As I climbed up to the train platform this morning for my daily commute, I noticed some Muslim women--most likely from West Africa--standing and sitting on the platform, floating still in brightly dyed hijab. I've seen them before; last time I saw them they were all huddled together, chatting and peering around at the plainly-clothed 'mericans. Today they were spread out along the platform, each standing or sitting alone or in pairs. I wanted to stare at them (their robes were so gorgeous!) but I lowered my eyes and found an un-crowded spot to stand. I stood there thinking, "why can't I admire them? Because I feel guilty. Why do I feel guilty? Because of the way they must see me. To them, I must be the ugly 'merican, so swollen with unchecked patriotic pride (in my red shirt, of all colors) that the righteousness must be dripping off of me.
"But I'm not that 'merican. I have a liberal arts degree, I'm educated, I want to be an advocate of kindness and justice, I just want to look at their pretty robes and smile and have us all be at peace and accept one another." And then the happy little bunnies and birdies will surround us and make a big rainbow.
Okay, so I have a right to feel guilty. I am an American, whether I like it or not, I am part of this establishment. I'm just astonished when I read what my fellow Americans are writing. In the opinion section of the online news, where comments on the articles are invited, I've read people say the most offensive things, like in this article http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/07/18/275611.aspx :
"When will the muslim world realize that their own religion is at the core of their own sorrows! That their religion causes the eventual infighting, hatred, extremism and the downright absurdness of their life. I know that this statement will be met with the "obligatory" defiant responses of the "truly devout", where (according to the Koran) you must register your opposition to anything wrong said about your religion, even when your gut tells you how wrong it is and where we all know you truely do not believe in this, or conversely if you will: we all know how you would wish that your religion would be otherwise.
Jonen Doe, Seattle, Wash. (Sent Wednesday, July 18, 2007 2:51 PM"
"Less sex = less terrorists. Unfortunately, that's how I have to look at it. Sadly we don't have the ability to know which baby will become a terrorist who comes from afar to hurt us; or which baby will be raised in the US or UK, enjoying all its freedoms and still grow up to hurt us. The less of them there are, the safer we will be. Eugenics might be the answer.
Had enough, Los Angeles, CA (Sent Wednesday, July 18, 2007 3:31 PM)"
"Any religion which promotes/reguires murdering of anyone who disagrees with them is simply unacceptable to a civilized person..Christianity has a lot to answer for in the past but thank God we moved on beyond that. Get out of there !! We can't change them---old habits are too hard to break--even if they wanted to---
Jim Evans,, Edgemont, Arkansas (Sent Wednesday, July 18, 2007 3:52 PM)"
"So why are Muslim fundamentalists so nasty? To each other and to the world in general? So the point is (listen up, John Doe of Oregon) as long as their religion is opposed to making love and not war, there will always be disgruntaled unpleasant 20 something males who will be brainwashed into believing they can kill anyone in the name of their god. Pathetic. As soon as all Muslim women give up on their religion and tell the men no more sex until peace is put first, there will always be war. Oh never mind, their religion will always breed hate, regardless of any common sense.
Scott Sowle (Sent Wednesday, July 18, 2007 3:35 PM)"
and my personal favorite:
"Thats really sad. Those poor poeple. Im glad I live in America.
Adel Roebel, Arlen, Texas (Sent Wednesday, July 18, 2007 3:18 PM)"
From this I can see that what Americans have learned from this war is that Al-Qaida is the leader of Iraq, all Muslim men (and thus, all Iraqi men) are terrorists or terrorist supporters, and Islam is a religion that "breeds hate" and "promotes/requires murdering of anyone who disagrees with them." Also, Americans think that America is without any faults, being the good Christian nation that it is, and thank God we all live in a nation which is so free and accepting of others. Um, NO. CLEARLY, no.
Okay, everyone, remember September 11, 2001, when all the planes fell from the sky? Remember what our trusty president told us? We wanted him to blame someone for this tragedy, and he did. He blamed Al-Qaida, based in Afghanistan, and he swore to fight the terrorists in Afghanistan for us. But poor King George II couldn't FIND any terrorists to blow up in Afghanistan, so he decided to finish what his daddy had started and begin the task of usurping the dictator Saddam Hussein from his evil throne. Okay, fine. But Americans started to wonder: hey King George, um, excuse me, but, uh, weren't you supposed to be exacting our revenge on the Afghani terrorists? Why are you spending our money on fighting innocent Iraqi people? King George had to think fast. So he made up a story about how magically the Al-Qaida terrorists DON'T live in Afghanistan anymore, they REALLY live in Iraq, and King George is going to blow them all up, don't worry.
OH! We get it. They live in Iraq. Oh, well, sorry to interrupt. Please continue the revenge then.
I guess we really are that gullible. But come on, America. Don't you feel duped? Don't you feel swindled? I mean, from what I've seen, a good hearty 'merican holds on to his cowhide wallet for dear life and doesn't want no government spending his money. He wants to spend it himself. It doesn't sound very 'merican to give his government free reign over his wallet and allow the president to play out his little football fantasy war with hardworking 'merican money.
