I don’t really have any kind of introduction to my stories of the day today, except that sometimes, on days like today, I wonder how I can see things with such a common-sense view, and other people seem to hiding their heads in the sand and not looking at the big pictures. *sigh* (can’t we all just get along?!). Anyways, with no further ado, here’s what I was reading today:
- Violence doesn’t erase the legitimacy of grievances – in Baltimore, Tel Aviv or the West Bank
- This is a REALLY great article. It’s such an obvious and simple parallel – we may all agree that violence is wrong: physical violence, property destruction, looting, etc, but we NEED to look at the injustices that motivate people to resort to violence. We can condemn the violence, but address the injustices that cause that violence. The author makes a splendid comparison with reactions to the riots in Baltimore and the protests by Ethiopian Israelis, and how the world reacts when a Palestinian kid throws a rock at an IDF tank in Gaza.
- The Syrian Refugees Who Pay With Their Life To Leave
- “The equivalent of five passenger planes full of people have drowned last week alone, and this is only the start of the summer,” says Kate Allen, Amnesty’s UK director. “If they had been vacationers instead of migrants imagine the response.”
- This sentence breaks my heart. Think of all the resources that have gone into finding MH370 or the outrage when the Costa Concordia ran aground. Even more than “if they had been vacationers” – imagine if all the refugees were white. Imagine if all of the drowned mothers, fathers, and children, were blonde-haired, blue-eyed, English speakers named John, Sally, and Joe. So much of the response to the refugee crisis has been subtle racism and Islamophobia, and it is absolutely deplorable.
- (By the way – not only Europe. Here’s a scathing article of how Canada is doing too: Opinion: Canada is failing in its responsibilities to refugees )
- “The equivalent of five passenger planes full of people have drowned last week alone, and this is only the start of the summer,” says Kate Allen, Amnesty’s UK director. “If they had been vacationers instead of migrants imagine the response.”
- ‘Blame the Muslims’: Islamophobia is fuelled by government and media
- To add to my point above – If I don’t have to apologize for crimes committed by white people, or by women, or by Canadians, then Muslim people do not have to apologize for crimes committed by other Muslim people. Period. Full stop. But in this crazy, topsy-turvy world, where, apparently, they do – THEY ARE. After any atrocious act committed by IS/ISIS/ISIL, you will hear community leaders, Imams, or simply just your regular Muslim fellow, condemn those acts of violence. Anyone who tells you that Muslims don’t denounce those acts are not paying enough attention.
megldavenport 