December 1, 2016

I read "I interviewed the Ohio State attacker on the first day of school. It felt important. Now it’s chilling" so you don't have to.

It's December 1st, so this link to The Washington Post won't hit the paywall, but consider whether you want to use your free access to read "I interviewed the Ohio State attacker on the first day of school. It felt important. Now it’s chilling." The "I" is an Ohio State student named Kevin Stankiewicz.

There's something irksomely twee about the headline. Is there really anything that once was "important," or is Stankiewicz humbly revealing that it felt important to him at the time? Is there anything about the text of the interview that is "chilling," or is it just supposed to be chilling to have access to some words from a man who later did something evil? That's what I'm wondering as I set out to read this on the theory that you're cagey about the WaPo paywall or you prefer Althouse reprocessings or both.

Stankiewicz needed material for the "Humans of Ohio State" feature in the student newspaper and he chose Abdul Razak Ali Artan because he was: 1. the first person he saw, and 2. sitting alone. Artan,  "surprised" to be chosen, was "friendly," open, "thoughtful," and "engaged."

Stankiewicz chose to focus on the problem Artan said he had praying on campus: He wanted to pray publicly, but "I was scared with everything going on in the media." According to Stankiewicz, Artan "ticked off examples of Islamophobia that garnered media attention." (The word "garnered" sets off my bullshit detector.) Artan claimed to worry that he might be shot if he prayed openly.

The interview was on August 23rd, and the summary of the interview ran in the student newspaper a few days later. That is, Artan began the semester surrounded by many students who'd read the piece and were probably moved to feel sympathetic toward him. There was a photograph of the distinctive-looking young man, enabling students to act upon a desire to help him feel included. I'd be interested in hearing from students who read the piece and, especially, students who interacted with Artan after feeling sympathetic because they believed he was sad, feeling like an outsider.

But we only hear from Stankiewicz, who tells us how he felt talking to Artan, which is that he had no access to the inner life of the man he experienced as "friendly" and "thoughtful":
There is nothing I heard from Artan that day that would have ever made me think he could be responsible for the brutal, senseless attack that would come just three months later. Nothing to indicate his thoughtful frustrations and fears would lead him to drive a car into a crowd of people on campus, that he would lash out with a knife at students and faculty, that he would make national news for what many believe was a terrorist attack. That he would be dead, shot by a police officer trying to prevent him from killing others.
Sentence fragments. Allowed by WaPo. Expressive of feelings of author. Clueless author who accepted polite exterior manifestations as evidence of another nice person looking for friends at college. Don't misjudge him. Stankiewicz wanted students to feel. Ironic, considering.

Oh, but Stankiewicz assumes he did see the real Artan that day. It's just that later the "thoughtful, engaged student I had met on the first day of classes... snapped."
I wished the whole day was a dream in the first place; I wished a gray Honda sedan never drove over a curb, struck a group of people, before being lunged at with a knife; I wished the sirens I heard on my walk to class were phantom. And then I wished — like I’ve never wished before — that the assailant was not Artan.
And then I wished that I was not reading The Washington Post. That I was reading a young adult novel. Because that's what this sounds like.

IN THE COMMENTS: Leland said:
Artan was shot while preying openly.

77 comments:

Bill Peschel said...

The student author, in his youthful inexperience, has not yet learned that it's possible to wear a mask before the world and still be a demon inside.

This is what happens when your culture is created by the wisdom of youth.

MadisonMan said...

"It felt important. Now it's chilling"

Clickbait phrasing. Thanks for taking a hit for the team Althouse.

rhhardin said...

You're supposed to kill infidels. What's the problem.

In Islam, that's being of strong character.

LordSomber said...

The Shatner. Delivery style. Feels, important.

Curious George said...

"Artan claimed to worry that he might be shot if he prayed openly."

Well, if "prayed" means trying to kill people by running over them with your car and stabbing them with a butcher knife, he was right. And as a Muslim, it likely does.

rhhardin said...

The moderate position is that you're not required to kill infidels. It's optional.

