Yesterday a horrible event took place: a killing of 13 people and wounding of 31 at a military base. The perpetrator was an American citizen of the Muslim faith, and a military officer. The exact reason has yet to be known. What is known, though, was that in the past this person had been ridiculed by fellow military men and others about his name and religion. We all know that being a person in uniform is no easy task. Sometimes the training, the mindset, the listening to horror stories of soldiers returning form Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel and Pakistan is overwhelming. Especially if people in these countries we are fighting, or even trying to help, are the people of your heritage. Americans can be cruel, also. Maybe not intentionally, but our coarseness, brusqueness, our get-to-the-point attitude has been mistaken many times for arrogance and uncaring. Oftentimes this feeling of low self worth, ridicule, and "not belonging" can be exploited by larger groups for a sinister purpose. Or we ourselves just can't take it anymore.
Right wing radio and television---ok, Fox and the 700 Club for sure---have already started the questioning. The backlash has begun. More trouble will start. It works so well for getting the teabaggers together.
"Just what makes this a "Muslim problem?" Maybe it's a "male problem." Maybe it is a "gun problem." Or an "Army problem."
Timothy McVeigh was Catholic. Was the bombing of the Oklahoma Federal Building a "Catholic problem?" Hitler was a Catholic. Another "Catholic problem?" Serial killer Ted Bundy was Mormon. Was that a "Mormon problem?" The Son of Sam was a baptist. Dylan Bennet Klebold, of the infamous Columbine shootings was Lutheran. A "Lutheran problem, perhaps?"
In reality, this is a "Bigotry problem." And those people full of hate are happy to make an issue of it."................from Huff Post.
The above response to an article this morning hits the nail on the head. Try to keep some perspective in all of this. If there are cooler heads among us, let them prevail.
