politburo diktat 2.0

Muslim Gunman Open Fires On Seattle Jewish Federation, Killing One

A Muslim gunman open fires on the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, killing one person and wounding at least five others. Marla Meislin-Dietrich, a database coordinator for the center, says the shooter was able to access the building by following an employee who had punched in her security code.

She tells The Associated Press, “He said `I am a Muslim American, angry at Israel,’ before opening fire on everyone… He was randomly shooting at everyone.”

Is this the new formulation, “Muslim American?” Am I a “Christian American” or, more accurately, an “Atheist American?” You see if I am a hypenated “Something-American,” then I have certain implicit claims on American culture. I’m not just some whacko Something from Somewhere, some outsider, I am a “Something American.” The noun, “American,” is more important than the merely modifying adjective, “Something.” So what if I just gunned down a bunch of innocent people? I am part of the culture, part of the society. Look at me cross-eyed, and I’ll start hollering about Bull Connor and his fire hoses and attack dogs. “I am a Something American.”