Courtesy Photo Paris turned out their lights in mourning (they’re known as the city of light) as rest of the world lit their major landmarks with the red, white and blue of the french flag.
(Our Hearts Are With Paris)
Here we are again. One hundred and thirty-two people are dead in Paris. More are injured. The city of light and love shut off its lights in mourning.
For Americans, this should hit really close to home. We know the terror they felt, because we felt it too. The people in New York know what it’s like to have their day suddenly rocked by explosions. The people in the rest of the country know how everyone else in France felt, having to watch on TV, wondering if someone they knew was hurt. If they were dead.
Then, of course, this tragedy turned into an issue of religion.
Right-wingers from all over the world are saying that it’s obvious these terrorists snuck in with the refugees. They neglect, as always, to understand that these refugees are fleeing from such hostile people like this who have all but ruined their homeland.
So we begin this vicious scare cycle anew.
Islamophobia was already a huge problem, but now after the Paris attacks, it’s only going to get worse. I was in a gas station the other day getting a drink when an old man glanced at the TV which was running a story about terrorists mixed with refugees. He said, very loudly, “Well that’s what happens when you let muslims in your country, and it’s going to happen here too.”
I spent the next five minutes loudly lecturing him on how flawed and racist everything he said was. He just smiled. The people behind the counter applauded me.
Bigotry is dying, and so many people are trying to keep it alive. Not just racist old white people, but extremists that think all Christians/Jews/Muslims/Whites/Blacks/Asians/Pandas/and Jack Blacks deserve to die. They fight so hard to keep hate alive, and we can’t let them win.
What disgusts me even more is that it’s not just the right-wing speaking against all of this. Liberals all over the world are keen to remind everyone how xenophobic France can and has been. They remind people that Parisians especially tend to be racist.
These are the same people that will go off on you on the internet if they think you are victim blaming, but just like with Charlie Hebdo, it only counts when it agrees with their convictions. It’s fine to victim blame a country, especially if that country has slighted a disenfranchised minority (according to Americans, of course, because we’re the only ones who have opinions that mean anything).
The thing is, it doesn’t matter what they’ve done. EVERY Western country has majorly racist pasts and most of them have majorly racist presents. That doesn’t mean every citizen does.
And let me remind you about France, because for some reason, the truth of that country gets lost amid tired World War II jokes about us saving their asses, and for some reason lots of frog jokes. Thing is? We wouldn’t exist without France. We’d still be singing God Save The Queen and breaking for tea time every afternoon. France is our oldest ally. They were our ally before we even declared our independence. They fought alongside us countless times. And as for World War II and their supposed cowardice? They fought from the inside. Viva la révolution, anyone?
Paris est la ville de la lumière. La ville de l’amour. Nous ne pouvons pas laisser les terroristes et la haine l’enlever.
(Paris is the city of light. The city of love. We can not let terrorists and hate take that away.)
Nos Coeurs Sont Avec Paris
Courtesy Photo
Paris turned out their lights in mourning (they’re known as the city of light) as rest of the world lit their major landmarks with the red, white and blue of the french flag.
(Our Hearts Are With Paris)
Here we are again. One hundred and thirty-two people are dead in Paris. More are injured. The city of light and love shut off its lights in mourning.
For Americans, this should hit really close to home. We know the terror they felt, because we felt it too. The people in New York know what it’s like to have their day suddenly rocked by explosions. The people in the rest of the country know how everyone else in France felt, having to watch on TV, wondering if someone they knew was hurt. If they were dead.
Then, of course, this tragedy turned into an issue of religion.
Right-wingers from all over the world are saying that it’s obvious these terrorists snuck in with the refugees. They neglect, as always, to understand that these refugees are fleeing from such hostile people like this who have all but ruined their homeland.
So we begin this vicious scare cycle anew.
Islamophobia was already a huge problem, but now after the Paris attacks, it’s only going to get worse. I was in a gas station the other day getting a drink when an old man glanced at the TV which was running a story about terrorists mixed with refugees. He said, very loudly, “Well that’s what happens when you let muslims in your country, and it’s going to happen here too.”
I spent the next five minutes loudly lecturing him on how flawed and racist everything he said was. He just smiled. The people behind the counter applauded me.
Bigotry is dying, and so many people are trying to keep it alive. Not just racist old white people, but extremists that think all Christians/Jews/Muslims/Whites/Blacks/Asians/Pandas/and Jack Blacks deserve to die. They fight so hard to keep hate alive, and we can’t let them win.
What disgusts me even more is that it’s not just the right-wing speaking against all of this. Liberals all over the world are keen to remind everyone how xenophobic France can and has been. They remind people that Parisians especially tend to be racist.
These are the same people that will go off on you on the internet if they think you are victim blaming, but just like with Charlie Hebdo, it only counts when it agrees with their convictions. It’s fine to victim blame a country, especially if that country has slighted a disenfranchised minority (according to Americans, of course, because we’re the only ones who have opinions that mean anything).
The thing is, it doesn’t matter what they’ve done. EVERY Western country has majorly racist pasts and most of them have majorly racist presents. That doesn’t mean every citizen does.
And let me remind you about France, because for some reason, the truth of that country gets lost amid tired World War II jokes about us saving their asses, and for some reason lots of frog jokes. Thing is? We wouldn’t exist without France. We’d still be singing God Save The Queen and breaking for tea time every afternoon. France is our oldest ally. They were our ally before we even declared our independence. They fought alongside us countless times. And as for World War II and their supposed cowardice? They fought from the inside. Viva la révolution, anyone?
Paris est la ville de la lumière. La ville de l’amour. Nous ne pouvons pas laisser les terroristes et la haine l’enlever.
(Paris is the city of light. The city of love. We can not let terrorists and hate take that away.)
Avec amour,
Dane La Born