The part that's really funny (and by funny I mean dfgsfkj) is that there really is an ACTUAL MOSQUE much closer to the former WTC site than the community centre would be, and that one's been there for ages.
The people who are crying and crying like fools and calling the proposed building a mosque are the same ones who get scared of my boss because he's Iranian. It's like - for one, so what if he is. For two, he's Baha'i and none of you dummies know what that is. For three, BEING MUSLIM IS NOT A BAD THING AND IS NOT SYNONYMOUS WITH BEING A MEAN JERK, SHUT UP. But apparently being a 'real Canadian or American' IS synonymous with being a mean jerk. Stupid hypocrites, your ancestors are immigrants too.
I keep wanting to smack jerks with a copy of the Treaty of Tripoli.
Aergh. Sorry. I'm so sick of 'weeee but assimilation is good rahrah!' fandinks. They are the people who whined about my best friend's native status card and tried to cheat his mother out of the tax exemption because not only is she native SHE'S NOT ANGLO. They are the jerks who speed out of my boss's shop when they find out he's Iranian, even though the current power regime there is comprised of some of the very VERY few people he'll outright insult. They're the asshat people who give my girlfriend in NY shit and have the gall to say they won't believe her mom is a veteran...because her family isn't white.
They make me wanna kick them, in short.
People demand to know why I even care about these issues - well they affect people I really care for, so damn right I'm going to pay attention to them. It's not about ME. It never was about me. It's about the people I love. So nyah.
And there was a 'mosque' in the towers, if by 'mosque' you mean 'an official area for Muslims to pray.'
They're the asshat people who give my girlfriend in NY shit and have the gall to say they won't believe her mom is a veteran...because her family isn't white.
Gaaaarrgh.
And, you know, if I'm an American, (and I am), it is my business. Because this is about what country I want to live in, and what it means to be a citizen. And being a citizen shouldn't be about shutting up and standing down. It should be about standing up and being proud of who you are.
Yeah, Iranian but Baha'i is like... no, this person has more reason to hate the Iranian government than you ever will, including if a war starts.
One of my friends in high school was Baha'i. Her family came to Australia for, well, obvious reasons. She took me to a faith meeting. They were some of the loveliest people I've ever met.
Re: I aologize in advance for being Miss Rantingjeans -
If I didn't feel like it would be... weird, putting too much focus to the difference itself, I think I'd thank my non-white friends for the fact that when I do say/do something that seems off to them, they tell me so.
Though since it's always been "I know you didn't mean this, but this is how it looks" I have a secret fear that there's been something and they don't tell me because they think I don't want to hear it, but... I don't think it happens.
I just don't want to be someone who makes anyone else ever feel like that. I love my friends, I would do anything for my friends - I would hate so much to hurt them because of race, when it's something that's a part of them and that means it's something too that I love.
I have to admit that I can't really stand up and say I understand. As a WASP looking person in a WASP world, I am not judged on my skin colour or ethnicity. I do know what it is like to try to conform however. As a kid I bounced backwards and forwards between New Zealand and Australia, two countries which love to hate each other. I grew very adept at losing my accent, picking up the current fashions and dropping words that weren't used in each country.
In many ways I am so grateful for my upbringing. My father is an atheist, my mother and step-father were Baha'is when I was growing up and my mother's family are all Irish Catholic. My closest friends in high school were usually the other outcasts, Fijian Indians, Sri Lankans, Iranians and Chineses from Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan. I'd hate to think what I might be like if I hadn't been immerse in so many different cultures and so many different religious beliefs for the majority of my life. These days I am the voice arguing in class against common misconceptions of Islam (and Hinduism at times), I'm always the one wanting to make friends with people from other cultures if only to learn more of what I don't know about the world and its peoples.
I wish everyone could have their eyes opened at such a young age and learn that even without assimilation people can live together and find common ground
Yeah-- on one level it's difficult, because cultures are different and toes are always there to be stepped on, but on the other level, how can you not want to pay attention to the people around you?
