The other day, I was working out at the local health club, and I noticed there was a catchy little guitar riff being played on the speakers. It was some rock song that I had never heard before, and while the music was nothing unusual, in fact it was quite familiar, it was rather catchy and hummable. Then I heard the lyrics, they went something like this: "I'm going to join the US Ar--my, and we're gonna bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb babomb". They went on to say "we're gonna shake this city all night long", and "we're gonna bring them to their knees". As I stood there astounded, thinking to myself, "Is this some sort of joke? Is this for real?", I gradually came to the awful realization that I was indeed listening to a pop song on the radio about bombing civilian areas and killing people on a massive scale. It was catchy, it was casual and nonchalant, it was set to electric guitar, it was rather upbeat, and it was advocating mass murder. I am not going to ask you what has happened to our society. I will not be so melodramatic as to ask "What have we become?". I don't think that even the most vigilant, informed, politically minded people could possibly comprehend the true depth of our national depravity, I know I can't, and of course these people are an extreme minority. Most people can't even comprehend that we could possibly do wrong at all. They think that when people attack us it is out of jealousy and evil, that we are perfect and whatever we do is right. There is very little hope for these people and there is very little reason to talk to them at all, any more than there was a reason to tell Hitler that maybe the Jews were human after all and shouldn't be slaughtered. In the words of Mos Def, God did not intend for the wicked to rule the world, and yet clearly they do, and most of us here on the bottom rungs of society are so brainwashed, so hopelessly controlled and enslaved, that only the words of the paid propagandists we see on our television can possibly be taken as the truth. Our only reality is the reality that they have built for us. Our only morals are the morals that they give us. Our only thoughts are the ones that they approve of. We can't possibly realize the true extent of the evil and suffering that is afoot in the world today. Perhaps the best way to express it is with this little poem:
Come away, oh human child
to the waters and the wild
with a Fairy hand in hand,
for the world's more full of weeping
than you can understand.
One million Iraqis are dead, four million Iraqis have been displaced from their homes, and that is just scratching the surface of one nation out of many, many nations that are suffering because of the evil that has highjacked our government and the governments of many other countries. There is so much hate and suffering and racism and oppression and war and greed and corruption and tyranny in the world today, it is impossible to even fathom it. It is time to get off of our high horses and stop acting like god's gift to the world and clean up our act. It is time to stop waving the flag and the cross and start fighting for humanity. It is time to finally realize that there are no "sub-human" humans. We are all the same and we are all humans and there is no "bad race" that is causing all the trouble in the world. It's all of us who cannot let go of our pride and our greed and our anger and our hate long enough to create a better world for our children.
The people in charge are right about one thing: there are too many people on this planet. Earth cannot support the endless expansion and reproduction of humans, there just isn't enough resources, there isn't enough water for everyone, there isn't enough energy, there isn't enough room for all of us and also for the natural ecosystems and flora and fauna that we depend on for sustenance. Humanity as a whole must learn to stop reproducing like rabbits. I don't agree with the elites that humanity must be exterminated. Yes, they plan on exterminating most of us, of course they do, do you really think they would allow us to use up all the resources and destroy the world that they have absolute control over? No way, Jose! They are very cynical about the common people, and don't believe that there is any other alternative other than getting rid of us all before we do any more damage. There is a better way, we can educate people all over the world and encourage them to be responsible and limit the size of their families. The elites don't believe that people can be responsible and do the right thing, I do. I believe in people and I know that if given the chance, they will do what is necessary to make this world a wonderful place to live for everyone. Will they ever get that chance? I don't know. People must shake off the powerful mind control that has ensnared them and get active and informed. They must become active members of their government and unequivocally reject all forms of racism, hate, bigotry and violence. They must turn off their television sets, burn their newspapers and knock on the doors of their congressmen. At least in that there is some hope. If enough people do not do this, then we will all be dispossessed soon, we will see a two tiered feudalist system where the elites have everything and 99.9% of us have absolutely nothing, and then we will be exterminated.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Racism is Alive and Well
I have recently been watching documentaries about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, and I have learned some shocking facts. I have realized that here in America we only get one side of the story, that the other side is systematically ignored or demonized. I have learned many things that I never would have known without doing my own research and watching documentaries on the internet, because these things are not meant to be known by Americans, and our government and our media work together to deprive us of this knowledge.
We all know the Israeli perspective, we know that the Jews suffered during the holocaust and that they were driven from their ancestral lands over a thousand years ago by the Roman empire. We know that Jews feel insecure and that they want their own "homeland", which can serve as a refuge from the crazy Nazis and KKK members of the world. We know that many people hate Israel and that many Palestinians attack Israel in one way or another every year. What we don't know is that Israel was created through massacres and land confiscation, that Palestinians were slaughtered and driven from their homes en masse, and that they are huddled together in refugee camps in Gaza and the West Bank, living under a hostile and often brutal military occupation in squalid conditions as Jewish settlers flood into their areas every year to take the best land, consume most of the water supplies, and demolish any homes that might be "too close" to their new settlements.
We don't know the fear and outrage they feel as they watch their land being slowly stolen before their eyes, we don't know the grief they feel when their children are shot by Israeli soldiers and their houses are demolished by huge armored bulldozers. We only know that "terrorism is bad" so we condemn them and assume that they must just be horrible, violent people with no regard for human life. They must just be angry and hateful by nature. They must just be different and inferior to us. They must just be savages who cannot possibly be dealt with in any way, so they must be destroyed.
