I cried today

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I haven’t cried at all since the Tuesday.

No one I knew was killed or wounded in the crashes or the ensuing destruction so I guess it didn’t hit home. I wasn’t surprised or disbelieving when it happened either. I mean, I did think “Whoa, I wasn’t expecting that…”, but I have no illusions about what many people think about US imperialism or our ability to defend ourselves.

I cried today. It had nothing to do with the number of people killed or the fact that they didn’t see it coming. I cried because I read an article about violence against Arabs and Muslims in America. I am not quite sure what exactly set me off, but I think it may have been hearing about the unbridled hatred of some of my fellow citizens.

I realize that this same type of hatred was probably the motivation behind the hijackings, but somehow this hatred from Americans scares and saddens me much more. After all, I am an American. And you know what? We have much more power and privelage than the Arab nations and people. We hardly need to add insult to injury by attacking innocent Muslims and Arabs.

(I should add that I am gratified to see that the police have intervened and that there are plenty of Americans who support the Arab-Americans)

2

I’ve had tears come to my eyes exactly twice since Tuesday. Once was when I saw members of Congress singing “God Bless America” on Tuesday evening. The second time was when I read the original post in this thread.

-Psi Cop

3

It is very frustrating. Targeting folks who had nothing to do with this tragedy merely because they look like the people we assume (ok, are pretty sure) are responsible lowers the folks who perpetrate this sort of indiscriminate revenge to the level of terrorists. No, nobody here has killed 5,000 people who are Muslim or of Arabic descent, but the thinking is the same, if on a lesser scale.

This sort of thinking only leads to a viscious cycle of random retalliation, little if any of it justified. The origin of the conflict is lost, and once you’ve forgotten what you are fighting for, you never know when it is time to cease fighting.

It is very much a prospect worth crying about. I mean that seriously.