(Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris - murder of a policeman, who just happened be to Muslim)
With the many, many different attacks going
on in the world it is interesting to see the labels people use. Some people refer to an "event" as
a hate crime and others call it a terrorist attack. When it comes down to it, what is the
difference? Both are targeted, both are
designed to create fear, both are a way to try and control the actions of
others and say your way is the only way and that anyone who does not follow
that one life path should be harmed or killed.
It does not matter if it is committed by one perpetrator or by many, the
result is still the same.
All these types of "crimes" are the result of
anger and hate: the man shooting women from a tower, bombing a planned
parenting clinic, people flying planes into buildings, others using car bombs
to kill people of a different religion or geographical area, the rape, torture
and murder of people "on the other side" regardless of sex, age or
even religious or political affiliation.
This is not a Muslim "issue", it is a continuous issue
throughout history with different "players" be it Catholics versus
Protestants, Christine vs Pagans, Irish vs English, or Muslims against anyone,
and many more examples. At some point
every group, be it geographical, cultural or religious has either been
targeted, or been the aggressor. (If I am wrong please give me examples of a
people that have never been the victim or aggressor.)
No need to hate, or teach hate
I don’t have any answers on how to change this. I don’t even know if humankind can change
this part of ourselves, it always seems to be us against them. I have to laugh because even as I write this I do so knowing that I am trying to influence others, to get them to "change" and see things my way. Sure my ideal is to not hate, harm or kill but still it is my idea of what is good and right. I cannot make others follow my ideals, The difference between me and people I would consider terrorists or do hate crimes is that I am not going to try and force others to change and do as I say or harm those that don't believe as I do.
Vasco da Gama fans attack an Atletico Paranaense fan during the match in Joinville in Santa
In one way sports and other competitions seem
to be a good way to fulfill the need for us vs them. But
it seems as if that need to identify with one group, and be against or better then another never goes away, just gets bigger. There is even violent conflicts between people who like different teams, so even sports competitions don't control or reduce that need. It is one of our greatest weaknesses. It is a great way to control a population,
give them someone to blame, to be angry at, to hate and harm.
The greatest example I can give is Hitler. He knew
he needed a focus population to blame so he found a population that did not have a
“country” to support them, the Jewish.
He used hate, discrimination and in the end mass murder to unite and
control his country. Others still use
his ideas to justify feeling “We are better than everyone else, we are right,
people must do as we want” and making it okay to hate, harm and kill everyone
that does not fit in their ideal world.
The funny part is Hitler himself did not fit in his so called perfect
race of people. That alone in my view
justifies the belief that all his propaganda was political and power motivated,
not an actual belief of superiority. The
hate and us vs. them was simply a tool to get him what he wanted.
(I don't know if this is a real quote from Hitler or not, regardless idea behind it is valid, the victor writes the history books)
I think in most cases this is true, even when it is disguised
as a religious motivation, it still comes down to “We want you to do what we
think is right, not what you think it right.
Only we have the right to make choices.”
I am sure that the people actually doing the killing (and in some cases dying
for their cause) really believe what they are being taught. It is the people telling them what to do,
what to think that you have to take a close look at. It is never a good idea to follow blindly, no
matter what the belief or instructions are.
Think for yourself, make choices.
And if your salvation comes at the cost of others rights, freedoms and
lives is it really salvation?
