Letter to one of several friends who could no longer find me on Facebook and feared I had unfriended her:
Dear L___ ,
Sorry to scare you--I've had a few e-mails...
I suspended the entire account due to the hate-posts I was getting or reading on other friend's pages. I was just so tired of the Obama-bashing and then when the mosque/Muslim hate started going, I was so upset I had to leave. It was either that or unfriend 90% of my friends--mostly for what THEIR friends were saying. I couldn't let it roll off my back any more.
The final breaking point was when one woman equated people that would go to the mosque proposed near ground zero as "the same as letting sex offenders set up practice next to an elementary school." I nearly threw up when I read that. So now Muslims that had NOTHING to do with 9/11 and just want to worship God are not only automatically terrorists but also sex offenders and, in another comment by someone else, Nazis?
After 25 years of studying Middle East and American history, 15 years of studying Arabic, a year of living with these wonderful, caring people in Cairo, and all the Arab-American friends I have (on FB also) I couldn't stand it. It has become a platform of ignorance and hate, and it broke my heart.
I still get hate e-mails from my blog, which is where I took refuge with my opinions, but they are only a few a day and I can handle them better.
I didn't cancel FB entirely--I just have to wait till this blows over and figure out how to handle friends I love that have all Muslims confused with 11 sick-ass men that were not in ANY way religious. They may have called themselves that, but no Muslim I have ever met considers them anything but hate-filled crazy men--NOT Muslims.
We have Christians commit mass murders all the time in our country but we do not fear Christianity (well, I do) but the fear of Muslims is being exploited by the press and by campaigners to an extend that I had to almost completely isolate myself.
Tomorrow, for example, I am going to dinner with relatives who are right-wing religious Republicans. It's hard enough for them that my dad is a gay activist--though they treat him with complete respect. You know me, I plan to wear my white tee that has the huge word "peace" on it--in Arabic.
So if you need me I'll be on e-mail and my blog. I just can't take the hate and misinformation anymore. I just didn't want to keep finding out the hard way which of my friends were racists. I've spent my entire adult life fighting those stereotypes with school and personal experience, but in the end, the opposition overwhelmed me. Now they can hate without me constantly commenting on it.
You can see, I'm obviously still worked up about the whole issue (since I can't block the news) so that is why FB was not the place for me anymore.
I did announce it before I left but once I suspended it, people can't see me and just think I unfriended them. In fact, this was the only way I could think of to save those friendships.
I suspended the entire account due to the hate-posts I was getting or reading on other friend's pages. I was just so tired of the Obama-bashing and then when the mosque/Muslim hate started going, I was so upset I had to leave. It was either that or unfriend 90% of my friends--mostly for what THEIR friends were saying. I couldn't let it roll off my back any more.
The final breaking point was when one woman equated people that would go to the mosque proposed near ground zero as "the same as letting sex offenders set up practice next to an elementary school." I nearly threw up when I read that. So now Muslims that had NOTHING to do with 9/11 and just want to worship God are not only automatically terrorists but also sex offenders and, in another comment by someone else, Nazis?
After 25 years of studying Middle East and American history, 15 years of studying Arabic, a year of living with these wonderful, caring people in Cairo, and all the Arab-American friends I have (on FB also) I couldn't stand it. It has become a platform of ignorance and hate, and it broke my heart.
I still get hate e-mails from my blog, which is where I took refuge with my opinions, but they are only a few a day and I can handle them better.
I didn't cancel FB entirely--I just have to wait till this blows over and figure out how to handle friends I love that have all Muslims confused with 11 sick-ass men that were not in ANY way religious. They may have called themselves that, but no Muslim I have ever met considers them anything but hate-filled crazy men--NOT Muslims.
We have Christians commit mass murders all the time in our country but we do not fear Christianity (well, I do) but the fear of Muslims is being exploited by the press and by campaigners to an extend that I had to almost completely isolate myself.
Tomorrow, for example, I am going to dinner with relatives who are right-wing religious Republicans. It's hard enough for them that my dad is a gay activist--though they treat him with complete respect. You know me, I plan to wear my white tee that has the huge word "peace" on it--in Arabic.
So if you need me I'll be on e-mail and my blog. I just can't take the hate and misinformation anymore. I just didn't want to keep finding out the hard way which of my friends were racists. I've spent my entire adult life fighting those stereotypes with school and personal experience, but in the end, the opposition overwhelmed me. Now they can hate without me constantly commenting on it.
You can see, I'm obviously still worked up about the whole issue (since I can't block the news) so that is why FB was not the place for me anymore.
I did announce it before I left but once I suspended it, people can't see me and just think I unfriended them. In fact, this was the only way I could think of to save those friendships.
Love you,
Nancy
Salaam means peace in Arabic. In case anyone wondered. And no, the person modeling this t-shirt was not be-headed by extremists.
Salaam means peace in Arabic. In case anyone wondered. And no, the person modeling this t-shirt was not be-headed by extremists.
2 comments:
Comment by fellow Blogger "Where's Jimbo?"
Well said and completely understandable. I find some of the hate and ignorance on facebook very hard to swallow as well and I even find the "silence" from alot of people I thought were friends hard sometimes as well...its as if people who aren't vocal are burying their heads in the sand on some issues or not paying attention... or don't care. I really don't care if they just had morning coffee or are about to go out to eat. When they speak out, at least you know where they stand on an issue (even if its not the side of the line we would like them to be on).
"So now Muslims that had NOTHING to do with 9/11 and just want to worship God are not only automatically terrorists but also sex offenders and, in another comment by someone else, Nazis?"
When 9/11 occurred the media was too scared to oppose hate speech/nonsense with fact...
first they allowed the patriot act to pass without discussion because hate superseded rights and logic...
Then they allowed the invasion of the wrong country because they were scared to speak out as every other country in the world laughed at us (less UK who's PM later promptly apologized to his people for listening to the US over his own citizens.)...
As the major media networks are still scared to take a stand against any hate speech fearing they will promptly be called left-wing, communist, Nazi, tree-hugging, terrorists, "lib-tards" (- new ironic oxymoron of the right) by FOX and the other heads this will get worse and worse.
State senators suggesting killing illegals from helicopters... Gay-bashing because Jesus would rather keep someone from seeing a doctor than allow someone born different to be equal... Killing of more abortion doctors by using "2nd-amendment remedies"...
Sadly no one is taught right from wrong (or the pain caused in history from this type of blind ignorant hate)... and wrong is no longer "wrong" it is now "political".
People have been fired from jobs and lost relationships with family and friends for just hinting that this is going on around us. The situation you see with the pride behind the vicious ignorance and hate you read.... Is because media and citizens dropped out... They closed the Facebook because facing it was tough.
Completely strip all working relationships from your facebook. (people that you cannot offend or it will seriously damage your life.) And reply. Reply over and over and over... until no one wants to hear it anymore. Make them drop you as a friend or stop the crap. make them defend it. Just don't be afraid and don't give up. If someone's hatred is stronger than your friendship so be it... You probably shouldn't associate with them anyways extending a bit of validity to there speech.
Remember... you can't hate them back... ever... as they are reflections of an environment.
Such is the life of the left... fighting for the free speech of the right... and the right to express ignorant hatred used by the right to strip the free speech of the non-right...
Paradox... and one that sux.
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