Curious George said...

Google image "Kevin Stankiewicz"....are those fake glasses? Obama pajama boy.

rehajm said...

And then I wished that I was not reading The Washington Post. That I was reading a young adult novel.

You mean like the kind you can purchase on Amazon.com?

That Bezos is a cross marketing genius!!!!

Michael The Magnificent said...

Dear ____________________, if you don't like it here, if you think you are surrounded by people that hate you, perhaps you (and we) would be much happier if you immigrated to a different country that is more to your liking.

Sincerely, a fed-up yet proud American.

Big Mike said...

I was going to click on the link over at Instapundit as soon as noted Sci-Fi author Sarah Hoyt fixed it. Thanks for warning us off, Professor.

(You might think to remind folks who love Sci-Fi that her books can be purchased through the Althouse Amazon portal.)

Paco Wové said...

"There's something irksomely twee about the headline"

All modern "news" seems to be written by, and designed to be read by, breathless teenage girls.

(Looking at "news" author's photo reinforces this view.)

exhelodrvr1 said...

If he honestly felt he was in danger of being shot, that is 100% the fault of the media and the Democrats. Their exaggerations have created this virtual environment of prejudice - there is absolutely no reason for a Muslim to honestly think that could happen.

FleetUSA said...

Thanks for giving us the digest version Professor.

I have two question which the young interviewer probably never thought to ask. Did Artan ask if he could pray openly? Were there any other incidents of Muslims being attacked while praying openly in the US?

Laslo Spatula said...

“”I wished the whole day was a dream in the first place; I wished a gray Honda sedan never drove over a curb, struck a group of people, before being lunged at with a knife; I wished the sirens I heard on my walk to class were phantom. And then I wished — like I’ve never wished before — that the assailant was not Artan.”

The ‘wishing’ formula in this section rung a bell, that — of course — went to an Althouse blog from a few weeks ago.

I willed Mrs. Clinton to turn and give a name to what we could all see. I willed Mrs. Clinton to raise an arm like a goddess, and point to the place her rival came from, and send him back there, into his own space, like a whimpering dog.

Wishing and wishing, willing and willing, but never actually accomplishing anything. The New World.

I am Laslo.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

"I feel bad, so I get to kill you."

Liberal progressives - yeah ok, that makes sense.

bagoh20 said...

"Artan claimed to worry that he might be shot if he prayed openly."

Thanks to him that's now worth considering - like killing baby Hitler.

Drago said...

That "grey Honda sedan" really ought to get counseling for jumping the curb all by itself to strike those students.

traditionalguy said...

Poor Muslim warriors in fear of being seen praying to their demon god. These sincere Muslims fear what would be done to them if their targets were to wake up and see them as the fierce invading military army in disguise that they know they are, before it is attack and kill time.

Lewis Wetzel said...

Apparently young Abdul was living in countries so dangerous that he had to flee and was granted refugee status. In those countries he never felt so endangered that he had to kill anyone. Once he had relocated to the country of his choice, the USA, he felt so endangered that he had to go on a killing spree and murder as many people as possible before he was shot to death.
This is ridiculous.
There are evil people in the world. By that I mean people who choose to do evil. Black Somalis have the same amount of moral agency as KKK members, and the white, privileged students of OSU.

cacimbo said...

Helpful hint. The paywall can be avoided by opening a stealth/private window. I have a Mac and It works for NYTimes and Washington Post. After using up my free articles I open the stealth window and copy in the url.
On mac hit: command/shift/N simultaneously and a new black window will open.
On windows it should be Ctrl + Shift + n
https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/95464?co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop&hl=en

Anonymous said...

Artan claimed to worry that he might be shot if he prayed openly.

Think the progs will ever reflect that perhaps whipping up hysteria over non-existent "threats" to a group might be instrumental in feeding paranoia and pushing unstable cases like Artan over the edge?

Nah. Only Confederate flags and rightie news outlets have that kind of super power.

