Today I’m angry. I’m very angry. On September 11th 2001 the twin towers in NYC fell to a terrorist attack that could have been prevented. Instead, an unelected administration used it as a prelude to war. It was a war we didn’t need to get into. On 11-M bombs ripped through the Atocha cercanías station on a busy platform during Monday’s rush hour. ETA was blamed at first, but eventually, Al-Qaeda took responsibility. Madrid isn’t in the US. Who cares? A civil war and genocide, are going on in Syria that’s displacing hundreds of thousands of people. Syrian refugees were pouring out of the country like angered ants leaving their hill. They have to be put somewhere. They overwhelmed what Europe could do very quickly in terms of humanitarian aid. The civil war may have gotten two days in the sanitized US news. It’s Syria. Who cares? There was an attack in Lebanon Thursday night that didn’t even make the news. There have been many of them.
Friday night, ISIS pulled off a coordinated terrorist attack in Paris. PARIS? A civilized city? PARIS? The FB graphics went up almost before the event was over. At first, they were supportive, but then the right wing went into full blitz mode to continue to scare the poor American mice. All of a sudden, it was no longer about shared empathy with Paris and France. There were no more well-wishers for Paris. I transmuted into this bastardized blind hatred toward a people who were fleeing a humanitarian crisis any way they could. It became, No Muslims in My Back Yard! All Muslims are Terrorists. We should screen the Muslims and only let those who are christian in. When ISIS attacks (they are already here) in the US, just like in Europe, they will be US nationals and not foreign agents/terrorists.
The right wing and conservative christians start the spin machines and it’s no longer a humanitarian cause, it’s another fucking crusade. Now we have jihadis and crusaders. No one is going to force anyone to believe in Islam. You cannot force us to believe in your faery tale either. Nor will anyone expect you to submit to Judaism. Personally, I’d rather be stoned to death as an apostate than live within the fear fence the right wing has created.
Most of the people spewing this vile swill have never met a muslim. They’ve never picked up the Quran; let alone read it. Hell, some of them haven’t even been out of their states or counties and feel that they should be allowed an opinion on what’s happening on the world stage. WTF?!! They don’t know anything about the world stage. Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean and the Bahamas don’t count as international travel.
Why does this piss me off so much? I hate ignorance and stupidity. I’ve been to Paris many times. It’s not my favorite city, but she didn’t deserve what happened to her. I know and have visited some of the bombed venues. I’ve been to Madrid. I’ve used the Atocha station. I have friends that live there who could’ve been on that train that day if they had been on time. I’ve been to North Africa and met some of the nicest people I’ve ever know and yes, they were muslim and they didn’t care that I was gay. I was another person. I’ve been all over Europe and Central and South America. They all have one thing in common; they understand that terrorist attacks could happen anywhere at any time, but they refuse to live in fear. In the US, our politicians, censors and handlers make sure that we live in a constant state of fear just like the towns and cities under ISIS’s control.
Fuck you! Stop praying to a dead god as if it ever existed and had ‘plans’ for you. A god having plans for each and every individual on this planet and countless more that can harbor life is absurd. Open your eyes to the world around you. Read the press from the actual country. In this case, I was reading ‘Le Monde’ because some moron was quoting Fox. Luckily, I can read French and correct his misinformation.
Do something to help the world around you. Do something to aid humanity rather than scurrying down into your little xenophobic holes. Donate to UN programs or other NGOs. Help resettle your new neighbors and welcome them into your communities. By isolating them, they are far more likely to turn against us than they are to become one of us. If you’re a church-based organization, send your missionaries to the site to help, not to preach. The typical quid pro quo is unacceptable. I’m going to give you this water but you have to come to our church services is a travesty and simply plays on the weak and the innocent.
Finally, he three signs of a nation or civilization in decline are xenophobia, extreme nationalism and religious zealotry. Unless things change quickly, we will have all three in spades. It won’t be pretty.
cazandoconejos 