So here's the video I want to discuss: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=427180640761529&set=vb.100004087890982&type=2&theater. It's very short, so go ahead and check it out before you continue reading this. It's about how Muslims view Americans and vice versa. Yes, it was wrong for al-Qaeda to attack the United States on September 11, 2001. But that was one terrorist group of people who called themselves Islamics but are, in actuality, an extremist group branched off of Islam. Yes, there are a lot of crazy things that Allah calls for in the holy books of Islam, the Quran and Hadith. However, God calls for a lot of crazy things in the Bible. Just like Christians pick and choose what they want to believe from the Bible, so do Islamics in their holy books. All 3 books call for murder and other atrocious acts in various chapters. However, that doesn't mean that people follow those parts. For instance, a lot of the craziness in the Bible is found in the Old Testament, which most Christians completely dismiss after the crucifixion and re-birth of Jesus. Furthermore, think about the Westboro Baptist Church. That is definitely an extremist group in the Christian religion, and almost no Christians in the United States believe they are legit. Most people think they're crazy. It was the same with Timothy McVeigh, who bombed an entire building of people in the name of "God." Anyone who commits acts of terrorism for any particular religion is considered an extremist group, or maybe you might feel more comfortable calling it a "cult." And yes, there seem to be a lot of extremist groups/cults in the Middle East. That certainly is true. However, couldn't it be possible that it seems like there are more of them in the Middle East, simply because that has been the buzz of this past decade and a half, since the attacks of 9/11/2001 occurred? This is meant to suggest that there may be a whole lot of other extremist groups/cults in other religions, but we just don't hear about it as much. And that may be true, or it may not be. But here's another possibility. Maybe some of these guys in the Middle East aren't really terrorist groups or extremists. Maybe they're just retaliating against what the United States has done to hurt them previously.
Let's take a look at why Osama bin Laden ordered al-Qaeda to unleash an attack on the United States. He claimed that his motives were:
1. U.S. support of Israel.
2. U.S. support for "attacks against Muslims" in Somalia.
3. U.S. support of Russian "atrocities against Muslims" in Chechnya.
4. U.S. support of authoritarian regimes in the Middle East, such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan.
5. U.S. support of Indian "oppression against Muslims" in Kashmir.
6. The presence of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia.
7. The sanctions against Iraq.
Isn't this interesting? Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda were retaliating against the U.S. for what we had already done to Muslims in the past. The U.S. had already contributed to the oppression, attacks, killings, torture, etc. of Muslims in other countries. It seems like these people were simply pushed to the point where they figured they needed to retaliate, may the reason be simply for revenge, or may it be to stop what was happening and make a change for the betterment of their country, race, religion, and ethnic group. Now, I'm not saying what they did is excusable. I'm not saying it's ok, nor am I saying it wasn't absolutely nuts. I'm just saying they didn't do it simply for fun or in the name of "Allah." They did it, because they had a beef with the United States, and rightly so. Obviously, war is never right, even though it's sometimes necessary, and killing civilians is never right. That being said, let's look at just that.
Do you how many people were killed in the attacks of 9/11/2001? Almost 3,000 people died that day - civilians, firefighters, cops, men, women, and children. In retaliation to those attacks, President George W. Bush initiated a war against Afghanistan on the premise that they were harboring terrorists that were never found. Then Bush changed the game. He changed his mind and said we needed to attack Iraq, because they were harboring weapons of mass destruction. It was silly, since the U.S. harbors more weapons of mass destruction than any other country in the world, and if we're allowed to have them, then why can't anyone else? It was also silly, since we never found such weapons! We went on a wild goose chase for nothing, and then Bush turned it into yet something else, just so he wouldn't look stupid. When we didn't find weapons, he decided we needed to continue on in Iraq in pursuit of the country's dictator, Suddam Hussein, who needed to be murdered, because he was a terrible dictator who was indecent to his civilians. Indeed, he was. But did that give us the right to invade someone else's country and murder someone? No! I mean, come on. They might have thought our president wasn't a good one, but they didn't go on a wild goose chase looking for him, trying to murder him! I mean come on, who gave us the right to deem someone else a terrible leader and worthy of death? I mean, yeah, the guy was crazy, but this is another country's own dynamic. Invading it just caused more craziness, war, and death. Nearly 3,000 people died in the 9/11/2001 attacks, but do you know how many people U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan? More than 15,000. Do you know how many people U.S. troops killed in Iraq? More than 500,000. These are civilians we're talking about! Peope just like you and me - men, women, and children. And U.S. troops killed them for no reason, just because they were "trying to destroy the Taliban and Saddam Hussein." Did you know that U.S. troops killed more Iraqi civilians in this one attack than Saddam Hussein killed in his entire 24-year reign over Iraq. So...we were supposedly in Iraq to kill the man who was killing Iraqi civilians. We were supposedly trying to SAVE these Iraqi civilians by doing so, yet we caused more damage than Hussein was causing! What kind of sense does that make? And there's the idea that a lot of people have that Bush's real motive in the Middle East was to recover their oil.
