Virgil Goode is Directly Attacking Me and I'm Pissed
by Ceny Uygur

The more I think about it, the angrier I get. Virgil Goode thinks he can challenge how American I am. Here's an American response - screw you!

Does this barbarian really think we are not equal citizens because of our heritage or our beliefs? Does he really believe people like me need to be kept out of the country?

Look at what he says. He literally says less people like me need to come to America:

[I]f American citizens don't wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran ... I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America and to prevent our resources from being swamped.

My family is Muslim and we immigrated to this country when I was eight years old. We made an active choice to seek this nation out because we believed in its principles and we believed that it was the land of opportunity. America became my home, not just in where I lived, but in my heart. So, I became a citizen sixteen years ago.

I chose America because I love America. It's one thing to be born in Nebraska and call yourself an American. But it's another to move to a country where you weren't born, go through the long legal process, profess your allegiance to that country and adopt it as your own because you believe in it. That's not an accident of birth, it's an act of faith.

I chose to be an American because America is a light unto the world. America is the greatest country on earth because we do not discriminate, we are not a religious state and we do not exclude people based on their race, color or creed. We are an open society that believes in liberty and human dignity.

We built the United Nations, we rebuilt our enemies into our allies through the Marshall Plan and we saved the world from fascism and communism. We are the fortress of hope.

I say "we" not because my ancestors were here when these things happened but because these are the actions and the beliefs I signed up for when I became a United States citizen.

My family went through all of the legal processes that we needed to. We played by the rules. Now a bunch of conservative hacks who have no idea what this country truly stands for are going to try to take that away from us. I don't think so.

No racist, hick, ignorant Congressman from Virginia is going to tell me I'm not an American. These colors don't run.

I don't want an apology. He obviously believes the racist things he says. He has said he stands by his letter and won't apologize. I am not interested in his crocodile tears from now on when he realizes his seat is in jeopardy. I wouldn't accept his apology even if he groveled at my feet, or went into rehab with Mark Foley.

The man is an embarrassment. What kind of Congressman thinks this country is only for certain races, religions or ethnicities? One who doesn't belong in the hallowed halls of our Congress. He is worried about what people swear in on when they take their oath of office. How about worrying about what you swear the oath to? The United States Constitution.

Will other Republicans stand by Rep. Goode? Will they allow him to represent their party? Is this what all Republicans believe -- that America is only for certain races or creeds? Every Republican in office must be asked this question. We need to know who is representing us and what they really believe.

Finally, I have been conflicted on whether to call myself a Muslim-American since I don't practice Islam anymore. I am ethnically Turkish and religiously agnostic. But as the loathsome Debbie Schlussel said about Barack Obama, "[O]nce a Muslim, always a Muslim."

She meant it as an insult. But I'll take it as a compliment. I am proud of my background, as all of you are. Right now, Islamic extremism is a significant problem in the world. But there are over one billion Muslims in the world that are not part of that problem. They are good people trying to provide for their families and seeking peace.

If someone's got to stand up for them, I'm ready and willing. I am a Muslim by birth and an American by choice, and that is not a contradiction.