I live in an one of those "holier than thou and dumb as a box of rocks" blue dots on the electoral map. This morning the local news reported that the local "progressive alliance" had had a meet-up to discuss how to act progressively and proactively in these terrible times. Discussions included how to help protect "targeted religious groups" and LGBTQWERTY people; suggestions included "introducing children to the concept of 'white privilege'".

The "next" button at the bottom of this article went to a report of an anonymous threat to "bring OSU" to my blue dot's uni.

I am so tempted to go burn some flag (rainbow? Cuban? help me out here) at their next meet-up.

Leland said...

Artan was shot while preying openly.

Bay Area Guy said...

Ugh. The NYT had its "dorm room" mini-series, now WaPost has this.

We're not interested in how college kids "feel" about any issue. Jeez.

Curious George said...

"Leland said...
Artan was shot while preying openly."

Gold.

Michael K said...

I wonder if the student writer got any insight into the problem with Muslim "students" (what was his SAT score?) enrolled in colleges where they probably had no aptitude for study.?

I doubt it.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Shame on us for not providing him a prayer rug and a safe space. We deserve to die!

tcrosse said...

Artan claimed to worry that he might be shot if he prayed openly

Tim Tebow, call your office.

CWJ said...

"There is nothing I heard from Artan that day that would have ever made me think he could be responsible for the brutal, senseless attack..." etc.

"And then I wished — like I’ve never wished before — that the assailant was not Artan."

Pick one. You can't have both. Childish look at me bullshit.

JLScott said...

A badly written young adult novel:

I wished a gray Honda sedan never drove over a curb, struck a group of people, before being lunged at with a knife...

So was the author lunged at with a knife after making the wish or was the Honda sedan lunged at with a knife after jumping the curb?

Nice work there, WaPo editors.

MadisonMan said...

"Leland said...
Artan was shot while preying openly."

Gold.

Total agreement! The student interviewer failed in asking for clarification ("I'm sorry, do you mean "Pray" as in religious devotion or "Prey" as in kill people"?) during the interview.

submandave said...

"Artan claimed to worry that he might be shot if he prayed openly."

Mindlessly acceding to unreasonable fears of others is the greatest sin commonly done today. Did the author, or anyone else, engage this student and ask him to evaluate and justify such an absurd fear? Or, more likely, did they instead offer comfort, support, and understanding, thereby implicitly reinforcing that, yes, he indeed was is danger of being shot just for praying. Was this paranoia in any way related to him taking counsel of his fears and seeking answers in the words of those telling him to fight back?

Big Mike said...

Here in Virginia smarmy Tim Kaine posted a tweet deploring gun violence at Ohio State. Except the only gunshots were fired by the campus police officer who stopped young Artan's rampage with finality. If Kaine had half a brain it would be the first half he ever had.

Sydney said...

It is sad that a serious newspaper like The Washington Post would publish something like this. They could have encouraged that young man's journalism education and career by asking him to seek out and interview people who knew Artan and write a story based on their impressions of him before and after the event. But maybe he didn't have any friends at the university.
On the other hand, the writer is just a freshman, I believe. It takes some time in the world to lose that naivete that takes everything and everyone at face value. And most people are shocked to learn that someone they interacted with turned out to be a murderer. (Although in this case, just an attempted one)

Laslo Spatula said...

The Girl at Starbucks That Hates You:

There is an Arab Man who visits our Store, and I hate when I see him in line: you can tell that he has a real problem with Western Women, but that doesn’t stop him from staring at our asses. He even once told me that I had a beautiful face, I would look wonderful in a Hijab, and that a young girl such as I shouldn’t have to work tsk tsk. Sorry, buddy: I like my hair, and I like living in the 21st Century, even if I do have to work a crappy job…

I told my manager that he makes me uncomfortable, but she just said that I had to work more on my tolerance. Tolerance? Seriously? Do you not see the people I have to put up with everyday? Starbucks is like a Safe Place for the Rude to be assholes with no consequences: if you want your coffee beverage faster then why don’t you just go to McDonalds, know what I mean…?