Americans get very angry when someone steals their credit card and runs up invalid charges. I just don't understand how we can all sit back and allow our leaders to shovel our money into the political black hole that is Iraq, without even a second thought. Are we really that stupid? Or are we afraid to speak out, afraid that if we try to change the way things are run, the terrorists will smell our momentary weakness and come snarling back at our heels? Are we really better off fighting stubbornly and making Iraqi people (most of whom weren't terrorists before we declared war on them) even more furious at us?
And what about the damage it's doing here in our country, the resentment and the prejudice it fosters? Even if the conflict in Iraq stopped right now, the damage to American sentiment is done. Americans--especially Christian Americans--generalize the work of a few militant extremists to encompass and reflect the entire belief system of Islam. Every man with a turban (including Indian and Asian people) and a beard and every woman with a head scarf (including orthodox Jews) is a terrorist, is friends with or related to a terrorist, or is sympathetic to the terrorists. Even Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam, by definition is a terrorist. I mean, of course he is. His last name is Islam and he sings a song called "peace train." Sounds like a real warmonger to me.
We need to wake up and start taking responsibility for our actions and, vicariously, for the actions of our leaders. Because that's what democracy is supposed to accomplish. I don't know about the rest of you, America, but I'm pretty sure I don't want to wait until January of 2009 to see some change.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Chicago, Illiniwek
I just finished perusing the American Indian Center of Chicago's website, and the conditions in which American Indians live in the city of Chicago are deplorable. Absolutely deplorable. The main events on the social calendar are events geared towards social services and helping the homeless and addicted. I saw a weekly AA meeting and a weekly function to give clothing and food to the needy. I am aghast. How can we, as Americans who claim to be members of a "good Christian nation," as citizens of Chicago who claim to embrace diversity, allow the original and rightful owners of the land we inhabit to live without any resources, and without any hope of receiving those basic life needs? Shame on you, Chicago.
Coming from the point of view of a native Coloradan, Chicago clearly does not know how to expose the public to information about the first nations of Illinois. I blame the city and the state for their ignorance in this matter and their apathy in helping to improve the situation. The Native Americans of Chicago need more than just a small central base in sketchy Uptown and a little art gallery in Schaumburg. I pledge to do what I can to improve the situation, whether it's lending my own talents or giving away a little money or clothing, because this is unacceptable. Every single state in the union should have such a wealth of information on and exposure to its native peoples that their stories, achievements, and histories should be staring every visitor in the face and should always be in the back of every citizen's educational memory. If that could happen, we would no longer allow our fellow citizens who are Native to live in the third world countries of reservations or in shabby AA centers in boarded-Up-town.
Coming from the point of view of a native Coloradan, Chicago clearly does not know how to expose the public to information about the first nations of Illinois. I blame the city and the state for their ignorance in this matter and their apathy in helping to improve the situation. The Native Americans of Chicago need more than just a small central base in sketchy Uptown and a little art gallery in Schaumburg. I pledge to do what I can to improve the situation, whether it's lending my own talents or giving away a little money or clothing, because this is unacceptable. Every single state in the union should have such a wealth of information on and exposure to its native peoples that their stories, achievements, and histories should be staring every visitor in the face and should always be in the back of every citizen's educational memory. If that could happen, we would no longer allow our fellow citizens who are Native to live in the third world countries of reservations or in shabby AA centers in boarded-Up-town.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
We've got "problems"
I keep hearing of these tragic shootings occurring when the gunman had a "problem," or "something wasn't quite right" in his mental state. First, the college shooting in West Virginia. Now, some guy claiming to be the emperor of Colorado strolls into the governor's offices and gets himself shot (before he is able to shoot anyone else) by the security staff. Governor Bill Ritter is quoted as saying, "it does seem like he was having some sort of psychotic lapse..." In the aftermath of these attacks, everyone shakes their heads and says, "oh how terrible, how evil, crime doesn't pay, who would be so full of hate that they could commit such an act?"
What is at the root of gun violence and other violence? People think:
-guns are too easy to get
-there aren't enough restrictions on firearm usage and ownership
-people don't have enough/the right education/attention from parents
-bad influences from video games, movies and books
-not enough police and law enforcement
-not enough security tags/officers/screenings/doors/metal detectors
and so on and so forth. Americans, the classic individualists (E Pluribus Unum/Out of Many, ONE) point their fingers in blame everywhere but towards themselves. We should hang our heads in shame because every single one of us American citizens has the power to stop violence and we ignore or refuse that right time after time.
I maintain that the real and truthful cause of violence in America is the utterly dilapidated state of our health care system and specifically, our mental health care system. I acknowledge that thse other factors play a role in violence; poor parenting, violent imagery, violent environments, or poor security and regulation of weapons. But these factors would never have the kind of impact they have on our society if we provided our fellow citizens with adequate mental health care using our own taxable resources.
