Tuesday, March 29, 2016

My letter to the NYTimes RE Overreacting to Terrorism? by Nicholas Kristof

A red rose, symbol of love-  Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository
RE: Overreacting to Terrorism?
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/24/opinion/terrorists-bathtubs-and-snakes.html?ref=international

Dear Editor,

astutely asks if we are "Overreacting to Terrorism?"... YES- I totally agree!  But while his point about climate change is indeed quite important, I am more concerned about the current social and political ramifications of overreacting to terrorism.  A crime is not more criminal based on the perpetrator's worldview or religion. Paraphrasing Gertrude Stein's 1913 poem: A crime is a crime is a crime!

Kristoff pulls up cogent statistics verifying Obama's belief that "Americans more likely to die from falls in tubs than from attacks by terrorists",  but Kristoff does not look at equally telling statistics showing escalating insults and hate crimes against Muslims here in America.  Nor does Kristoff look at statistics concerning domestic violence, or child abuse, or rape which he is much more aware of than most people... Fact is good people do good things, and horrible people do horrible things. A crime is a crime is a crime, a hate crime is a hate crime is a hate crime, and murder is murder is murder.

The Middle East scourge ISIS/Daesh is quite happy to take credit for, and be empowered by violent crimes perpetrated in the West by lone wolf copy cat criminals.  Don't hand criminals, thugs, murderers, and religious tyrants an ego trip narrative to recruit more lone wolf copy cat criminals.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
Cruz wants to patrol Muslim neighborhoods. What happened when N.Y. tried it? (+video)

AIPAC Brings Donald Trump’s Anti-Semitic Fans Out of the Woodwork via


New Islamic State video celebrates Brussels attacks by quoting Donald Trump http://wpo.st/ka4P1

People thought 21% of UK were Muslims actual figure just 5% - fear-mongers succeeding

More media training required to prevent spread of rumours, experts say http://ow.ly/ZV3qP

On trip Ban Ki-moon visits Lebanon where 1/3 of population are from Syria or Palestine.

"Let us renew our resolve to " - Ban Ki-moon on Day

From our occupied capital , we send our best wishes to everyone celebrating

Environment and Climate in the Middle East - Gaza pollution flows to Israel due to power...   ... "Gaza’s water treatment facility not yet online due to electricity shortages, causing wastewater to flow north into Israel; major desalinization plant in Ashkelon shut down as result."
 
Clinton attacked : http://buff.ly/1q4fJ2r Stand 4 free speech w & http://buff.ly/1q4fHrl  ..."“Clinton is unashamedly showing that she has embraced Israel advocacy groups’ talking points wholeheartedly,” Dima Khalidi, the director of Palestine Legal, told Shadowproof. “She is broadcasting her opposition to a broad popular nonviolent movement for Palestinian human rights, and promising to throw her weight behind the concerted suppression of First Amendment-protected human rights advocacy in the U.S.”"


University of California Adopts Policy Linking Anti-Zionism to Anti-Semitism [Robert Mackey]  ... "As Omar Zahzah, a Palestinian-American graduate student at UCLA who spoke against the proposed policy before the regents voted on Wednesday, observed later:
We all agree that anti-Semitism and racism must be combated on campus. Where we disagree is in the claim that anti-Zionism is bigotry. Palestinian and Jewish students alike should have the right to say that the ethnic cleansing of Palestine in 1948 was morally wrong and that Palestinian refugees should have the right to return home to a state where Palestinians and Jews live in equality rather than in a discriminatory Jewish state.  '

UN database will list businesses operating in settlements in occupied territories https://goo.gl/qYpZKK

The Palestinian ‘Arab Idol’ winner, now a megastar, has a life story worthy of a biopic http://on.ft.com/1XQj53B ... "Assaf’s family remain in Gaza and he regularly returns to visit them. I suggest that he is now a Palestinian icon but he firmly rejects this. “I don’t consider myself an icon. There are more deserving people among the Palestinians who merit that. Hanan Al Hroub, the Palestinian teacher who recently won the Global Teacher Prize, is an icon."

. lifts up the story of how Bassam Aramin became a voice for peace in the Middle East

Israeli settlers use Ibrahimi Mosque loudspeaker to sing racist songs and call for expulsion of ‘Arabs’ from Hebron

Survey: 85% of Palestinian citizens of Israel fear rising levels of racism http://bit.ly/1T7Seks

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