Every time there’s a hate-driven attack on a group of people, there’s a mad scramble among political groups to score points by framing the attack to support their positions.
If it’s Muslims who are killed by terrorists — as was the case in New Zealand this week — there’s a rush to frame the attack as part of a worldwide conspiracy of hatred against Muslims.
If it’s Jews who are killed by terrorists — as was the case in the Pittsburgh synagogue murders last October — we hear about how anti-semitism is the worst and most common hatred in the world.
If it’s westerners who are killed by terrorists — whether the attackers are white Americans or Middle Eastern Muslims or something else — there’s another of half a dozen narratives.
So we hear all about how white people hate black people. Jews hate Muslims. Black folks hate white folks. Muslims hate Jews and westerners. Neo-Nazis hate everybody who isn’t white. The list goes on and on — and the narrative you listen to is determined by your political allegiances.
We’re neither friends nor enemies, just strangers who share the past
‘This path leads to somewhere I think I can finally say, I’m home’
When love finally dies, it’s like a fever breaks and the pain is gone
What is this old longing for home? It’s the need for unconditional love
My need to make others perfect reflects my fear I’m not in control
Barack Obama’s effort to imitate FDR’s ’36 campaign full of danger