Showing posts with label humanity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label humanity. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
In this Passionate and Sometimes Volatile Immigration Debate We Should All Remember these Words of Peace!
The Prayer of St.Francis:
Make me a channel of your peace
Where there is hatred let me bring your love
Where there is injury, your pardon Lord
And where there is doubt - true faith in You
Make me a channel of your peace
Where there is despair in life - let me bring hope
Where there is darkness - only light
And where there's sadness - ever joy
Oh, Master grant that I may never seek
So much to be consoled - as to console
To be understood - as to understand
To be loved as to love with all my soul
Make me a channel of your peace
It is in pardoning - that we are pardoned
It is in giving of ourselves - that we receive
And in dying that we are born to eternal life
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Understanding the Israel-Gaza Conflict
My husband and I watched the news together yesterday. They were running another story about the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip. Over the last several days, the news headlines have been consumed by the Israeli attacks.My husband asked rhetorically, “Why did they start bombing now. Aren’t they ever going to stop all of their fighting?”
We sometimes talk about the problems in the Middle East and how the region has faced unrest for over 4000 years. His usual response is, “How can people kill each other over religion. I thought religion was supposed to stop War and Killing.”
Yesterday, the news reports talked about the bombing of UN Schools in Gaza. I heard one pundit ask, “Why are there people in schools? Surely they are aware of the bombings.” The on site correspondent in Gaza answered, “Of course the schools are not in session. However the people of Gaza took refuge in the schools thinking since they were UN schools, they would not be bombed.”
This aspect set my husband off. "Why are they bombing schools anyway?" The reporter responded, as if answering my husband’s question, “Israel says they have evidence the Hamas hide their weapons in schools and churches.” Now my husband sat and just shook his head.
I responded, “Well think of it this way. Suppose you are sitting in Manhattan and all the burroughs surrounding you hate you. Harlem, a neighborhood in Manhattan, hates you too. Harlem has a rogue gang that starts shooting missiles into other Manhattan neighborhoods.
Local officials don’t or can’t do anything to stop them. The gang starts out small, then they start getting help from the burroughs. The missiles start getting bigger and you realize, through your inside Harlem contacts that Westchester, your biggest enemy that has nuclear weapons, is starting to build an underground subway system to feed the Harlem Hoods a growing and more powerful cache of weaponry that you know will make the hoods powerful enough to really hurt you and possibly destroy your burrough."
My husband turns and looks at me like I am talking about the “Gangs of New York.” And he said, “Ok. I get it. Israel thinks they have to do this to survive.”
“Exactly!” I answer. “Now remember, Manhattan is backed by the boys in Jersey! The burroughs are afraid of the Jersey Boys so they do not openly support the Harlem gang. They are especially fearful of the mob leader, Wacko-Mad-Dubya, WMD for short, who has a reputation for slaughter.” He’s nodding, understanding my analogy (and me) perfectly.
"I think what is curious about this move by Manhattan is their timing. The old boss, WMD, is leaving and the replacement boss is coming in," I continue. "The New Boss is said to be very smooth and diplomatic. Manhattan doesn’t know what he’s thinking yet. I think Manhattan is making their move now because, with all the confusion during the transition of power, no one will stop them. They will be able to rid the Harlem gang of all their weaponry and blow up the secret underground weapons subway from Westchester. Then when the New Boss comes in, Manhattan will play nice again and join in the Peace Talks with Harlem and the burroughs.”
So my husband nods and says, “Yeah! That sounds like a good move by Israel, I mean Manhattan.”
“I guess" I said. "I understand what Manhattan is doing, but what troubles me is all the innocent families and children in the Harlem neighborhoods that are getting hurt and being killed. They are the victims here. All dying! And for what? They weren’t doing anything wrong to begin with.”
“I know, but in the long run, this show of power will probably save lives. 'Might Makes Right' anyway and 'War is Hell.' Men have been at war from the beginning of time and always will be,” he said.
“Do you really think their actions will save lives?” I asked. “I forgot to add that even though Manhattan has the Jersey Boys, they also have the boys in DC and the states along the East Coast. In the meantime, Harlem and the Burroughs have the mighty Canada ready to pounce.”
“Huh?” he said. My last reference lost him.
“Canada equals Russia! DC and the East Coast equals Brittain, European Allies and the UN.”
“Oh, I got you. But we aren’t afraid of Russia anymore.”
“I wouldn’t be too quick to disregard them.”
We went back to watching the news and I checked out the news stories and op-eds about Israel and the Gaza Strip. I was still troubled about the deaths of innocents and the ferocity of the attacks on Gaza by air, land and sea.
As I read on, I saw several op-eds utilizing analogies similar to mine only using Tijuana as my Harlem example. Some writers and commenters responded, “We’d bomb the heck out of them and leave them a ghost town.” I just shook my head over their predisposed opinions and rationalization of devastating their enemies.
Yesterday, the news reports talked about the bombing of UN Schools in Gaza. I heard one pundit ask, “Why are there people in schools? Surely they are aware of the bombings.” The on site correspondent in Gaza answered, “Of course the schools are not in session. However the people of Gaza took refuge in the schools thinking since they were UN schools, they would not be bombed.”
