Vincent Truman

Vincent Truman
Location
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Title
Writer
Bio
Vincent Truman was born as the third of two children. He currently lives in Chicago, Illinois, with his pet peeves. Truman was head writer and director for the critically acclaimed (and occasionally disdained) Suspicious Clowns comedy troupe from 2001 to 2007. He has written three plays to date: "Ensemble" (2000), "Remote" (2006) and "The Tearful Assassin" (2008). Truman has produced two books, a Sedaris-styled collection of stories entitled "Ugly Bungalow" and the cartoon-only tome, "This Is My First Time So Please Be Brutal." Both titles are available through amazon.com and various other less reputable websites.

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AUGUST 26, 2010 11:20AM

Unmosqued!

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In order to fully convey my own position here, I have to disclose the following: when I heard the term ‘Ground Zero Mosque’, my first thought was ‘how dare they!’  Quickly on the heels of this notion were feelings of disdain, the indignation of being insulted, not to mention out-and-out pissed off. Slowly, the facts revealed themselves to me through a series of articles, editorials and, most importantly, NY-based friends.  
  • It’s not a mosque, it’s a community center (“Park51”).
  • It’s not at Ground Zero, nor can it be seen from Ground Zero.
  • Park51 is to be built in a building that used to house a Burlington Coat Factory, but which has been abandoned for nearly a decade.
  • Other buildings just as close or closer to Ground Zero as Park51 include: a place for off-track betting, McDonald’s, Burger King, Dunkin Donuts, a Vitamin Shoppe, and the famous New York Dolls Gentleman’s Club.
  • The fellow behind Park51, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, is a noted advocate for religious tolerance and has been supported and funded by both the Bush and Obama Administrations to promote religious tolerance in potential “hot spots” all over the world.
  • The same fellow was invited to and spoke at the memorial service for Daniel Pearl, the journalist who was executed by Islamic extremists in Pakistan.
 Even as the facts came rolling in slowly, a few other ideas re-introduced themselves to me: 
  • The US is proud of its freedoms, including freedom of religion and expression, two things that are purposefully absent in intolerant and disrespectful countries.
  • Osama bin Laden, who, as far as I know, is not investing in Park51, has gone on record numerous times advocating no tolerance of other beliefs, including any attempt at creating societies with co-existing belief systems. 
 And, finally, from my fellow satirists, both known and unknown, came a series of joke articles that helped inch the proposition well into perspective.  The texts of these articles are, happily, neatly summed up in their titles: 
  • “Protest Over Mall to be Built Near Native American Hallowed Ground”
  • “Furor Over Church to be Built Near Day-Care Center”
  • “Outrage Over Plans to Build Library Next to Sarah Palin”
 Taking all of the above in (and the above barely scratches the surface; see links below for more insightful information), there’s no way I could find myself in opposition to Park51.  Sure, I am not a fan of religion or its practices, but I am less a fan of censorship, xenophobia, bigotry and willful ignorance. I look forward to my next sojourn to NYC when Park51 is complete.  I will no doubt want to go there, do some shopping and play some basketball.  And, kids, this is the most important bit: the terrorists won’t win. 

 

Really good links:“Taking Bin Laden’s Side” by Nicholas Kristof, New York Times [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/opinion/22kristof.html?src=me&ref=general]“How FOX Betrayed Petraeus” by Frank Rich, New York Times [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/opinion/22rich.html]“Three Reasons the Ground Zero Mosque Debate Makes No Sense”, by a writer for Cracked.com [mirror link: http://aznor99.wordpress.com/2010/08/20/three-reasons-the-ground-zero-mosque-debate-makes-no-sense/]  

Author tags:

ground zero, mosque, new york, nyc, 911, park51, opinion, vincent truman, chicago, politics, sarah palin, library, manhattan, new york times

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Here's another one for you, the financial backer of Park 51 is Saudi prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, who also is the second largest shareholder in faux "news". So if Park 51 is the basis of the next terrorist attack then so is 1211 Avenue of the Americas
New York NY 10036.
ocularnervosa
August 26, 2010 11:44 AM
I am impressed that you got past your initial reaction, many haven't.
Anthony Duval
August 26, 2010 02:09 PM