when ignorance and stupidity meet

On the weekend hundreds of people participated in an anti-Islam rally in Melbourne. Organised by the United Patriots Front (UPF), a far right group which opposes immigration, multiculturalism and Islam. I must first note, that not all members (if in fact any members) are indigenous Australians. So those protesting are themselves the beneficiaries of immigration and multiculturalism. They obviously aren’t smart enough to realise this so let’s leave the blatantly obvious underlying problem with their campaign to one side.

What has made these people so intolerant? Why do you have the right to be this violent? What exactly has happened in your life to show you this is the way to act? This was described as an anti-Islam rally. What has Islam ever done to these people, or to Australia?

Meanwhile, the number of deaths form the Syrian War is approximated at 250,000 with almost half civilians and over 2.7 million people have been injured or displaced. In the last few days there has been 700 strikes on rebel held parts of Syria. Children are covered in blood as they try to play. Currently in Iraq, Special Forces are storming the ISIL held city of Fallujah were an estimated 50,000 people are still trapped. More than 700 refugees from the Middle East escaping war and destruction caused not only from ISIL but also the ‘West’, have either drowned or are still missing in the Mediterranean Sea in the last week.

Westerners love to bring up “terrorism” as a means for vilifying Islam. The most notable terror attack against the ‘West’, the September 11 terrorist attacks, killed 2,973 victims in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. This led to the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan which caused over a million civilian deaths. The number of Australians killed in the war in Iraq is 41 and the number killed during the conflict in Afghanistan from 2002 – 2013 is 262. Of all the total casualties in Iraq, Afghanistan, the US Military and September 11 terror attacks from September 11 2001 to September 2010, 99.17% were Iraqi and Afghanistan civilian casualties.

So I ask again, what do these Australians have to be angry about? I not aware that Islam is a problem in Australia, and even if it was, violence may solve a problem but it will always lay the foundations for another. The consequences of violence linger on long after the act. Many in the ‘West’ are more than happy to condemn the 1 billion Muslims in the world due to the actions of a minute amount that commit violence. Some of which have been lead to these actions by the destruction of their homes, families and country – who due to social, economic and political conditions have very little choices.

The members of the UPF and others that vilify all Muslims, that claim to be anti-Islam and use threats and violence against Muslims, have no reason to be angry. They most definitely have no reason to resort to violence. And if we aren’t condemning the entire Australian nation or the religion of those involved in the UPF, why do we think it’s appropriate to do the same to Islam and the people that part of that religion. To quote Don King, hypocrisy is the mother of all evil and prejudice is still her favourite child. Hate continues to cause many problems in the world, but as yet has not solved one.