Thursday, January 28, 2021

End of the Muslim Monopoly on Violent A*** Holes

One of my fans on TRemeritus decided that I was fanning the flame of racial politics and called upon the government to keep and eye on me so that if there was another riot in Little India, I would be held accountable:

 

So, in light of this, I am morally bound to continue being a shit stirrer, safe in the comfort that the government actually does keep an eye on trouble makers. This was made very clear by the news that a 16-year-old boy had been arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for plotting to carry attacks on two mosques. The young boy had apparently been influenced by the perpetrator of the 2019 Christ Church Shooting and had allegedly tried to emulate his “Kiwi Hero.” The news report can be found at:

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/16-year-old-singaporean-detained-isa-planned-attack-2-mosques-14052400 

As a “shit-stirrer who self-champions the cause of dark-skinned South Asians,” I’m very happy that the government has made this arrest because it proves an uncomfortable point – namely the fact that Islam does not have a monopoly on arseholes and that Muslims are as much victims of terrorist intent and actions as they are perpetrators.

While this point may seem like an obvious one, it isn’t, particularly in an age where ugly stereotypes have become fashionable. This trend of being ugly and proud of it was best summed up by the former occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, who got the job by promising to ban Muslims from entering the country and thought it was perfectly acceptable to complain that the people coming across the Rio Grande to cause social unrest by doing jobs no one wanted were rapist.

As awful as the message was, it made him votable. People thought he was “telling it as it is,” and there were certain copycats around the world. You had the likes of Geert Wilders in the Netherlands and Marie Le-Penn in France making major strides in elections. Bashing dark skinned immigrants suddenly stopped being disgustingly racist but refreshingly honest.

While the most prominent terrorist in recent years have been Muslim (think of Osama Bin Ladin and Abu Bakar Bahdadi), there have been plenty of other communities that have indulged in what can only be described as “terrorist” activities. In the USA, we had the rise of White Nationalist like Neo Nazis, Proud Boys and those who loved the Confederate. In India, you had the rise of Hindu Nationalist and so on. I think of the Young Muslim Politician from Pasir Ris GRC, who tried to convince me that Trump had America safe. Well, yes, he was correct, there were no Islamist terrorist attacks but then there was Charlottesville and the now infamous storming of the US Congress of 6 January 2021. The President who was so good at condemning Islamist violence was rather reluctant to condemn violence when it was carried out by anyone who was a shade lighter than pink. 

These guys are only wearing different cloths

This is a shame because everyone noticed that the apparatus of state was more interested in solving only one type of terrorism whilst giving a pass to another. So, instead of solving the problem of terrorism, it was a case of giving fuel to another side.

 

From these guys

Unfortunately, in “secular” systems of government, a certain amount of neutrality is required when approaching a problem. Personal prejudices have to be set aside and subordinated to certain ideals for the common good. Crimes, whether they are petty or terrorist, need to be dealt with regardless of race or religion.

Take the example of the United Kingdome. When I went to school in the UK, it was understood that there was a terrorist group known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA), which was happily bombing parts of the UK and finding ways to do as much harm to British military and civil organizations as they could. They played on Ireland’s historical grievances against the British and raised money from Americans of Irish decent, which they promptly used to buy weapons against the British.

As bad as the IRA were, they had a rival known as the Ulster Defense Association (UDA). While the IRA were fighting to make Northern Ireland a part of the Republic of Ireland, the UDA were fighting to keep Northern Ireland part of the UK. While the UDA did to the Catholic Community what the IRA were doing to the Protestant and British communities, the UDA were for the longest time not designated a terrorist group while the IRA were.

 

Spot the Difference between this group and

 


This Group

It was only in 1996 when the British Government designated the UDA as a terrorist organization and this suddenly gave the British government the ability to sit down and negotiate a peace for Northern Ireland.

There could be a lesson here. Honest brokers need to be just that and governments need to take the lead in being the honest broker amongst the various communities that make up the nations that they run.

Governments also need to understand that it is now time for them to promote values. I think of the former Superintendent of the US Air Force Academy, Lieutenant-General Jay Silveria, who told the class at the Airforce academy that the only way to beat a horrible idea is with a better idea. In the age of Covid-19, it’s time for governments around the world to promote better ideas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mU0RfhvYN8s



 

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Maira Gall