Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdel Hamid and Tahseen Ahmed
These three students were gunned down by what very much appears to be a homicidal xenophobe.
And that is very much worth some words.
As an adamant supporter of Israel, I think it needs to be said that the travesty of such an action is beyond reprehensible. While I am immersed in the fear of friends and family who are Jewish, I also see the hate directed at Palestinians daily; as people who carry hate in their hearts… can not distinguish between an Arab Kaffiyeh and the Kurish Gemedani I wear that comes from Hadji Ali. So I get clumped in, sometimes violently so. Being used to violence directed at me, I see it as a fair trade. I count myself fortunate to have a firsthand lens to feel our nations failings. It is very educational.
There is so much hate on both sides… people bump into me in what is obviously Islamophobic violence, thinking I am Muslim and conversely some people reach out to me and flagrantly spout genocidal hatred at the Jewish folk. “Anyone with a patterned scarf” is assumed to have a stake in this.
Sitting removed from all this, in solidarity with a completely unaffiliated folk that are recovering from a true genocide, and having barely survived many encounters myself when I was living with them… I can not explain how much revulsion I feel at the vicarious emotions that so many residents of the good ol’ USofA seem so willing to carry. Assuming they have skin in the game just because they watch instagram or tiktok feeds….
This country is a place to have dialogue, to listen, to debate, to argue… but we are slowly destroying it. Social media tweaking our imaginal space so this isolated country develops the visceral responses that result in the tragedy that happened in New England yesterday.
We have the safety to do hard talking here. And while that may seem “entitled” to the “Direct Action Social Justice Warriors” out there in the woke part of murica; it is actually very necessary that we have peaceful debate in the nations where we CAN have peaceful debate. I have learned that from the very wise people that have mentored me in the past decade to make me who I am.
Allow me to explain why…
Violence is contagious, but so is earnest dialogue. We have the very precious resource of having a container in our nation… that can provide a space for that dialogue. If we chose dialogue over enraged hate, then we will contribute to a better world. If we choose rancour and hate, then this bastion of reason will continue to falter.
It is an incorrigible affront to all parties in this conflict to not work to find solutions peaceably in the places where we have that opportunity. And it plays into the hands of all the folks that seek violence, not just on one side, but all sides.
We all have to step back from the anger. I stand with Israel, and I mourn for the Palestinian Arabs that are isolated not just by Israel, but by every nation in the middle east. I have friends at mortal risk on all sides, but i stand calmly. Hard words sometimes, but calm.
One does not have to be cynical to be calm about this, one simply just has to see that this is simply par for the course in human relations. Challenging, but in taking that grounded stance, maybe we can enact change. Many wise minds are calling out for dialogue. People need to listen. If we do not step outside ourselves and work to find a better tomorrow, the streets will just run with the blood of children.
We don’t do this here.
This must stop.
In abet ken
