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Racism is a Weapon of Mass Destruction

I find it truly remarkable how many people are only too willing to jump on a bandwagon of racial hatred these days. Sure, I expect we've all shared the odd joke at the expense of a race in some way or other, but as long as that's all it was and you are more than happy to laugh at your own self, then that's all pretty harmless. I am talking about the pure unadulterated and downright uneducated filth that is being thrown around the internet at the moment.

Don't get me wrong, the world is in a pretty sorry state, but to criticise an entire race based on the actions of a few, or on media hearsay or your own ill judgement? Come on people, get a grip. If you don't fully understand a situation then please keep your vile comments to yourself, or express them only in the company of other people who share your uneducated views. If you have taken the time to fully research a topic and you are happy to have an open debate then go for it, but do not just read or see something and make assumptions. You know what they say; assumption is the mother of all fuck ups.

Honestly, I have recently seen a lot of “kill all the Jews” and other such disgusting comments. It truly beggars belief. So we have a terrible situation between Israel and Palestine, that's nothing new. It's also not really unique to that particular part of the world, but that is not important and only further serves to illustrate my point. Firstly, if you do not know the ins and outs of the situation, your comment is most likely invalid. Secondly, if you honestly believe that everything wrong is all completely and utterly down to one particular side, then fine but do not dare to tar every single person of the Jewish faith with the same brush. How unbelievably backward thinking are you? Your favourite teacher at school or the lady you buy your newspaper from or that really attractive guy down the pub might be Jewish. That's just a label for someone who has faith. It may not be the same faith as your own, but take a step back and look at the many and varied atrocities throughout history and the modern world. If you can find one that doesn't involve people of your own faith (or lack thereof) then I would be very surprised. But that doesn't mean you condone the actions of people with the same religious beliefs, cultural heritage or racial background as your own. At the end of the day, whatever the fuel (which I will admit, often seems based in some extremely twisted view of religion), these are all things involving humans. Good humans, bad humans, just plain old humans. We are all made of the same stuff, it does not mean we all think and act the same.

Another issue I take is that of the conspiracy theory. Don't get me wrong, I've nothing against them, but the way people go about sharing them can be a little unacceptable in my opinion. I for one do not buy into them, mostly because I am not concerned with doing all the research into them. For me, there are better things to spend my time doing. It is because of this that I avoid commenting on them. They are peoples beliefs and that is fine by me. Who am I to question them without spending weeks pouring over all the relevant evidence? No one, that's who. But my problem is that so many people are all too ready to throw these comments out there and make a big deal over it, forgetting what has actually happened. “Oh haha it's all the government. They want a war / oil / money and so they did this. You fools thinking it was terrorists / an accident.” Ok, sure. But people died. Think about that for a moment. All the people that died have left behind family and friends. What if that was your mum / brother / daughter / best friend? Would you want people going on about how petty and meaningless it all was, and how “it would never have happened if this” or how “it could have been avoided if that” and just trivialising the fact that someone you love is now dead? That's right, those people are never going to see their loved ones again. Whatever the reason behind that, it is raw, emotional, painful grief that those left behind are entitled to feel. Not blame. Let them place blame if they want to, but don't give them another reason to lose faith in humanity and don't take away what hope they have left. As humans I think we owe each other the chance to at least have hope.

Well that's my little input. It's not much and it is somewhat emotionally fuelled, but I am not asking you to agree with me. Quite the contrary, having your own opinions and insights is important, where they are your own and not just the opinions of others that you have decided to latch onto. I would hope that all my friends are far above that, and from what I have seen of them, I believe that to be true. But the important thing is that if your opinions seek to hurt someone (or lots of people), then please be careful how you express them. There is already enough hatred in this world and I think we could all do to try and spread a little less. If you have someone to talk to who feels the same way as you then great, get together and lay into the topic like crazy, but just think a little about the pain you will cause before you go and publicly announce your opinions for all to see, and if possible, refrain from racial hatred on social media. I know that offence is easier taken than given, but there are some things that just do not need to be said. Please, I beg of you, think before you speak or post. The next terrible thing that happens might be to someone you love or care about and the next target of international hatred might be your own racial or socio-economic group. I'm just tired of the hate.


Thank you for reading and I apologise if you do not like what I am saying or my writing style, I assure you I meant not to offend.

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