Etymology and respectfulness (and missing the whole point)

Having discussed recent issues with friends and family, I discovered a conundrum.

Paraphrasing: "The President and other Liberals are being terribly disrespectful in calling them 'teabaggers'." When I point out that 'teabaggers' is what the movement referred to itself as, (until the snickering from the left betrayed the sexual act it alludes to,) well--the President shouldn't do it.

I haven't heard the President use the nickname, but I'll take that--at least on its face--as fact, because that's what they themselves called their own movement participants.

Sure, plenty of bloggers continue to use the offending term. That's what bloggers do. The government and media have respectfully abstained from using it subsequently, once the Tea Party realized its dirty implications after they themselves annointed themselves thusly.

Respectful deference. I have a great deal of respect for that.

So why does this not work for non-conservative movements?

One of many examples: How often, in the mainstream/legacy media, have we heard the term "Ground Zero Mosque", or even "Victory Mosque" in reference to the Islamic Cultural Center being built two blocks away from the edge of the WTC site?

The developers refer to it as "Park51" or "The Cordoba House".

It's a 13-story community center open to all faiths, with a dedicated prayer room (which is pretty much required for an Islamic center, given how often they are required to pray.) The development made the front page of the New York Times last December once it started plans--and there was no outrage, or even much notice of it. The local regulating panels all approved the plan. So why the national outrage now?

You could answer that for yourself. (Hint: it's election season.)

But even with the press aiding the national outrage, you'd still be missing the point.

We're not at war against Islam. (Side note: 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis; why did we go to war with Iraq instead?) That would be one of the most destructive narratives ever. President George W. Bush understood this, and to his great credit, made a point of strongly emphasizing this repeatedly.

We have lost that now, with the apparent passive acquiescence of the media. This feeds into the worst of our national personality. This seems to be manifesting itself in every corner of the nation, and will only result in the exact opposite of what we should want. Stability and peace.