The first question that seems to have popped up is why? Sadly, many people thought they knew the answer within seconds of hearing the suspect's name.
People who use their bigotry to decide reasons why Major Hasan committed this tragic crime are only adding to the heartache. They should be ashamed of themselves for perpetrating hate crimes on top of the hurt already done all over the country. Within virtual seconds after the suspect's name was released, those who were already talking about the possibility of terrorism had ample ammunition. This is going to be a case where Major Hasan and the bigots in the media and the news have ruined it for not only the families and loved ones of the soldiers but also the Muslim population in the military (and the entire U.S.).
Unfortunately, I fear a backlash against the Muslim population, similar to that which occurred after September 11th. I'm not the only one. We could see it in the first five minutes that the world knew the Major's name... and not just on the internet. In CNN's live coverage of the tragedy, Wolf Blitzer's Situation Room was on. Within a few moments of learning Hasan's name, Wolf Blitzer makes the comment that it is "obviously an Arab name."
Really? Wolf Blitzer, I expected better of you. Comments like that do not come from someone who is unbiased or at least fair about situations such as this. Cultural insensitivity is way beneath you... at least I thought so.
If anyone has been reading for very long, they know that I am very interested in the Middle East and studying Islam from a scholarly point of view. I am especially interested in Iran and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In fact, I am writing my senior capstone right now on Israel/Palestine. I have heard viewpoints related to Hasan's self-identification as Palestinian - that he was carrying out a terrorist attack against the U.S. as a form of revenge for what wrongs continue to be perpetrated against the Palestinian peoples. First off, the man in all likelihood did not commit this act as a terrorist, but as someone whose mental health had degraded severely. Secondly, for the Palestinians to attack the U.S. - one of Israel's greatest allies - would be counterproductive, and I would go so far as to assume that most people understand that. Unfortunately though, people are going to associate Hasan with Palestinians, which will hurt their cause greatly.
I hope that we can move forward as a nation brought together by this tragedy and not as one segregated because of bigotry and stereotypes. My heart goes out to the people who are suffering as a result of this man's actions.
1 comment:
I could've phrased that a little better. Maybe a small majority would understand that point. That could definitely be an explanation for the lack of attacks on the U.S. in the name of Palestine.
I think attacking Israel itself is different than going after those who support and encourage the country's actions - not that I am supporting terrorism. Although it seems like the U.S. might be a more effective target because of the supplier aspect of their relationship with Israel, it would be counterproductive - one of the biggest problems for the Palestinians is the lack of U.S. driven support. If they attack the U.S., what little support there is could dissipate and disappear and the opposition would be given more ammunition.
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