Today I was watching a news station which I will not name, though you could probably guess, which told me that

“These people hate us. They hate us and want us dead. They want us dead!”

Of course he was referring to Islamist extremists, but he was also discussing Chechnyan people, the 9/11 attacks and other terror incidents. This created an image in the listener’s head that extended beyond extremists to a rather large group of “these people” that hate “us”. He went on to say that we know “these people” hate “us”, but yet we seem to always need a reminder like 9/11 or the Boston Marathon Bombings to remind us. He said that instead of waiting around for an attack we need to start doing something.

What exactly does he think we should do?

I can tell you what I think he is implying and what is already happening because of reporters like him. According to a recent publication in The Atlantic Wire,  an innocent man was attacked by a group of men as he came out of a restaurant just because he looked a certain way. An innocent doctor walking down the street with her child was assaulted just because she was dressed a certain way. Is this going to solve our problems? All it is going to do is make things worse and worse. If I understand correctly, the real threat is Islamic extremists who think that they will be rewarded by killing people like Americans for some reason or another. However, there are Islamic people who do not believe this. I live in a community with many people who are Muslim and I teach their children. Some you wouldn’t even know are Muslim because they do not even wear the traditional clothing. Others of course are covered head to toe, but does this mean they hate Americans? Does this give me the right to attack them? What will happen if anti Islamic attacks increase even further across the country?

Living in Fear

I cannot imagine the fear many people are feeling right now, if they look a certain way or dress a certain way, that they might be mistaken for a terrorist. I feel like the media has let us down in many respects. The media was developed to inform the American people without bias. However, my question is simply this: where is the media? They are trying to have us living in fear of each other. They do not always present correct information or the facts; they are constantly pushing agendas. Whether it be from the right or the left. I feel the media has succeeded in creating more hatred and fear that causes people to act irrationally. Of course what happened in Boston was appalling and disgusting and completely inexcusable. But to say that we should do something with “these people” before they have a chance to attack “us” again is not going to lead to a better future. It will only continue to make things worse. When is someone going to realize that death and destruction do not lead to peace and love?

Image Credit:MaldenPatch