I have been treated rudely by White Americans, Black Americans, Asian Americans, Muslims, Jews, Businessmen, Hipsters, Gays, the Young, the Elderly, the Handicapped — don’t even get me going on the Handicapped: I’m sorry, but I didn’t put you in that wheelchair, okay? I didn’t decide how tall our counters would be…

Here it is: I am just about tapped out on Tolerance. I have seen Diversity, and it is just another name for Copping an Attitude…

My take on Diversity: I’ll charge you the same for a Mocha as I charge everyone else. That’s it, and that’s all it should be.Have I mentioned that I have to put up with this shit for barely a buck over minimum wage…?

I am Laslo.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Did Artan ask if he could pray openly?

Anyone can "pray openly". You can sit on a park bench and communicate with, plead with, pray to God. You can quietly click your rosary beads. You can even do it while driving a car or shopping. (I often pray while driving on the freeway during rush hour. God, help me make it home alive.) Hey! There is a place called Church where a bunch of people can pray.... all together now! I believe that there are also special places called Mosques.

But NO.....he wants to be able to inconvenience the general population. Have loud speakers interrupt everyone else's peace of mind screaming that it is time to pray. Can't you figure this out yourself? Buy a watch for crying out loud. Does he want to flop down a rug in a common area and stick his @ss up in the air, making people have to walk around your to get on with their lives? Disrupt business by demanding your extra special praying openly time?. Everything must STOP for you! Everyone must accommodate YOUR need to pray openly.

HoodlumDoodlum said...

I wished the whole day was a dream in the first place; I wished a gray Honda sedan never drove over a curb, struck a group of people, before being lunged at with a knife;

Oh no, someone lunged at that poor car, with a knife?? Don't stab cars, people! Maybe you think this is as special case, since according to this sentence this is some sort of Christine-type situation where the car drove itself...but it's still bad form to lunge at cars, ok?

nothing to indicate his thoughtful frustrations and fears would lead him to drive a car into a crowd of people on campus

Oh wow, this interviewer has magical brain powers--he can read a dead guy's mind and know the motivations behind the dead guy's actions! I mean, this is a pretty definitive statement isn't it? The author is making a statement about what lead the dead guy to take some actions. Hey, just wondering, but how the fuck does the author know that "his thoughtful fears and frustrations" were the motivation, and not, I dunno, some desire to commit a terroristic act? Or, hey, let's have fun speculating--maybe the dead guy got hit on the head by some micrometeorite whilst praying outside last week and that traumatic brain injury influenced his behavior and made him "lash out." Why not? That story has just as much evidence as the author's assertion, right?

that he would make national news for what many believe was a terrorist attack

Yeah, "many believe." This kid's got a bright future in journalism--that much is clear. "Many believe" the sun will rise in the East tomorrow morning, but just like his mother's claim to love him this reporter's gonna have to check it out--he's no sucker. What a nice, neutral standpoint he finds there in the middle of his biased, overly-sympathetic article. "Many believe." So spot on you'd think it's a parody!

Susan said...

What's with the so-called real news sites putting out these touchy feely pieces by college students? First the Muslim who finds out her roommate is a deplorable Trump supporter, the rebuttal to same and now this?

Don't they have reporters anymore?

CWJ said...

Big Mike,

Thanks for reminding us that we dodged two bullets on election day.

Jersey Fled said...

We have a friend who shares a Facebook page with us (ugh) about once a week from I think Occupy Democrats showing how many terrorist attacks have occurred on our soil under each president since Reagan. You might be surprised to learn that the number for Obama is zero. They accomplish this by such slight of hand as defining the Fort Hood shooting as "workplace violence". The Orlando shooting I presume is defined as a hate crime targeted at gays. I can only guess that the Boston Marathon bombing was a case of "sports violence".

I was wondering how they would classify the OSU attack, but now I think I have it.

Islamophobia!

Dust Bunny Queen said...

"And then I wished — like I’ve never wished before — that the assailant was not Artan."

The question is: Who does he wish the assailant should have been, if not Artan? Does he have someone else in mind?