Sadly our initial response to difference is to fear it, and therefore try to eliminate it rather than try to understand it. Also I think we completely underestimate the pressures to conform that occur simply by living within a society. To stand out in a crowd is one of the hardest things ever to do so who can really blame the transplant for trying to assimilate.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lady_ganesh) wrote2010-09-26 11:06 am
I aologize in advance for being Miss Rantingjeans -
The people who are crying and crying like fools and calling the proposed building a mosque are the same ones who get scared of my boss because he's Iranian. It's like - for one, so what if he is. For two, he's Baha'i and none of you dummies know what that is. For three, BEING MUSLIM IS NOT A BAD THING AND IS NOT SYNONYMOUS WITH BEING A MEAN JERK, SHUT UP. But apparently being a 'real Canadian or American' IS synonymous with being a mean jerk. Stupid hypocrites, your ancestors are immigrants too.
I keep wanting to smack jerks with a copy of the Treaty of Tripoli.
Aergh. Sorry. I'm so sick of 'weeee but assimilation is good rahrah!' fandinks. They are the people who whined about my best friend's native status card and tried to cheat his mother out of the tax exemption because not only is she native SHE'S NOT ANGLO. They are the jerks who speed out of my boss's shop when they find out he's Iranian, even though the current power regime there is comprised of some of the very VERY few people he'll outright insult. They're the asshat people who give my girlfriend in NY shit and have the gall to say they won't believe her mom is a veteran...because her family isn't white.
They make me wanna kick them, in short.
People demand to know why I even care about these issues - well they affect people I really care for, so damn right I'm going to pay attention to them. It's not about ME. It never was about me. It's about the people I love. So nyah.
tl;dr Shweta is amazing.
I too am miss rantingjeans, apparently
They're the asshat people who give my girlfriend in NY shit and have the gall to say they won't believe her mom is a veteran...because her family isn't white.
Gaaaarrgh.
And, you know, if I'm an American, (and I am), it is my business. Because this is about what country I want to live in, and what it means to be a citizen. And being a citizen shouldn't be about shutting up and standing down. It should be about standing up and being proud of who you are.
Re: I too am miss rantingjeans, apparently
Goddamn I doubt these asses know there WAS an official prayer area -
Re: I too am miss rantingjeans, apparently
Urrgh it's not like THIS SHIT IS SECRET KNOWLEDGE.
Late comment is late~
Re: I aologize in advance for being Miss Rantingjeans -
One of my friends in high school was Baha'i. Her family came to Australia for, well, obvious reasons. She took me to a faith meeting. They were some of the loveliest people I've ever met.
Re: I aologize in advance for being Miss Rantingjeans -
And man Baha'i people are SO nice. I fail at organized religion and thus I failed at trying to be Baha'i but they're just - amazing people.
no subject
If I didn't feel like it would be... weird, putting too much focus to the difference itself, I think I'd thank my non-white friends for the fact that when I do say/do something that seems off to them, they tell me so.
Though since it's always been "I know you didn't mean this, but this is how it looks" I have a secret fear that there's been something and they don't tell me because they think I don't want to hear it, but... I don't think it happens.
I just don't want to be someone who makes anyone else ever feel like that. I love my friends, I would do anything for my friends - I would hate so much to hurt them because of race, when it's something that's a part of them and that means it's something too that I love.
no subject
no subject
In many ways I am so grateful for my upbringing. My father is an atheist, my mother and step-father were Baha'is when I was growing up and my mother's family are all Irish Catholic. My closest friends in high school were usually the other outcasts, Fijian Indians, Sri Lankans, Iranians and Chineses from Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan. I'd hate to think what I might be like if I hadn't been immerse in so many different cultures and so many different religious beliefs for the majority of my life. These days I am the voice arguing in class against common misconceptions of Islam (and Hinduism at times), I'm always the one wanting to make friends with people from other cultures if only to learn more of what I don't know about the world and its peoples.
I wish everyone could have their eyes opened at such a young age and learn that even without assimilation people can live together and find common ground
no subject
no subject