you’re not scared, you’re just uneducated

This week media personality Sonia Kruger called for a ban on Muslim migrants to Australia because she was “scared” and she wants “to feel safe, as all of our citizens do when they go out to celebrate Australia Day” and as mother worries for the safety of her child. Sonia faced a barrage of criticism in the wake of her comments – and she should have, if she wants to spout uneducated comments that cause other uneducated and misinformed people in Australia to think unfavourably towards Muslim people.

Some people are claiming she is racist, and then others that Muslim is not a race. Well yeah it’s a religion, but people are saying she is racist because there is the assumption among a range of people that all Muslim’s are terrorist (hence the ban). Sonia is racist if her ban on Muslims would mean a ban on all Middle Eastern immigrants. So for all of you that don’t know – all Muslims aren’t Middle Eastern and all Middle Eastern people are not Muslim. When Sonia says she doesn’t want to let “Muslims” in, does she mean Middle Eastern people or Muslims? Because the Muslim minority in Myanmar have been subject to persecution – which would mean they are refugees? And many people in the Middle East are persecuted for their religion or for other reasons, again which makes them legitimate refugees. So Sonia I am not sure you are clear in what you are asking to ban. Even if it is Muslims, and not all Middle Eastern people, you might not be a racist but you are bigot.

You say you are scared. What do you really have to be scared of Sonia? The closest Australia has got to a terrorist attack was the shooting of police employee Curtis Cheng. If you want to talk about being scared, go to Iraq and Syria. Have your home either destroyed by ISIS or a United States drone. Be fleeing rape and death, holding your children. Have no idea when you or your children will have shelter, food or safety again. You have no idea what fear is. So don’t think that “being scared” is a legitimate excuse to justify being an uneducated bigot.

Should we not let any Christian immigrants in because some of them are terrorists, and should not let homosexuals in because they some of them have been paedophiles? Well no because that is ridiculous.  We have real issues that should cause real fear in Australia, more than one woman per week in Australia is killed by male violence. Should we stop male immigration?

I have noted the factors that lead to terrorism on more than one occasion on my blog, but seeing people have very little interest in knowing what those are, I will state them again. There is no international definition of terrorism but it has been defined as the planned use or unlawful violence or threat intended to cause fear or intimidate governments or society to obtain a political, religious, or ideological objective. The reasons for joining terror groups and committing terrorist acts are a result of circumstances and/or pre-existing social bonds. Studies have found that terrorists seek to develop strong affective ties with fellow terrorists, that terrorism appeals to those that are lonely and socially alienated with the majority of terrorist organisations composed of unmarried young men, not employed prior to joining them. Studies have found a major factor for joining a terror group was having a friend or relative in it and that was a greater indicator than jihad. In other cases, terrorism is the only choice in failed or failing states to obtain an income or stay alive.

As France has seen a number of terror attacks in recent years, the number of Muslim immigrants has been used by some to ‘prove’ that solely Muslim immigration is to blame. France has a long history of colonisation and in being part of military actions in other countries. In France, Muslims are socially ostracised and systemically discriminated and some studies have estimated that Muslims are twice as likely to live below the poverty line and are three times as likely to be unemployed. These are more likely to be factors in radicalisation than purely due to religion.

By banning Muslim immigration to Australia, it says as a country we are anti-Muslim. That would alienate the Muslims currently living within Australia and make it more likely for them to be radicalised. It would be a gift to groups like ISIS that the West hates Islam. This would make Australia more “unsafe”.

Obviously anyone can give their opinion, but we all don’t need to. That is what people in Australia are missing. If we want to live in a wonderful, multicultural society, those that are spouting uneducated, misinformed comments that lead to hate against a particular group need to shut the fuck up. Because anyone can have an opinion, but when it comes to people being discriminated against, their rights are more important. Prejudice comes from forming opinions without having regard to facts.  

Whilst Sonia sits in Australia with all the safety this country offers, it’s pretty easy to say she wants to ban a group of people immigrating because she is scared of that group because she is completely misinformed of an issue. Love and compassion are necessary and without them humanity cannot survive. Without love and compassion, by replacing that with hate and fear, we continue to allow terrorism to flourish and for men, women and children to be murdered. If Sonia wants to know what being scared is, she should talk to those people she is willing to ban from this country. Those people that have lost family members and their homes, from terrorists and Western drones. That are currently living in in camps without shelter, food and safety with real and immediate fear for themselves and their children every day.