Seems like a pretty deep relationship for a random interview of some guy hanging around the campus. We need to question this relationship.

Inquiring minds need to know :-)

Ron Winkleheimer said...

ISIS' strategy is to convince losers with personality problems that they can be warriors for God, assured of 72 perpetual virgins in paradise, if they will but commit an act of jihad.

This man had nothing to fear. He had, in fact, had it made.

In the meantime, buzzfeed is attempting to ruin a nice young hard working couple, cause Christian. (Gasp, I know!)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/12/01/buzzfeeds-hit-piece-on-the-gaines-family-is-dangerous/?utm_term=.c2cf4cef3a45

Marc in Eugene said...

When I first bought Amazon Prime, I was delighted to be given free access to WaPo-- wtf, there have to be some articles they publish that are worth reading, right? And there are-- but very few of them appear on the front page. Wonder if they get to count those free Prime accounts as 'paid circulation'?

HoodlumDoodlum said...

This is a terrific example, by the way, of the Leftist mindset and how it's entirely corrupted by identity politics.

This Artan dude claims, to the author, that he worries he'll be shot if he prays openly. The author, a good Leftist, takes that fear and those feelings seriously--he doesn't question whether it's a reasonable fear, he doesn't challenge the beliefs and assertions behind the fear, he doesn't even point out to the reader that the fear has no basis in reality. The future terrorist FEELS something and is a member of a class/group of people towards whom the Left is sympathetic, so those feelings are respected and treated as valid, important, and something that must be addressed.

The Left, simultaneously, vigorously maintains that any fears Americans might express about terrorism, potential criminal/terrorist actions by foreigners in America (to include refugees from predominantly-Muslim nations), violent acts by Muslims, etc, are all highly irrational and must be debunked, dismissed, and deplored loudly and often. The fears of those people--people not part of a group towards whom the Left is sympathetic--are treated as evidence of idiocy and malice and persons as august as a Democrat President will grandly assert that feeling and action on that kind of fear is "not who we are as Americans." Nevermind, of course, that there actually have been a number of very high-profile terrorist attacks by Muslim-type people so these fears are perfectly justified by, you know, reality...the Left says that fear is invalid, irrational, and anyone who has or expresses such fear is a bigot and should be shunned.

It's all identity politics. Irrational beliefs are a-OK with the self-declared "party of science" as long as the persons holding those beliefs are either Leftists or members of groups the Left has granted victim status. Rational beliefs by non-Leftists are verboten if those beliefs/acknowledging that reality might hurt the feelings of some Leftists or Leftist-approved victim groups.

It's so pervasive you might not notice it, but even in this terrible article the author can't help himself.

exhelodrvr1 said...

DBQ,
"Who does he wish the assailant should have been"

A white Christian Republican?

Clyde said...

A phobia is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as being "an extreme or irrational fear of or aversion to something." Islamophobia, therefore, would be "an extreme or irrational fear of or aversion to Muslims." However, given the number of terrorist incidents perpetrated by adherents to Islam, such a fear is NOT irrational. You are many times more likely to be attacked by a Muslim terrorist than you are any other kind of terrorist. And while you are much more likely to die in other ways than being killed by a Muslim terrorist, most of those ways (traffic accidents, etc.) are currently unavoidable, since you have to travel from point A to point B to work, shop, etc. You do NOT, however, have to import more Muslims who may one day decide that their religion requires them to go out and murder a bunch of infidels. Bringing in people who don't believe in our ways and customs and are unlikely to ever successfully assimilate is an unnecessary risk to the health and safety of Americans.

Another word that the Ohio State writer probably is unfamiliar with is taqqiya. The word means that it's okay for Muslims to lie to and deceive non-believers in order to further their religion.

Birkel said...

Sydney at 8:19am:
"It is sad that a serious newspaper like The Washington Post..."

You lost me.

Curious George said...

"And then I wished — like I’ve never wished before — that the assailant was not Artan."

Bullshit. No Arlan. No WashPo piece. He probably wished Arlan had been a little better at the whole jihad thing.

