Middle East can charge ...

2008-07-16T15:14:00.000-04:00

Gas is so high because the Middle East can charge whatever they want and America will pay for it. The solution is to drill in new places like our own soil, or the Pacific Ocean. I am very sorry that you had to incounter such rude uninformed people at the Truck place. The media wants to make everyone thing that it's the citizens fault about gas issues, when it's really the government. Buy anyways, This was a great story. Thanks for sharing it.

Rev. Omar - you've come a long way since Costa Ric...

2008-06-17T12:44:00.000-04:00

Rev. Omar - you've come a long way since Costa Rica! But then we all have.
I found your blog but sheer coincidence, googling "sword drill". A small world it is.

Speaking of small world,
I think that poor, uninformed couple are like many who rely on mass media to help them form opinions about the world around them - a world they never really see. It is unfortunate. But I admire the strength of your character, in your silence, just listening.
Think about how shell shocked that couple would have been if you told them the last three sentences of your blog account!

Your story does not surprise me as our society has...

2008-06-13T16:59:00.000-04:00

Your story does not surprise me as our society has accepted peoples views like those individuals at your car repair shop. I think that the Lord used your silents to show all of us who are reading who are thinking " I would have said this or that" or gotten into it with those people. Your silents showed me that having restraint in some situations the Lord puts us in is key. Maybe being the quiet one was to show later here "in your blog" your actions were of God not an anger minister ranting at people that have different views than others. Thanks for being Gods vehical in all this. I really like your blog as well.

I wonder where all their ancestors came from, the ...

2008-06-09T14:41:00.000-04:00

I wonder where all their ancestors came from, the people in the waiting room...

I also wonder if the old man and the wife of the couple were biting their tongue as well, or silently agreeing...

Dude

2008-06-06T16:37:00.000-04:00

Dude

Sadly, the "anti-illegal immigrant" sentiment is s...

2008-05-30T21:06:00.000-04:00

Sadly, the "anti-illegal immigrant" sentiment is simply xenophobia rebranded. Scratch the surface of most people who believe this way and you will find that they do not really bother to make the distinction of legal versus illegal immigrants.

Politicians love these "causes" as they play on the basic fears of the people, and like gruel, are easily digested.

As an immigrant, this is the sort of attitude that really makes my blood boil, especially this close the Memorial Day. None of these people seem to realize that non-citizens have shed blood for this country, and even as we speak, there are foreigners in American uniforms serving our country. In 2005, there were 39,000 immigrants in uniform who had not yet received their citizenship, and 59 of them gave their lives in battle on behalf of the ignorant citizens you describe.

My own family fought and bled side by side with American soldiers in World War II.

And yet, we have people like this, and people who openly dare to say only someone who is a "full-blooded American" can truly love this country and be a patriot.

That's why I left Arkansas and moved to NYC.

2008-05-15T13:39:00.000-04:00

That's why I left Arkansas and moved to NYC.

Wow. I have to say I laughed when you wryly noted ...

2008-05-15T09:48:00.000-04:00

Wow. I have to say I laughed when you wryly noted it wasn't the time to mention your father.

I wish I could say it was limited to the state you live in, or the region - but I fear that kind of sentiment isn't just in the backhills.

I hate being so angry that I won't let myself speak for fear of saying too much. But I urge you - and it isn't your responsibility to bear the burden of others' stupidity - I urge you to consider a quiet response when you encounter this kind of situation. They needed to know that you - who you are - was sitting in the room with them. I hate thinking maybe they guessed. But either way, next time, I hope you call them out, gently but firmly. And I fear that there probably will be a next time.

Omar, I think you might be better than that.It's p...

2008-05-13T23:01:00.000-04:00

Omar, I think you might be better than that.
It's past time you were defined less by the morons around you. Grow some rhino-skin and move to higher ground.

In all your unconfortable situations, imagine yourself an adult German immigrant during WWII. Whose homeland was bombed literally into the Stone Age.

I love my quasi immigrant

2008-05-13T22:54:00.000-04:00

I love my quasi immigrant

Wow. I think that I would have been dumbstruck as...

2008-05-13T22:45:00.000-04:00

Wow. I think that I would have been dumbstruck as well. I thought that I had heard it all, but apparently, I was wrong.

I don't know what anyone could say to people like that. Do they really hate "foreigners" that much or are they just that ignorant? Would someone pointing out that among other things, the price of gas isn't driven by foreigner's gas usage--whatever quantity that is make any difference? Have they really thought this through? Maybe it's just easier to throw the blame onto another group than to face what the actual issues are.

I don't know, but if you find a way to speak the truth in a situation like this in a productive way, let me know, okay? I usually get so angry and turn purple and don't say anything, which is very good in one sense, but I always wish that I could say the right thing.

I am amazed that you manage to stay silent in so m...

2008-05-13T11:38:00.000-04:00

I am amazed that you manage to stay silent in so many of these situations...

They may have realized their ignorance if you had ...

2008-05-13T09:43:00.000-04:00

They may have realized their ignorance if you had pointed out that you were not only a citizen but an educated and hard-working minister. I wonder if any of them would call themselves Christian and if so, how they might have reacted to such a statement? Who knows? Crazy how people act sometimes.