Rampant Racism

Greetings Cyberspace.

Today, I'd like to get into a bit of a touchy issue. As you probably have heard by now, there was an Iraqi woman beaten to death in California last Wednesday. She was beaten and left in her home for her fourteen year old daughter to stumble upon when she came home. There was a note next to her unconscious body, the contents of which boils down to "Go back to your own country." You can read more about it here.

This woman's death was completely senseless. Aside from the fact that this particular attack happened on American soil, to me this is just a repeat of the recent US soldier killing Afghan civilians in their homes. Along with the incident involving US soldiers urinating on the Qu'ran (imagine the fallout if a group of Afghans would have been caught pissing on the Bible), there are a few burning questions in my mind.

The first question is why the increase in apparent racism toward the Muslim community exists. The obvious answer is to point to the 9/11 'terror attacks.' But that was over a decade ago. These past couple of months have by far been the worst as far as openly racist acts by Americans against Muslims, so I feel that the 9/11 argument is invalid, although the fallout may be responsible.

What else could cause this rash outbreak of violence? Perhaps it's as simple as Muslims being shown constantly as aggressive and violent in the media since the events of 9/11. I mean let's just take a look at Hollywood in the past ten years...The Kingdom, The Hurt Locker, World Trade Centre, Charlie Wilson's War and The Kite Runner immediately come to mind as movies that depict Muslims as such. These were all blockbuster movies. Also, how many times have you heard the words 'terror suspect' on the evening news? And how often is this 'suspect' of Muslim faith? This is definitely a contributing factor in the ever-increasing non-tolerance.

The final thing I want to talk about is frustration. I think that this is biggest reason for seeing these despicable acts of violence and hatred. American soldiers in Afghanistan must be frustrated with the fact they've been told over and over again that they will be pulling out of the country; especially with something like 75% of the population of their own country calling for them to leave. They are probably battle-fatigued and tired of this useless war. But this is still no excuse.

I'm sure that frustration played a role in the terrible beating of Shaima Alawadi as well. After a war has been waged for so long, eventually even the invaders become confused of the reason they invaded in the first place. With the number of American and NATO forces killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, I'm sure that there are some who feel that it is the fault of those countries that those forces were there in the first place. Kind of like an abusive relationship - "You make me hit you; I wouldn't have to beat you if you would just act right." Especially if the person/people perpetuating the cycle and carrying out these hate crimes have lost someone close - it seems almost instinctual as humans to cause harm to those who have caused harm to us. Again...this is no excuse. If anyone should be blamed, it should be the American government and mass media, as this seems to have been their goal all along. 

After all, I've said it before, I'll say it again; you CANNOT kill an idea with a weapon, be it a bomb, a fist or a gun. In fact, by invading someone's country and shooting/bombing everybody, both militant and civilian, you are not winning hearts and minds - you are breeding more discontent. Especially when the invaders are trying to force their own culture, ideas and religion on you. I'm not saying that women don't deserve rights, or that children shouldn't go to school - I'm saying that there are MUCH better ways to effect change than through extreme violence, humiliation, disrespect and murder.

May Shaima Alawadi rest in peace...I apologize to your suffering family for our disgusting society.

Peace and Love
The Critical Stranger

As always thoughts, comments and suggestions are appreciated and encouraged.