After 9/11, I was annoyed at the general attitude of the Muslim/Arab community. Yes, some Muslims DID speak up against the terrorist attack. But it seemed this was greatly overshadowed by Muslims whining and complaining about facing reactive bigotry and discrimination.
Now I find myself in the same boat. I'm outraged about WikiLeaks. Yesterday, I was close to crying because I read that now Bank of America is joining the witch hunt. It's a scary and depressing situation.
I haven't had my head in the sand....well, at least not completely. I have known there are dark spots in the American government. But this Assange thing has kind of slapped my face with it. You know what I mean?
At the same time, I'm annoyed with some of the comments I read by Australians on various news sites. Such as Chris from the Gold Coast who says, The U.S. i really hope they never make it out of recession. What they deserve isn't a prosperous economy, what they deserve is to become a 3rd world. They have murdered people in the name of 'freedom' and now they are trying to shut up a "terrorist" because they have been exposed. Great democracy. Might as well be China.
Ouch, Chris. Thanks a lot. That kind of hurts.
If he was just talking about our corrupt government, I might agree with him. But no country is made up of government alone. There are LOTS of people in a country, and it's highly likely that not everyone stands behind what the government is doing.
That's just one comment of many like that which has appeared in the last few weeks. It hurts to read them, because I AM American. So I start to feel all defensive. I'm angry at a lot of people in my government, MasterCard, Visa, Bank of America, Paypal, the media, and then I also feel angry at ignorant people who paint all of us Americans with the same brush.
But then as my blood started boiling over some of these comments, I realized I'm acting in the same manner I felt the Muslim community acted after 9/11.
I think it IS okay to be annoyed and hurt by hyperbole and bigoted statements. But I think that really needs to be a secondary concern. I think the more important thing is to make sure people know that you do NOT support the wrong things that are happening.
It's bad to say prejudice things against Muslims, but it's not as bad as bombing a building full of innocent people.
It's bad to say prejudice things against Americans on a message board, but it's not as bad as a powerful and corrupt government forming a witch hunt and getting financial institutions to back them up.
In the end, you gotta put things in perspective and direct your anger at the right things.
Now I find myself in the same boat. I'm outraged about WikiLeaks. Yesterday, I was close to crying because I read that now Bank of America is joining the witch hunt. It's a scary and depressing situation.
I haven't had my head in the sand....well, at least not completely. I have known there are dark spots in the American government. But this Assange thing has kind of slapped my face with it. You know what I mean?
At the same time, I'm annoyed with some of the comments I read by Australians on various news sites. Such as Chris from the Gold Coast who says, The U.S. i really hope they never make it out of recession. What they deserve isn't a prosperous economy, what they deserve is to become a 3rd world. They have murdered people in the name of 'freedom' and now they are trying to shut up a "terrorist" because they have been exposed. Great democracy. Might as well be China.
Ouch, Chris. Thanks a lot. That kind of hurts.
If he was just talking about our corrupt government, I might agree with him. But no country is made up of government alone. There are LOTS of people in a country, and it's highly likely that not everyone stands behind what the government is doing.
That's just one comment of many like that which has appeared in the last few weeks. It hurts to read them, because I AM American. So I start to feel all defensive. I'm angry at a lot of people in my government, MasterCard, Visa, Bank of America, Paypal, the media, and then I also feel angry at ignorant people who paint all of us Americans with the same brush.
But then as my blood started boiling over some of these comments, I realized I'm acting in the same manner I felt the Muslim community acted after 9/11.
I think it IS okay to be annoyed and hurt by hyperbole and bigoted statements. But I think that really needs to be a secondary concern. I think the more important thing is to make sure people know that you do NOT support the wrong things that are happening.
It's bad to say prejudice things against Muslims, but it's not as bad as bombing a building full of innocent people.
It's bad to say prejudice things against Americans on a message board, but it's not as bad as a powerful and corrupt government forming a witch hunt and getting financial institutions to back them up.
In the end, you gotta put things in perspective and direct your anger at the right things.