Rae said...

Islamist operatives know what to say to garner sympathy from their targets. We've taught them.

And I have to call bullshit on that guy being 18 years old. He's mid thirties, easy.

Ann Althouse said...

Laslo. @ 7:31 AM

great observations

Amadeus 48 said...

A friend of mine got a wake up call when he was a graduate engineering student at Big Ten university during the time of the fatwa against Salman Rushdie. There were four guys from Pakistan on a project team with him. All four thought Rushdie should be killed. Now that was chilling.

Bob Boyd said...

Stanky waltzes out of the office with his new assignment and Bingo!, there's Artan, a Muslim f-ing immigrant! So hot right now! Just sitting there! And Holy Cow if he doesn't turn out to be thoughtful! Can you imagine? He evokes the narrative right off the bat, sign of the thoughtful man. It's all there, the xenophobia, the guns, the hate, too good to be true! Wow! What a find! This...this is important!

William said...

It's important to look beyond the butcher knife and realize the complexity and human dimension of your assailant. People are so quick to stereotype and form hostile opinions about those who attempt to commit mass murder........Is it even possible to ask a probing, skeptical question to a Muslim about Islamophobia? Why does the reporter accept the student's assumption that the student body is prejudiced and that the student himself has no corresponding prejudices?

MacMacConnell said...

"There is nothing I heard from Artan that day that would have ever made me think he could be responsible for the brutal, senseless attack that would come just three months later."

Evidently Dipshit Stankiewicz didn't hear Artan say "Muslim" and "Somali".

Mike Sylwester said...

When Artan was being recruited to attend Ohio State, maybe the recruiter gave him an impression that the university has prayer rooms for Moslems.

Fernandinande said...

Ohio State's Stabby Somali Was Studying Microaggressions in Class
-> here

MayBee said...

Just as the Menendez brothers were certain their parents were plotting to kill them, Artan was sure he would be killed by someone of another faith.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Artan was sure he would be killed by someone of another faith.

And....Artan made that happen. Prophecy fulfilled. Ta Dah!!!!!!!

Vader said...

Others have twigged on this, of course, but it bears repeating.

"He wanted to pray publicly, but "I was scared with everything going on in the media." "

A perfectly reasonable fear.

At least, if he had been a conservative Christian on the average college campus.

traditionalguy said...

Funny thing is that someone praying ( they mean chanting) on a campus common area today would be approved and applauded by all if it was a Muslim submitting to allah, but it would be a serious crime calling for expulsion if he called upon Jesus.

mikee said...

DAMN those Honda sedans, driving themselves (in the passive voice) over curbs and into crowds of people. Can people not ascribe real actions to their actual perpetrators these days?

Gospace said...

Clyde said.... Another word that the Ohio State writer probably is unfamiliar with is taqqiya. The word means that it's okay for Muslims to lie to and deceive non-believers in order to further their religion.

The author had a first hand lesson in taqiyya. And it's obvious from the NY Times article was too dense to recognize it.

mikee said...

Laslo at 7:31 and Althouse at 8:54: Lady Galadriel raised her hand and banished Sauron, for a time, just as described, in The Hobbit: Battle of Five Armies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLhypaRifcE&t=4m7s

The silly leftist hack writer is re-imagining Hillary as an Elvish Queen, as played by Cate Blanchett, in a Peter Jackson movie. Know your source, and understand the allegory.

Gabriel said...

@mikee: Know your source, and understand the allegory.

It's not even Tolkein that's the source: Tolkein has been around long enough to qualify as literature, and his books are too long and too adult for people raised on social media. It's the Peter Jackson movie. (No such event was portrayed in the book.)

Darrell said...

You can still do an update interview. Just buy a Ouija board and set the selector switch to Hell by chanting "Hail Satan" three times.

Peter said...

Artan was "friendly," open, "thoughtful," and "engaged." And so much for the "mental case" theory of motivation.

More than a few in the public health field seem determined to believe that public violence, especially directed more or less randomly against strangers, can only be a manifastation of mental disease (and therefore is a "obviously" public health problem).

