(Photo credits to John Tlumacki, Boton Globe/Getty Images)
But it's been an even worse week for minority ethnic groups here in America and abroad, particularly the Muslim population.
Already having been heavily persecuted and stigmatized against thanks to the government's response to the terrible terrorist attacks on September 11, Muslims in the USA have now become a convenient scapegoat for bombings, poisoned envelopes, and basically any large-scale attack of which the origin and purpose is unknown.
Just hours following the attacks on Boston, which left over 150 injured and 3 people dead, twitter feeds were bursting with racist tweets. I've highlighted a few below (offensive language ahead):
"Happy Patriots Day! You idiot liberals, this is what happens when your president opens our borders to his Muslim brotherhood" --@Steffman1911
"fuck the towel heads and gooks #merica" --@KSTrey4
"Terrorist attack in Boston, okay time to bomb the fuck outta the dirty ass sand monkeys in the Middle East" --@KatieGiorgio
Deeply disturbing and outright racist, it breaks my heart to see the finger-pointing and the clear ignorance of the posters of the tweets. But more than heartbreaking or sad, these ridiculous tweets make me angry. I am angry at these hurtful and close-minded tweeters who would blame an entire ethnic group based on their own hateful prejudices. As if violence is only perpetrated by Muslims, or gays, or North Koreans. As if domestic terrorists like the KKK didn't exist. Seriously, where do people get these ideas?! Don't they ever read the news? How can people still THINK LIKE THIS?
But in all my anger, there is also a deep seeded fear. A fear that there are still people who strongly believe in these misguided notions of Muslims and are willing, and most frightfully, proud to post their racist remarks on a social media website for everyone to see. Hate is strong, and there is so much of it here. Life isn't fair, and perhaps it shouldn't be, but irresponsibly and hatefully blaming an ethnic group or simply just a minority group you don't undersand is not the right thing to do here. Ignorance is not an excuse for these blatant lapses in judgement.
But the cycle of hate is deeply rooted, and unfortunately, it looks like it's here to stay. And that, everyone, is the most frightening realization yet.
I can never understand how people can honestly believe things like this. It makes me furious to know that anyone could even justify themselves for being so full of hate. Languages, skin color, culture, none of it makes any real difference. These people are no better than those who act on their hate and kill others in the first place; they just don't act on it until they have some false justification for it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, Kairi :)
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, it's sad to think that we as a population have not yet come to understand that race/ethnicity/sexual orientation matters little when it comes to how to judge a person. In between the few moments of goodness there is always so much WRONG with the world. Depressing really...but I guess we can't blame anyone else if humanity should cease to exist someday because we just couldn't get it right. T_T
Not at all; you're a very fluid writer and have great things to say. Forgive me for not adding you to my blog roll, but I want to keep it as anime-centric as possible (excluding my sister's k-pop blog; goddess-forbid I remove it). I will definitely be around once in a while though. :)
DeleteIt truly is a horribly depressing conundrum. When I sit in a history lecture, often-times it feels like most people listen with a sneer on their faces to interpretations they dismiss as naive or leftist or what have you. It would be wonderful if someday people stopped and took a good hard look at themselves and the things they say and do.
Thank you for your kind words! And no worries at all, I'm just happy writing these things for myself, and am very excited to see someone else even taking a look. :)
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