There has been an undeniable amount of inhumanity these past couple of months. Everything from racist anonymous posts on Yik Yak, threatening the lives of students at Mizzou, to the terrorist attacks on Paris and many other countries. I find myself becoming more and more desensitized by school shootings and bombings because it has become this horrific norm. How can we continue our lives knowing there are people out there willing to kill the innocent? We do this, by stopping the hatred.
The tragedy in Paris and all other countries that ISIS terrorizes has been nothing less than emotional. To fight such an evil, we must unite together. I am Muslim. I am not afraid of ISIS, and I do not stand with them. They are a brainwashed group of individuals focused on tearing apart the world, and we cannot let them do that. Their goal is to bring fear and hatred into our hearts and minds. They want us to turn against each other and the moment we do that is the moment they win.
It’s safe to say that those filled with hate in their hearts are deeply ignorant. It's unfortunate that in a generation where access to information is so readily available, there are still people rooted in their racist beliefs and stubborn ideologies. We have this lucky thing called social media where we can bring together people of this generation and come together as humans. However, there are people using this as a tool to spread hate and violence. I personally believe, that in spite of those with hatred, social media has become a platform where we have built a larger understanding and respect of each other.
It’s disappointing to be part of a country so advanced in other areas, but unable to handle issues of race, religion or ethnicity head on. Unless you are Native American, your ancestors immigrated here and, therefore, your right to be here and be considered equal is just the same for Mexicans, African Americans, Middle Easterners, and all minorities being considered less than white Americans. We built this country with a foundation of freedom: freedom of religion, speech, press, etc. Are we forgetting that our diversity is what makes us unique? That our freedom is something to be cherished and respected?
I hope that one day we can all live together in peace. I hope that one-day judgement filled eyes are things of the past and acceptance of all races, religions, skin colors are our future. We are all one in the same and when we recognize that is when we can move forward. I stand with love, do you?
