Greek Orthodox priest guilty of "looking Arabic"
The Islamophobes have been praying to cash in on the Ft. Hood Shootings, hoping that it will result in a backlash against Muslims. It seems this backlash is right on schedule: Jason D. Bruce, a Marine reservist, physically assaulted a Greek Orthodox priest, mistaking him for an Arab (and thus a terrorist, since we all know that Arab = terrorist); the Tampa Bay Times reports:
Tampa police: Marine reservist attacked Greek priest he mistook for terrorist
By Alexandra Zayas and Demorris A. Lee, Times Staff Writers
In Print: Wednesday, November 11, 2009TAMPA — Marine reservist Jasen Bruce was getting clothes out of the trunk of his car Monday evening when a bearded man in a robe approached him.
That man, a Greek Orthodox priest named Father Alexios Marakis, speaks little English and was lost, police said. He wanted directions.
What the priest got instead, police say, was a tire iron to the head. Then he was chased for three blocks and pinned to the ground — as the Marine kept a 911 operator on the phone, saying he had captured a terrorist.
The “Arabic [sic] looking” victim ended up in the hospital, and Jason D. Bruce “pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery.” When he learned that the priest was a not an Arab infidel but a God-fearing “Greek Orthodox priest,” Bruce “teared up.” Oopsie doopsie.
Hat tip: ThinkProgress.org
November 12th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
Still trying to understand what was threatening about a man asking for directions. Maybe the fact of a man asking for directions seemed so unnatural to the he-man Marine reservist that he just knew the guy was a terrorist, and right in the middle of a terrorist operation!
November 12th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Condolences to this poor man, a victim of hatred.
Kind of makes you want to get your hands on the perpetrators and give them a taste of their own medicine.
November 12th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
May be this is another Muslim attack on a Jew, but you lunatics put a different spin of your own on it!
November 12th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
LB: maybe you have no reading comprehension skills whatsoever.
November 13th, 2009 at 3:33 am
or maybe LB is hilariously being sarcastic…
After getting hit upside the head, the priest ran for three blocks! That takes some stamina…or just fear!
November 13th, 2009 at 3:38 am
Danios, I was wondering if your team could please write up an article, when you’ll can, ’bout the crazy loon behind faithfreedom.org who goes by the online name of Ali Sina. With his deceptive ways, the guy’s managed to hoodwink hundreds of people in target audiences in India, Malaysia and Indonesia who swallow everything he says hook, line and sinker…
November 13th, 2009 at 9:35 am
iSherif, Ali Sina from faithfreedom.org is an atheist ex Shia Iranian.
There is already one website on the internet that is dedicated to rebuttting his lies, and that website is
faithfreedom.com
It’s a pity the founders of that website didn’t call it something like rebuttingfaithfreedom.com because Ali Sina’s website is faithfreedom.org, and the one that exposes his lies has the same name only it ends in .com
November 13th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
this guy is scum.
March 3rd, 2010 at 12:27 am
The idiotic right-wing morons in this country have shown their pathetic cowardice yet again! These “patriots” can’t be bothered with REALITY, they just ATTACK any and everything that’s different.
I thank my Mother endlessly for doing me a huge favor:
1) not shoving a religion down my throat;
2) not shoving a political party down my throat;
More people should try this! Figure out what you believe based on reason and your experiences instead of what Mommy, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity or Glen “Klown” Beck TOLD YOU TO THINK…..