As I have discussed this issue on YouTube, I have learned that many people have racist views toward Palestinians, or "Pals" as they call them, and arabs in general. They believe that arabs are intrinsically violent and savage, that they have no regard for human life, and that they cannot be dealt with or reasoned with in any way. I have realized that this is a very prevalent view, and yet I am not sure if most people realize that this is overt racism. If you say that Jews are stingy, or that black people are criminals, or that Mexicans ride donkeys or that white people are uptight, or that Asians are good at math, people will quite readily recognize the obvious racism and stereotyping, but somehow when you say that "arabs are violent", it is often seen simply as a factual statement. In fact, I have pointed out to people that they were bigots during conversations about how horrible all of the arabs are, and they seemed quite shocked but not at all ready to accept that characterization. I get the feeling that most of them honestly don't see themselves as being racist even though they passionately hate an entire race of people based on stereotypical notions about that race.
This to me is the most pernicious form of racism. Sure, there is plenty of overt racism out there, and there are plenty of people who will proudly tell you that they are racists, but somehow, that doesn't seem nearly as dangerous to me as the type of racism that masquerades as justice and fairness. The people who say "I'm not a racist. I don't hate arabs, I just hate all violent people, and all arabs are violent!", those people scare me much more than any KKK member. I know that most of you have heard lots of horrible things about Palestinians. You have seen many reports about suicide bombings and rocket attacks and many other things. I would not deny for one instant that those things are wrong and bad in every way, but I hope you realize that this is only half of the story. I hope you realize that these acts are not the only acts of violence being committed, and Jews are not the only ones being attacked and killed. Most importantly, I hope you realize that no matter what the evening news might try to tell you, through distortion, insinuation or through simple omission, all people are fundamentally the same. Underneath all the trappings of culture and language and religion, all people are EXACTLY ALIKE in very fundamental ways, and all people have rights, all people have dignity, and all people deserve equal consideration and sympathy. Do not fall into the trap of the insidious form of racism that pretends to be the opposite of what it truly is.
We all know the Israeli perspective, we know that the Jews suffered during the holocaust and that they were driven from their ancestral lands over a thousand years ago by the Roman empire. We know that Jews feel insecure and that they want their own "homeland", which can serve as a refuge from the crazy Nazis and KKK members of the world. We know that many people hate Israel and that many Palestinians attack Israel in one way or another every year. What we don't know is that Israel was created through massacres and land confiscation, that Palestinians were slaughtered and driven from their homes en masse, and that they are huddled together in refugee camps in Gaza and the West Bank, living under a hostile and often brutal military occupation in squalid conditions as Jewish settlers flood into their areas every year to take the best land, consume most of the water supplies, and demolish any homes that might be "too close" to their new settlements.
We don't know the fear and outrage they feel as they watch their land being slowly stolen before their eyes, we don't know the grief they feel when their children are shot by Israeli soldiers and their houses are demolished by huge armored bulldozers. We only know that "terrorism is bad" so we condemn them and assume that they must just be horrible, violent people with no regard for human life. They must just be angry and hateful by nature. They must just be different and inferior to us. They must just be savages who cannot possibly be dealt with in any way, so they must be destroyed.
As I have discussed this issue on YouTube, I have learned that many people have racist views toward Palestinians, or "Pals" as they call them, and arabs in general. They believe that arabs are intrinsically violent and savage, that they have no regard for human life, and that they cannot be dealt with or reasoned with in any way. I have realized that this is a very prevalent view, and yet I am not sure if most people realize that this is overt racism. If you say that Jews are stingy, or that black people are criminals, or that Mexicans ride donkeys or that white people are uptight, or that Asians are good at math, people will quite readily recognize the obvious racism and stereotyping, but somehow when you say that "arabs are violent", it is often seen simply as a factual statement. In fact, I have pointed out to people that they were bigots during conversations about how horrible all of the arabs are, and they seemed quite shocked but not at all ready to accept that characterization. I get the feeling that most of them honestly don't see themselves as being racist even though they passionately hate an entire race of people based on stereotypical notions about that race.
This to me is the most pernicious form of racism. Sure, there is plenty of overt racism out there, and there are plenty of people who will proudly tell you that they are racists, but somehow, that doesn't seem nearly as dangerous to me as the type of racism that masquerades as justice and fairness. The people who say "I'm not a racist. I don't hate arabs, I just hate all violent people, and all arabs are violent!", those people scare me much more than any KKK member. I know that most of you have heard lots of horrible things about Palestinians. You have seen many reports about suicide bombings and rocket attacks and many other things. I would not deny for one instant that those things are wrong and bad in every way, but I hope you realize that this is only half of the story. I hope you realize that these acts are not the only acts of violence being committed, and Jews are not the only ones being attacked and killed. Most importantly, I hope you realize that no matter what the evening news might try to tell you, through distortion, insinuation or through simple omission, all people are fundamentally the same. Underneath all the trappings of culture and language and religion, all people are EXACTLY ALIKE in very fundamental ways, and all people have rights, all people have dignity, and all people deserve equal consideration and sympathy. Do not fall into the trap of the insidious form of racism that pretends to be the opposite of what it truly is.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