I believe that, with the rare exception here and there, no human being is purely evil. While people may commit evil acts, these acts do not make people evil, nor do they imply a kind of inherent evil. Rather, evil acts reveal an underlying illness, condition, or coping mechanism brought on by a variety of catalysts. Yet when violent crimes are committed, the knee-jerk reaction is to conjure up satanic images and damn the perpetrators, without giving the slightest thought to motive or medical history.
Amazingly these impulsive generalizations drift into the minds of our policymakers and politicians, who make hasty decisions in their attempt to please the groaning masses. So we are saddled with a swarm of half-baked gun-control laws and ordinances and speedily constructed metal detectors while mental hospitals and wards are closing their doors left and right, and state budget cuts force mental health clinics to lay off trained psychological professionals and prevent patients from receiving much-needed care.
This trend is not remarkable when one considers the current state of the health care and insurance industry. If people can't even afford decent health care for their most basic human needs, how can we expect the mental health industry to be any better? When we do establish a universal health care system and eliminate the health care problems that plague us once and for all, we absolutely must make room for mental health. Indeed we must give it the same precedence we give to our broken limbs, our liposuction, and our heart attacks, because if a heart attack is considered a dire situation, a relapse of psychosis is just as much a life-or-death scenario, even if its violent face does not immediately reveal itself.
We Americans need to start seeing mental health as equally important as physical health. Physical health and mental health are inextricably entwined; when one is failing, inevitably the other begins its decline. Thus the "problems" that these gunmen have need to be addressed before they ever buy the gun, load the bullets, and pull the trigger. Americans are too trigger-happy as it is, eager to point blaming fingers at every obvious culprit, but we need to step back and examine the clear evidence that is laid before us. Of course these violent people have "problems." They become violent because they lack the resources to solve their problems, and those of us who do have resources or have the power to create resources need to do so before any more needless blood is shed. Right now, the blood of both the victims and the killers whose lives are forever ruined is on our hands.
What is at the root of gun violence and other violence? People think:
-guns are too easy to get
-there aren't enough restrictions on firearm usage and ownership
-people don't have enough/the right education/attention from parents
-bad influences from video games, movies and books
-not enough police and law enforcement
-not enough security tags/officers/screenings/doors/metal detectors
and so on and so forth. Americans, the classic individualists (E Pluribus Unum/Out of Many, ONE) point their fingers in blame everywhere but towards themselves. We should hang our heads in shame because every single one of us American citizens has the power to stop violence and we ignore or refuse that right time after time.
I maintain that the real and truthful cause of violence in America is the utterly dilapidated state of our health care system and specifically, our mental health care system. I acknowledge that thse other factors play a role in violence; poor parenting, violent imagery, violent environments, or poor security and regulation of weapons. But these factors would never have the kind of impact they have on our society if we provided our fellow citizens with adequate mental health care using our own taxable resources.
I believe that, with the rare exception here and there, no human being is purely evil. While people may commit evil acts, these acts do not make people evil, nor do they imply a kind of inherent evil. Rather, evil acts reveal an underlying illness, condition, or coping mechanism brought on by a variety of catalysts. Yet when violent crimes are committed, the knee-jerk reaction is to conjure up satanic images and damn the perpetrators, without giving the slightest thought to motive or medical history.
Amazingly these impulsive generalizations drift into the minds of our policymakers and politicians, who make hasty decisions in their attempt to please the groaning masses. So we are saddled with a swarm of half-baked gun-control laws and ordinances and speedily constructed metal detectors while mental hospitals and wards are closing their doors left and right, and state budget cuts force mental health clinics to lay off trained psychological professionals and prevent patients from receiving much-needed care.
This trend is not remarkable when one considers the current state of the health care and insurance industry. If people can't even afford decent health care for their most basic human needs, how can we expect the mental health industry to be any better? When we do establish a universal health care system and eliminate the health care problems that plague us once and for all, we absolutely must make room for mental health. Indeed we must give it the same precedence we give to our broken limbs, our liposuction, and our heart attacks, because if a heart attack is considered a dire situation, a relapse of psychosis is just as much a life-or-death scenario, even if its violent face does not immediately reveal itself.
We Americans need to start seeing mental health as equally important as physical health. Physical health and mental health are inextricably entwined; when one is failing, inevitably the other begins its decline. Thus the "problems" that these gunmen have need to be addressed before they ever buy the gun, load the bullets, and pull the trigger. Americans are too trigger-happy as it is, eager to point blaming fingers at every obvious culprit, but we need to step back and examine the clear evidence that is laid before us. Of course these violent people have "problems." They become violent because they lack the resources to solve their problems, and those of us who do have resources or have the power to create resources need to do so before any more needless blood is shed. Right now, the blood of both the victims and the killers whose lives are forever ruined is on our hands.
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