This aspect set my husband off. "Why are they bombing schools anyway?" The reporter responded, as if answering my husband’s question, “Israel says they have evidence the Hamas hide their weapons in schools and churches.” Now my husband sat and just shook his head.
I responded, “Well think of it this way. Suppose you are sitting in Manhattan and all the burroughs surrounding you hate you. Harlem, a neighborhood in Manhattan, hates you too. Harlem has a rogue gang that starts shooting missiles into other Manhattan neighborhoods.
Local officials don’t or can’t do anything to stop them. The gang starts out small, then they start getting help from the burroughs. The missiles start getting bigger and you realize, through your inside Harlem contacts that Westchester, your biggest enemy that has nuclear weapons, is starting to build an underground subway system to feed the Harlem Hoods a growing and more powerful cache of weaponry that you know will make the hoods powerful enough to really hurt you and possibly destroy your burrough."My husband turns and looks at me like I am talking about the “Gangs of New York.” And he said, “Ok. I get it. Israel thinks they have to do this to survive.”
“Exactly!” I answer. “Now remember, Manhattan is backed by the boys in Jersey! The burroughs are afraid of the Jersey Boys so they do not openly support the Harlem gang. They are especially fearful of the mob leader, Wacko-Mad-Dubya, WMD for short, who has a reputation for slaughter.” He’s nodding, understanding my analogy (and me) perfectly.
"I think what is curious about this move by Manhattan is their timing. The old boss, WMD, is leaving and the replacement boss is coming in," I continue. "The New Boss is said to be very smooth and diplomatic. Manhattan doesn’t know what he’s thinking yet. I think Manhattan is making their move now because, with all the confusion during the transition of power, no one will stop them. They will be able to rid the Harlem gang of all their weaponry and blow up the secret underground weapons subway from Westchester. Then when the New Boss comes in, Manhattan will play nice again and join in the Peace Talks with Harlem and the burroughs.”
So my husband nods and says, “Yeah! That sounds like a good move by Israel, I mean Manhattan.”
“I guess" I said. "I understand what Manhattan is doing, but what troubles me is all the innocent families and children in the Harlem neighborhoods that are getting hurt and being killed. They are the victims here. All dying! And for what? They weren’t doing anything wrong to begin with.”
“I know, but in the long run, this show of power will probably save lives. 'Might Makes Right' anyway and 'War is Hell.' Men have been at war from the beginning of time and always will be,” he said.
“Do you really think their actions will save lives?” I asked. “I forgot to add that even though Manhattan has the Jersey Boys, they also have the boys in DC and the states along the East Coast. In the meantime, Harlem and the Burroughs have the mighty Canada ready to pounce.”
“Huh?” he said. My last reference lost him.
“Canada equals Russia! DC and the East Coast equals Brittain, European Allies and the UN.”
“Oh, I got you. But we aren’t afraid of Russia anymore.”
“I wouldn’t be too quick to disregard them.”
We went back to watching the news and I checked out the news stories and op-eds about Israel and the Gaza Strip. I was still troubled about the deaths of innocents and the ferocity of the attacks on Gaza by air, land and sea.
As I read on, I saw several op-eds utilizing analogies similar to mine only using Tijuana as my Harlem example. Some writers and commenters responded, “We’d bomb the heck out of them and leave them a ghost town.” I just shook my head over their predisposed opinions and rationalization of devastating their enemies.
I don’t pretend to know who is right or who is wrong in this fight. Nor do I agree with the concept of Might makes Right or War/Death is a constant. As much as I try to understand what is happening from an unbiased perspective, what troubles me most is the deaths of all of the innocents.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Student Says: Humanity NOT Deportation (... the PRO View Increases)
Every human deserves humanity by Kyle Szarzynski, Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Xenophobia, like all bigotries, requires either an inability or refusal to recognize the humanity of the targeted cohort. Otherwise, our inherent altruism would get in the way, making it impossible to feel prejudice toward an entire group of people. A diatribe against the scourge of illegal immigration would probably have to be written by one of a certain race and class, and to advocate deportation would need many layers of human callousness.
Xenophobia, like all bigotries, requires either an inability or refusal to recognize the humanity of the targeted cohort. Otherwise, our inherent altruism would get in the way, making it impossible to feel prejudice toward an entire group of people. A diatribe against the scourge of illegal immigration would probably have to be written by one of a certain race and class, and to advocate deportation would need many layers of human callousness.
Such a diatribe — so unsympathetic toward the plight of a poor, oppressed group — would look something like Sam Clegg’s in last week’s Herald.. In the piece, Mr. Clegg admits it is “unrealistic to assume we can magically whisk away the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants currently residing in this country.” Since we can’t just get rid of them all .. we should instead focus on those who find their way to the Dane County prison system. Deporting those who commit a crime of some sort, according to Mr. Clegg, is economical, constitutional and, most importantly, a fulfillment of the law.
