When the bombs went off at the Boston Marathon, I contemplated writing something, anything, on my blog. However, perusing my facebook, Huffington Post (the no longer ‘leftie’ online newspaper) and twitter, I decided that I did not want to join the millions of people who were basically regurgitating the same thing…their outrage about the incident and their prayers for the dead and injured. Don’t get me wrong, setting off a bomb is appalling and the loss of life is never acceptable. However, the countless postings about the incident did not seem sincere to me…maybe I’ve gotten cynical. I kept thinking that the entertainment greedy newsies and social media users viewed that incident as just a temporary spectacle to be viewed and debated, with photos of amputated legs on display for the world to see. Like many such incidents, within a few days, it will be forgotten and the latest spectacle will take its place.
I can’t help but wonder where the outrage was when innocent Iraqis, and Afghans were being killed or injured due to drone attacks or bombs during the war. It has been reported that more than 1200 drone strikes have occurred over the past five years and I can’t even begin to imagine how many innocent Iraqis and Afghans have lost their lives. No coverage of such in American or Canadian newsfeeds. However, with America and Canada having such a narcissistic personality complex, it is no surprise that whatever does not happen in our backyard is not our problem.
People are quick to call the bombing at the Boston Marathon an act of terror. That word, “terror” is so easily thrown around and its meaning has become so obscured that I have no clue what terrorists acts are anymore. With the New York Post initially reporting that a Saudi National was involved in the bombing, increased Islamophobia will inevitably occur, despite the fact that their report was false.
As time goes by, talking heads and politicians have been making their opinions known. One GOP Congressman went as far as saying that the “Boston bombing has signature of a Middle Eastern terror attack”. I guess he is an expert on such issues because that is the only reason I can see why someone would carelessly make that assertion with no proof as to who is behind the bombing. The GOP Congressman came to make this conclusion because ball bearings were used in the explosive device. Presence of ball bearings have been found in IEDs in the Middle East, therefore, a Middle Eastern person or terrorist group must have been behind the bombings! Hmm, I guess a non-Middle Eastern person could not have possibly gotten their hands on ball bearings. I guess a non-Middle Eastern person could not hate America so much as to want to cause havoc and terror on the streets of Boston.
I hope that whoever was involved was not a Muslim. As the past has shown us, the actions of a few individuals who claim to practice Islam have stained the majority of peaceful Muslims across the globe. I am afraid of what may happen if a Middle Eastern and by extension Islam is blamed for these recent events. What hate and violence will be unleased upon innocent Muslims and/or individuals of Middle Eastern background both on U.S. soil and abroad? I hope that people do not rush to judgment and action without proof. And even in the face of proof, that people do not punish a group of people for the actions of a few.
To care is to be human 