So many Americans believe what we did was not an act of terrorism, but what al-Qaeda did was. However, look at it from the perspective of civilians in the Middle East. They are ashamed of al-Qaeda for what they did to the United States, because they were representing the Islamic religion, and what they did was wrong. However, they also believe that the U.S. invasion of their countries was an act of terrorism - and it was just that. We invaded without being invited, and we bombed innocent civilians, killing way more than we were saving, which was supposed to be our intent. So why do we think we're heroes? Why do we not see ourselves for what we really are? Yes, when we invaded the Middle East, we did it in retaliation to the attacks of 9/11/2001. But let me remind you that those attacks were committed in retaliation to what al-Qaeda believed the U.S. had done against Afghanistan.
If you have misunderstood anything I've said thus far, please don't misunderstand this. I"m not pardoning what bin Laden or al-Qaeda did. There is no excuse for blatant attacks or murder. I'm just trying to bring to light that the United States as a whole is pretty hypocritical. We are allowed to do things that other countries are not allowed to do, but we aren't considered terrorists. Instead, we regard ourselves as heroes, even though we are doing the exact same thing as our enemies. So my point here is, sometimes it's the white superpowers who are the real terrorists. And sometimes things aren't what they seem, so don't listen to what all the news channels tell you. And you can question your president. You don't have to follow everything he tells you like you're his pet. Just look at things for what they are. The rest of the world sees us as crazy terrorists, so why do we see ourselves as super heroes? Killing is wrong, so why is it ok for us to do it? War is wrong, so why is it ok when we initiate it? Take things for face value. Most people just think al-Qaeda bombed the United States, but they have no idea why. There is always a reason! This reason was not an excuse for them to do what they did, but we are not guiltless here! We have done some very wrong things, and every time we do something wrong, we cause more issues with other countries around us. Someone has to stop. Retaliation is wrong. If no one ever makes that strive to stop, then it will never end, and more people will die. Don't we want to live in a happy world where everyone is allies with everyone? I mean that is probably impossible, and you may view us stopping the war with the Middle East as impossile too, simply because if we stop, then we're sitting ducks, but maybe that's why we should've never started this in the first place. I'm very on edge with what I believe is the right approach here, or what we should've done to begin with, but what I do know is that we are not faultless, and we need to stop pretending we are and preaching to our school children that we are the good guys.
Here's what you can take from this: 1. Don't meddle in other people's countries. My mom always taught me to mind my own business, and I have found that she was right. 2. Don't penalyze other people for doing something that you consider yourself a hero for doing. That's just hypocritical and wrong. 3. Teach what is really going on here. Don't just teach people your one-sided opinion, and that's it. 4. We, as a country, could use a whole lot more humility nationally. 5. What Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda did was wrong, but what we have done is wrong too. So who are the real terrorists, if bin Laden and al-Qaeda were only trying to fight against what the U.S. was doing to them? Maybe the answer is still them, since they ultimately bombed a bunch of civilians. Maybe the answer is the United States, because ultimately, we started a lot of crap against Muslims in the first place, which led to the 9/11/2001 attacks. Or maybe it's both al-Qaeda and the United States, since we have both committed the same heinous acts. I don't care what you're outlook is, as long as you realize the United States is not faultless. White superpowers are some of the most dangerous terrorists. And we need to leave other people's countries alone.
Everyone always seems to point fault at Muslims for everything. And when they do something that white people have previously done, there's a huge stink about Muslims doing it, while white people get off free for the same offense.
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