Perhaps. But he forgets to reflect on the humanitarian implications — a consideration that Mr. Clegg’s worldview apparently doesn’t hold in much esteem. Deporting people who receive a DUI citation, try to organize a union illegally or steal an extra can of beans to feed the kids can only be described as quite monstrous. Most people commit crimes not because they’re innately bad, but because they’re poor — this is especially true of a group of people who are notoriously forced into the kind of employment the rest of America would just as soon forget about. Knowing that crime is the unwanted child of poverty and oppression is obvious to anyone who cares to look beneath the surface of things, and most people who are aware of that fact tend to view perpetrators of petty theft or drug offenses in a more sympathetic light. But punishing the most disenfranchised because they can’t play by all the rules is precisely what Mr. Clegg can’t wait to do.
People like Mr. Clegg have this idea that undocumented workers have less of a right to be here than the rest of us. The Puritans, after all, went through all the right paperwork before acquiring citizenship. And who does Mr. Clegg think he is? An accident of birth is a pathetic justification for arguing that he or I have more of a right to be in the United States than anyone else, and I find it despicable that anyone would lecture to the most vulnerable in our society that there are certain stipulations attached to staying here. It’s as if Mr. Clegg is telling a poor Mexican worker, “You can continue to clean the shit off our toilets, but only if you keep quiet and don’t make trouble.” Perhaps Mr. Clegg would think twice about advocating a lower status for undocumented immigrants if he would have given a thought to why so many of them are forced to come here in the first place. The effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement are estimated to have bankrupted 1.5 million Mexican corn farmers and lowered wages down to 1937 levels. American-owned “maquiladora” sweatshops have created unbearable living conditions by our standards, with people living in polluted shantytowns on wages that rarely pay for anything more than basic subsistence. Under such an economic situation, is it any wonder that so many impoverished Mexicans are willing to risk everything to come to the United States? I, for one, applaud their courage. The so-called problem of immigrant crime is a farce anyway, one with a long history in this country. Today’s Mexican criminal is yesterday’s Italian Mafioso, Jewish gangster or Irish pickpocket — all are stereotypes that apply to only a small minority within the group. While Mr. Clegg never explicitly states that such a problem exists, the very topic of his article gives credence to the Bill O’Reilly notion that immigrants are a crime-ridden bunch — an insinuation about as untrue as it is offensive. But beyond that, basic human decency should be reason enough to treat the undocumented as equals. The proposed witch hunt in our county jails will tear apart families and hurl people back into the unlivable periphery of impoverished Mexico. Deportation is ostentatiously cruel, and it is for this reason apolitical human rights groups and religious organizations — including Mr. Clegg’s own Catholic Church — from across the country are actively protecting those who are targeted. Active struggle is the only way to overcome the current wave of xenophobia; more marches, protests and strikes are needed to force open the gate of equality that is currently closed to those who don’t have the necessary papers. But for now, I commend all those who aid and abet resistance to immoral deportation orders.
People like Mr. Clegg have this idea that undocumented workers have less of a right to be here than the rest of us. The Puritans, after all, went through all the right paperwork before acquiring citizenship. And who does Mr. Clegg think he is? An accident of birth is a pathetic justification for arguing that he or I have more of a right to be in the United States than anyone else, and I find it despicable that anyone would lecture to the most vulnerable in our society that there are certain stipulations attached to staying here. It’s as if Mr. Clegg is telling a poor Mexican worker, “You can continue to clean the shit off our toilets, but only if you keep quiet and don’t make trouble.” Perhaps Mr. Clegg would think twice about advocating a lower status for undocumented immigrants if he would have given a thought to why so many of them are forced to come here in the first place. The effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement are estimated to have bankrupted 1.5 million Mexican corn farmers and lowered wages down to 1937 levels. American-owned “maquiladora” sweatshops have created unbearable living conditions by our standards, with people living in polluted shantytowns on wages that rarely pay for anything more than basic subsistence. Under such an economic situation, is it any wonder that so many impoverished Mexicans are willing to risk everything to come to the United States? I, for one, applaud their courage. The so-called problem of immigrant crime is a farce anyway, one with a long history in this country. Today’s Mexican criminal is yesterday’s Italian Mafioso, Jewish gangster or Irish pickpocket — all are stereotypes that apply to only a small minority within the group. While Mr. Clegg never explicitly states that such a problem exists, the very topic of his article gives credence to the Bill O’Reilly notion that immigrants are a crime-ridden bunch — an insinuation about as untrue as it is offensive. But beyond that, basic human decency should be reason enough to treat the undocumented as equals. The proposed witch hunt in our county jails will tear apart families and hurl people back into the unlivable periphery of impoverished Mexico. Deportation is ostentatiously cruel, and it is for this reason apolitical human rights groups and religious organizations — including Mr. Clegg’s own Catholic Church — from across the country are actively protecting those who are targeted. Active struggle is the only way to overcome the current wave of xenophobia; more marches, protests and strikes are needed to force open the gate of equality that is currently closed to those who don’t have the necessary papers. But for now, I commend all those who aid and abet resistance to immoral deportation orders.
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