By David Futrelle
From Twitter, some thoughts about the horrific tragedy yesterday in Christchurch — and just who is responsible for creating the toxic environment in which this sort of murderous right-wing Islamophobic extremism thrives.
At some point I hope to have regular posts up on this horrendous subject but right now I just can’t.
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@Schildfreya
Thanks for the welcome!
Yeah, Sweden feels like it’s going downhill thanks to all the racist and misogynistic rhetoric around it and now more and more swedes buying into it themselves and giving power to far-right parties, and the new leader for the conservative party (picture a Serena Joy in a page-boy haircut, whom literally wrote an entire book on Islam being a rape-culture) is gaining popularity, and I wish more people online were willing to speak up whenever someone tries to use Sweden as a deterring example.
@Lainy
I wish I could help, if only with kind words. What you’re going through sounds awful and I hope you’ll take care of yourself and stay safe.
Oh, dear Flying Spaghetti Monster, some ambulatory turd in shoes just walked into a vigil for the mosque shooting in Toronto in a damn MAGA hat!
https://twitter.com/blogTO/status/1107996098214445057
(h/t to Mish who retweeted a link to this)
@Cat Mara
I was reading about that yesterday. The guy’s smirk seems to mirror the Convington asshole’s. This is just like that other float the Trumpanzees drove around the vigil with a huge “Build the Wall” message.
They know very well what they are doing. Not only are they mocking the pain of the victim’s and their relatives, they are also trying to pull a power move by discouraging us through humiliation. They want us to know that not only do they not give a fuck about what just happened to 50 innocent people: they are elated by it and there’s nothing we can do about it.
This tactic also doubles as a means to promote more violence, because the perceived weakness of their political opponents empowers them. They are essentially signalling that it is okay to start moving into more serious stuff. The shooter literally believed that he would be released after a conservative revolution overthrew liberal and progressive governments. Many more are starting to buy into that narrative.
If there’s no pushback against Hate Speech, then you can bet it’s only going to get worse from here on out. Justin Trudeau seems on the right path. I can only hope they start banning and jailing anyone trying to promote “White genocide” or “Cultural Marxism” conspiracy theories.
Thank you all for the wonderful advice and kind words
@Lainy
Adding my voice to the recommendation you ask your football player friend to have a word with this fellow. If he’s a decent fellow he won’t consider it an imposition at all. I got good use from a similar technique dealing with homophobic bullying when I was in school. He was a martial artist, not a football player, but he was still built like a brick wall.
@ Lainy,
No, no, NO!! I read your comment and I skipped right down to the end so I could reply to you. (I’ve been staying offline so I’d missed all this.)
I am SO GLAD you’ve been telling everyone what’s going on. You have a right to feel safe. Your safety doesn’t take away from mine; you deserve to be cared for and listened to. We all need to have each other’s backs, and our own.lives don’t suddenly become easy when a tragedy happens to others. Your creepy stalker won’t stop out of respect for the Muslim victims in NZ; if you can come here to seek advice and support,you should! Hugs to you. Stay safe (is it ok if I pray for that for you?)
Now I’ll go read the rest of the comments…
My friend dropped me off at work today and he’s going to pick me up as well. He’s going to have a talk to my co-worker which basically means he’s going to use his height and muscles to make the little worm squirm. Let me tell you, he is not happy that I didn’t take his flower home with me. I should have grinded it down with my shoe.
I’m glad you did throw his flower on the ground, and that you got out of that okay. Also that your friend is going to make him squirm. Also that he is very unhappy, as he deserves to be. The most important thing is your safety.
It went well and I have found my new best friend. Weapons that look like hair accessories.
@Lainy
Ooooh, neat!
Glad it went well for you. Hopefully he starts respecting your personal space.
I just want to thank you all again for helping me out and listening to me rant. Having my fears validated made me feel like I wasn’t crazy or oversensitive. I also had a few funny parts to the story I wanted to share incase you might enjoy. My friend that dropped me off and picked me up and gave my coworker a talk is a big guy but he’s like the softest teddy bear of a man you could ever imagine. For me to watch him try to be threatening was kind of funny. Also he drives a really big black, four door pick up with these dark windows. I was teasing him about how he looked super sus coming to a dance studio at 9 o’clock at night that teaches little girls and boys ballet. I must have made him parioniod because when I came into the front offices part when it was time to leave he was standing there talking to the lady who runs the front desk with his phone out. I walked in to see him showing pictures of his little sister to her and being like “this is my baby sister whom I love very much, she used to do ballet but she changed it out for basketball instead. She’s going into the 7th grade, she’s not smiling very much in this picture because of her braces, not because she’s unhappy or anything” which I found really funny because she was like half paying attention to him and this gaint 6’4 of a man was trying so hard to look like he wasn’t a creeper hanging around here while he waited on me.
Lainy, I’m so glad for you! Stay safe; hopefully this guy will be scared off now. I think it’s great that you’ve been able to call on your friend to have your back. Please keep us updated on the situation. *hugs*
@ all, a friend told me about what NZ is doing; hope this link works! Thanks to all Kiwis involved in this, and to everyone who stands up against hate.❤ Tomorrow I’ll be going back to my local mosque for the first time since the attack; it’s scary but I think it’s necessary that we all stay strong.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjR6YzIgpThAhWEY98KHVmvAxIQzPwBegQIARAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.abc.net.au%2Fnews%2F2019-03-22%2Fnew-zealand-comes-to-standstill-week-after-christchurch-shooting%2F10926674&psig=AOvVaw1rNGqhk7LCmu2rZSBjL_Zk&ust=1553284701368839
@Bookworm in hijab, I hope your day tomorrow is full of peace and solidarity.
@Lainy glad to hear it worked out. Getting a big guy involved can be tricky as you never know the other man’s balance of cowardice and ego, but your friend being nice deep down will have helped manage the situation. In the end it might just be what was required was a demonstration that this was being taken seriously and you had friends watching your back. Which should surely be the default but your story demonstrates it still isn’t and we, as a society, have got to do better looking out for each other.
@Bookworm you, and all Muslims, will be in our thoughts tomorrow.