- Location
- Virginia
I have read over a lot of the posts, and they express nothing but hatred of Arabs. That is the most ignorant point of view I have ever heard. Americans are all part of a large diverse group. That group includes Arabs, Jews, Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, you name it, that group is a part of us and a part of our Heritage. When we act blinded by fury, we show that we are no better than the pariahs which have plagued this world over the centuries, individuals like Hitler, and movements like the Inquisition or the KKK. Throughout our history, genocide has been committed by those who carry their hate as a badge, and wear it proudly as they attack those whom they know nothing about, except for a false belief that hatred is the only way of dealing with them. That is what I have seen on this board. Whether it be a somewhat joking declaration that we should nuke Afghanistan, or a serious one, it is disturbing nonetheless. What is really disturbing are the posts that don't express an ounce of sadness or grief for what we have lost over the past few days, but express only how we can get revenge. People who say f-ck the Arabs are no better and no bigger than a Hitler, or a Mussolini, or any number of "leaders" who killed because they hated. We are supposed to be better than them, but we reduce ourselves to less than them by holding ourselves out as being better, and then expressing our stupidity. It's okay to express anger, it's not okay to express intolerance. Look around at the people you want dead. There are children there that you wish death on. There are innocents there that you want to hurt. By blindly hating a nation, a race, a country, an ethnicity, or a religion, you become a Nazi.
Today, I saw a segment on CNN about the Doctors, Nurses, Paramedics, and Medical Personnel who were on scene and who were treating those who were hurt. There were blacks, whites, Asians, Arabs, Hispanics, you name it, they were represented. The pictures of people running from the collapsing towers, they were the same, diverse. All fleeing a common enemy, hatred and ignorance, religious zealotry, and intolerance. That was what caused this destruction, people with those attitudes.
We strive to eradicate this, we look to the government to take action and destroy it. However, what we don't see is that it has already infiltrated us. It is here, it is in us. The same hatred that caused this tragedy has arrived here, and is among us, in our intolerance and hatred. Please think about what you do and say, because what you do and say will have an affect. Whether you mean it or not, it can be taken to heart by you, or by someone else. Today, I heard of firebombs being thrown at the windows of Arab schools. SCHOOLS. Where children who have grown up amongst us, that a few days ago, we would have sat and watched play and enjoyed it. Today, we try and hurt them. Today, I am proud to be an American because we, for the most part, have come together and are doing what we can to support those of us who have fallen. However, today, I am also ashamed to be an American, because of what some of us are saying and doing.
Those of you out there who blindly hate, I hope don't do anything stupid. There are those out there who have expressed their views without lowering themselves to the level of history's greatest villains. Those people are not wrong. The few that have not, you are wrong. President Bush said that these acts of war cannot shake the foundation of our society and of what the United States stands for, but they have already begun to crack that foundation through some of the things expressed on this board. Before you speak out against an entire people, think, and please, don't act your intolerance and hatred out.
Today, I saw a segment on CNN about the Doctors, Nurses, Paramedics, and Medical Personnel who were on scene and who were treating those who were hurt. There were blacks, whites, Asians, Arabs, Hispanics, you name it, they were represented. The pictures of people running from the collapsing towers, they were the same, diverse. All fleeing a common enemy, hatred and ignorance, religious zealotry, and intolerance. That was what caused this destruction, people with those attitudes.
We strive to eradicate this, we look to the government to take action and destroy it. However, what we don't see is that it has already infiltrated us. It is here, it is in us. The same hatred that caused this tragedy has arrived here, and is among us, in our intolerance and hatred. Please think about what you do and say, because what you do and say will have an affect. Whether you mean it or not, it can be taken to heart by you, or by someone else. Today, I heard of firebombs being thrown at the windows of Arab schools. SCHOOLS. Where children who have grown up amongst us, that a few days ago, we would have sat and watched play and enjoyed it. Today, we try and hurt them. Today, I am proud to be an American because we, for the most part, have come together and are doing what we can to support those of us who have fallen. However, today, I am also ashamed to be an American, because of what some of us are saying and doing.
Those of you out there who blindly hate, I hope don't do anything stupid. There are those out there who have expressed their views without lowering themselves to the level of history's greatest villains. Those people are not wrong. The few that have not, you are wrong. President Bush said that these acts of war cannot shake the foundation of our society and of what the United States stands for, but they have already begun to crack that foundation through some of the things expressed on this board. Before you speak out against an entire people, think, and please, don't act your intolerance and hatred out.
