In another post I mentioned that Ergun Caner lied to marines at New River, North Carolina, April 2005. Below is the complete video and a transcript of the 10% of his speech that I questioned. Remember the Marine Colonel said in his introduction, "At the age of fourteen, he [Ergun] moves from Turkey, to New York City, to Toledo, and eventually ends up settling Columbus Ohio." The Marine Colonel was probably just parroting what Ergun had told him, because less than ten minutes later Ergun said, "I knew nothing about America until I came here when I was fourteen years old. Everything I knew about American culture, I learned through American television." This is the last I will say, read and watch for yourself. Make up your own mind.
(6.23)Most of my life I do not hear people say thank you, I get yelled at a lot as you will understand in a moment. But when I am standing in front of you to say thank you, I want you to understand that it comes from a very visceral perspective. When I say thank you, I am not just saying thank you for defending our freedom as a country. I am thankful for that beyond all measure. But when I say thank you there is a component that is a little deeper for me in that I have a people invested in this. When I say thank you for freeing my people, I am not even speaking ethnically. I am Turkish, so my people are invested in this. But I speak literally not figuratively. I have two half-sisters who are learning how to read for the first time in their lives, because of what you have done. I have cousins in Northern Iraq, that number in the hundreds, you know we breed like rabbits, so I have cousins that got to vote for the first time in their lives.
I have often said that I have lived under democracy, and socialism, and fascism, Islamic fascism. In fascism, you can vote, but they vote for you. And in socialism, you can vote, but there is only one candidate. And the irony is that in democracy you can vote, but most people don’t. I have the honor of telling you that my people got to vote. So this is very visceral for me.
My full name is Ergun Mehmet Caner…Turkish…Sunni…mujahedeen. My father was mujahedeen, my grandfather was mujahedeen. Kurdish, Eastern Turk. I am an American citizen, I am a Christian. And I get to speak in churches most of my life or in debates. I debate Muslims and Baha’i and Buddhists, and Hindis and all types on university campuses. So like I said, I spend most of my time getting yelled at.
I am a Dean three days a week. I am travelling four days a week. So I get most of my days people cussing me out and yelling at me and I assume that happens to some of you on occasion. But it is rare that I can actually face the people who have…who have given me so much and say thank you. This is the highest honor that I can imagine. It is also an opportunity for me to tell you…to peel behind the veil a little bit and show you some of the assumptions with which my people operate.
A lot of it is based on misconception. A lot of it is based on misperception. Some of it is based on assumption. I knew nothing about America until I came here when I was fourteen years old. Everything I knew about American culture, I learned through American television. Whatever they allowed into the Turkish region so that they could broadcast for free and so for me America was anything I saw on television that came from American television that was allowed by the censors.
Andy Griffith was one of them and I fell in love with Andy Griffith. Didn’t understand what they were saying, there was the captions beneath. But I thought all of America was like Mayberry. I moved to Brooklyn, New York. (laughter) Not a lot in common. I watched Dukes of Hazzard. I wanted to marry Daisy Duke. (laughter)(Marine, “Didn’t we all?) Yes sir (laughter) Oorah! (laughter) I wanted to work at the Boar’s Nest. I wanted to fly a car. We drive like that normally by the way, I don’t know if you have ever been to Turkey, but we drive like that most of the time. A yield sign is a sign of your lessening manhood if you actually obey it.
So I wanted to be part of that…I wanted to play American sports. I watched Chicago Cubs baseball. Didn’t understand baseball. Watched Chicago Cubs baseball. Assumed that all Americans spoke like Harry Caray. (laughter) Thought the purpose of baseball was to lose, because every time I was watching the cubs play…(laughter) eh yeah. They were getting stomped like a preacher at a topless bar.
I wanted to…be American. We line up to come to your country. The last television show that I watched, I am embarrassed to tell you, but for the sake of authenticity I should tell you. I watched every two weeks, for four hours, Georgia Championship Wrestling. That was America to me. And nobody told me it was fake. And…and…I thought that Americans were the toughest people on the planet. Because…this? (laughter) Did some of you just get shocked? Bro, sir, I thought Americans were the toughest people on the planet. You got hit in the head with shoes and boots and got up. And…and… there was the guy named Junkyard Dog, who would hit people in the head with his head. And Ernie the Cat Ladd who spoke of some guy, Ole Anderson, the Egg Suckin Dawg. And…and…Rick Flair…Wuuuhh…you know. That was it for me. That was America for me and then I move here.
I guess I should tell you that the other part was I was taught you hated me, but I am getting ahead of the story. Part of my inculcation was moving to America, part of it however was eleven years ago, getting married. My father, I am the oldest of the three sons, so it incumbent on me to get married. And my father said it was my job to marry an American.
Twenty-five thousand women every year marry Muslim men. And so my father shared with me some that were myth and some that were superstition. But things that were supposed to help me get married. My father said marry a blonde, because there are very few blonde Muslims. Well he didn’t tell me that there were blonde women by choice and there were blonde women by birth. I would say, you look blonde, but the roots, I do not understand this part. My father also shared that there is a Kurdish legend that if a woman’s second toe is longer than her big toe that she would be a bossy nagging woman. (laughter) Mam, I am sorry to single you out that way. (indiscernible) (laughter) But you can picture me saying, I…Beautiful woman, I love you, how many camels for you? You are beautiful, before we do anything take your shoe off. (13.53) (Quote Word Count: 1082 Words)
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