In this Sept. 11, 2012 photo, leader of hate group: American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), Pamela Geller, speaks at a conference she organized entitled; “Stop Islamization of America,” in New York. (AP Photo)
Garland, Texas (TFC) – Two gunmen opened fire on a security officer outside of an art exhibit in Garland, Texas. The exhibit showcased cartoon drawings of the Prophet Muhammad similar to those that prompted the Charlie Hebdo shooting. The guest list was a who’s who of politicians, pundits, and leaders who gain their support by attacking Islam. The identities of the shooters were not publicly available at the time of writing, although the media is already reporting that they were linked to the Islamic State.
Judging from the amateurish nature of the attack, the odds of the attackers being trained terrorists is slim to none. The attack took place at the end of the event as guests were leaving, which is when security presence is the highest at an event. The event was under heavy guard and the guests were not near the site of the shooting. According to reports, the gunmen approached and only one had a weapon drawn. He opened fire and struck the security guard in the leg. Police already on scene returned fire and killed him. The second gunman was shot as he reportedly reached for a backpack. The SWAT team was also already on scene. The bomb squad was called out for a suspected incendiary device in the shooters’ vehicle.
The event was put on by the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), an organization listed by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an extremist group. Pamela Geller, the executive director of the “extremist group,” was on scene and immediately began her public relations blitz. Readers will remember Geller as the woman that has attempted to block construction of a mosque, supported the English Defense League, and was denied entrance into the United Kingdom because of her affiliations. The Southern Poverty Law Center describes her as:
“Pamela Geller is the anti-Muslim movement’s most visible and flamboyant figurehead. She’s relentlessly shrill and coarse in her broad-brush denunciations of Islam and makes preposterous claims, such as that President Obama is the “love child” of Malcolm X. She makes no pretense of being learned in Islamic studies, leaving the argumentative heavy lifting to her Stop Islamization of America partner Robert Spencer. Geller has mingled comfortably with European racists and fascists, spoken favorably of South African racists, defended Serbian war criminal Radovan Karadzic and denied the existence of Serbian concentration camps. She has taken a strong pro-Israel stance to the point of being sharply critical of Jewish liberals.”
Geert Wilders, leader of the anti-Europe, anti-immigration Freedom Party. Wilders, is best known for his harsh anti-Islam rhetoric. (AP Photo)
Dutch lunatic Geert Wilders was also on scene. Wilders is an elected official that has compared the Quran to Hitler’s Mein Kampf, attempted to ban construction of mosques in his country, and advocates ending any immigration from Islamic countries. He also wants to ban the Quran in the Netherlands.
The guest list at this event was made up of individuals so inflammatory and offensive that they were, of course, targeted by opposing extremists. Those that put on the show offered $10,000 to contestants who submitted their most offensive images of Muhammad. The keynote speakers are openly attempting to suppress a religion. To Christians that support this, I would ask how you would respond if someone was attempting to ban the Bible, stop the construction of churches, and discriminate against those that share your faith. Now these people who wanted a reaction from Islamic extremists (and apparently got one) are capitalizing on the injuries of a security guard.
There are images of a tweet that appears to claim responsibility for the attack from the handle @atawakul floating around in news articles and on twitter. The account was apparently disabled immediately after the shooting.
The end result is that people who intended to suppress free speech attacked people who intend to suppress freedom of religion. In short, both the apparent intended targets and the attackers were equally scummy. The only real victim is the school security guard who was shot in the leg. The pundits, who will undoubtedly congratulate themselves on their bravery for standing up to militants from behind the hired guns of a local police department, were only victims of their own intense hatred. At the end of the day it didn’t matter if the attack was successful or it failed, society was going to be better off.
There is fodder for false flag theories, but at first glance it appears that this was simply two idiotic extremist groups colliding in an inevitable fashion. We can continue to allow people to be killed over books written 2000 years ago in the middle of the desert, or we can start ignoring these people