It would be so convenient and scientific if we could just retire the good vs evil dichotomy, and ascribe all evil acts to the mental health bin. BUT that something is convenient and sciency doesn't make it true, does it? Which framework- evil or mental health defect- has greater explanatory power here?

Further, if Artan's motivation was the realization that if the Prophet Mohammad were to appear today he'd surely be labelled a terrorist by practically everyone, what does the public health community have to say about how that realization might work in other young devout Muslims who find themselves in secular states? Is it even possible to raise the question, or must PC-think immediately suffocate it?

Peter said...

"Artan claimed to worry that he might be shot if he prayed openly."

So, lets stipulate that his statement is true: even so, it lacks explanatory power.

Consider a thought experiment: you're religiously observant, yet find yourself in a country which violently despises your religion; what would you do? Some possibilities:

1. Pray in private, keep your religion to yourself (low risk).
2. Find like-minded people, and organize private religious services (higher risk).
3. Tell a reporter that you're afraid to pray in public, and, after further reflection, attempt a mass-murder (not a rational response).

Conclusion: Even if the statement is true, it is insufficient to explain what happened; the essential flaw appears to be the "Don't say my religion is violent or I'll kill you!" element.

Darrell said...

The Leftist idiots have dug up their old lies about the San Bernardino couple from last year. They are saying that the husband snapped when he had to attend the staff Christmas party even those he and his wife were Muslim.

Freeman Hunt said...

The comments he calls thoughtful sound paranoid to me. Afraid he'd be shot if he prayed in the open?

Ron Winkleheimer said...

@Peter and @Darrell

And they don't even notice how ridiculous that sounds.

You're a devote Muslim, you work with a bunch of (perhaps just nominal) Christians and most likely some secularists as well who are planning a Christmas party. You can:

1) Decline to attend and take a vacation day
2) Decline to attend, explain why, and continue working
3) Attend, but while at the party discuss your religion and why Muslim's don't consider Jesus to be God and in fact find such claims to be Idolatrous
4) Attend and join in with what is going to be a secular celebration with nary a mention of the Gospel, thus demonstrating that stereotypes of Muslims being prone to violence are just that, stereotypes
5) Plan and carry out a violent murder spree with your wife

mikee said...

Gabriel, you got me dead to rights. I read the books, but I also saw the movie.

Big Mike said...

@Althouse, Laslo's observations at 8:30 are also spot on.

wildswan said...

Blogger Freeman Hunt said...
The comments he calls thoughtful sound paranoid to me. Afraid he'd be shot if he prayed in the open?

I agree. Artan did say something that would have made me think him capable of violence as soon as he said it - namely, that he feared violence from the people around him. Who says that? Transgenders at the bus station bathroom at 3AM - OK, totally rational. But who were those around Artan? American college students. The. Last. People. In. The World. The OSU student interviewer should have told Artan he was not in danger but instead he left Artan in his fear which, it seems, got worse in an OSU class. Then OSU students, identified to Artan as his enemies by Artan's OSU professor were hurt By Artan. Is OSU to blame on multiple levels - yes! But probably they all blame Trump.

mccullough said...

Most people are harmless. Most people who are dangerous appear harmless.

Johnathan Birks said...

WaPo online is a more tedious, sanctimonious Deadspin. Useless clickbait.

JaimeRoberto said...

Judging by the picture of the author I would say he was hitting on Artan. It might be what pushed Artan over the edge.

Freeman Hunt said...

"Artan did say something that would have made me think him capable of violence as soon as he said it - namely, that he feared violence from the people around him."

Exactly. If you're in a completely normal, non-violent place, and a guy tells you that he's afraid strangers are going to shoot him, I think you'd be right to be extremely wary of the guy.

Anonymous said...

OSU has an Interfaith Prayer and Reflection Room, with two ablution rooms and two meditation rooms. Artan was just too lazy to check it out online.

Not sure what excuse Stankiewicz could have for not reporting this in his story, though.