Now They Come for the Muslim Man

Now they come

Now they come for the Muslim man
Peaceful faithful man of Islam
Next for the men with skin black or brown
Then the foreigner, now the homegrown
First the one with a beard at his throat
Now the man with the baggy coat
Now the man with a black rucksack
Shoot to kill, in the head, from the back
They jail the men who shout and yell
Killed the man who tripped and fell
Now they make war on every man
And everyone sentient must make a stand

I know no-one wants to die in a suicide bomb, but is it really necessary to make life unliveable for Muslims and others who might appear to be potential bombers? I’m hearing of people moving away from and avoiding sitting next to Muslims, and taxi-drivers refusing to take them in their cabs. I’m also hearing about this happening to Sikhs and Christians. How pointless this is, do you think the next batch of bombers are going to be in traditional Islamic dress, or baseball caps and ‘New York’ tops like the last? Are you moving away from everyone wearing street fashion or casual clothes? Don’t you think they can wear suits if they want? Or are you just moving away from those with brown, black or olive skin? Didn’t you notice how light-skinned some of these boys are? Is it the rucksack you’re worried about? Black and Asian people are worried about carrying bags, or even going out at all, in case they suffer discrimination or even street execution. It can’t go on like this otherwise we become fascist, we’re getting very close. The fact is the next bombers could be anyone; fatally alienated people do not appear any different from those who feel socially included; thinking that we can avoid death by sitting away from dodgy looking people is wishful thinking at best. These murderers are not stupid enough to make themselves obvious before attack, and the consequence of our attempted avoidance can only be stress and trauma for the millions of innocent people who become suspects - the bombers have family histories representing at least three continents.
As a White woman I probably will not directly experience the discrimination being faced by so many people now, but it’s like the old poem for me (I paraphrase):
‘First they came for the Jews, and I did not say anything, because I was not a Jew’
If we learnt anything from the second world war and Hitler, can we please put it to use now?

Despair and headwear

It looks like we’ll have to get used to living in this new war, inflicted on us by greedy politicians too eager to exclude the majority from their wealth and power. I always said they (Blair & Bush) were making war on us, as well as Afghanistan and then Iraq, and now their methodology has become apparent on British soil, rather than ‘far, far away’ where most Brits don’t notice. Gunning people down in the street had been practiced, how many innocents have died in Iraq for example? And taking lessons from the Israeli’s is hardly conducive to good relations with their suicidal or moderate opponents. I utterly despair of these politicians, they say all the right words about resolving the Israel-Palestine conflict, and say they want peace, but they have done nothing to support the Palestinian cause, in fact they have armed Israel with helicopter gunships etc to use against those pitiful stone throwers (oh yeah, I noticed they’ve got shoulder-launched missiles now – hardly a match for a helicopter gunship). I despair of the generations of Palestinians growing up, unnecessarily, in refugee camps, while holiday brochures advertise Israel as a land of glistening white beaches and blue skies and seas.

I hoped to inject a sense of humour into this blog, but somehow it seems to have deserted me completely. I do have one in real life! I suppose I feel frustratingly powerless, I can see how wrong the path is that Bush and Blair have taken, I can see the solution is in reducing the sense of alienation and exclusion all sorts of people feel by creating a more equitable world, and that this would have a wider benefit, but it seems however loud we shout no-one is prepared to even start listening. You’re either with us, or against us, if you’re against us, you’re part of the axis of evil. They’ve killed all debate by refusing to listen.

For me the solution has to be in future movers and shakers, and you don’t know who that’s going to be, so working to empower young people and those who work with them is part of my solution. Writing is another, but this sort of politics doesn’t get much press.

Ask me a question and give me something else to write about!

Oh yeah, how about this for a very unworked out idea - in support of Islam we all cover our heads – we could wear any adaptation of Muslim headwear, Hijab or even full Burka, if we are women, or prayer hats for men. My concern here is that Muslims are getting harassed, some are finding themselves unable to go out for fear of attack, and I cannot support it. If we make ourselves indistinguishable from Muslims, we stand in solidarity and if the racists want to attack, or the police get trigger happy, or the government wants to start internment, they’ll be distracted and confused in their evil strategies. Personally I’m sick of seeing wobbly white flesh everywhere I look; girls could do with a bit of decorum (!!!) Also it’ll show solidarity with those who wear hoodies and baseball caps! We could all do it for a day, or as an ongoing campaign. Any volunteers to take charge of distributing the headwear (that’s my organiser speaking)?

Incitement

Incitement

Murder is wrong in London
Murder is wrong in New York
Murder is wrong on the battlefield
Murder is wrong

The government are proposing to introduce a new law to ban ‘incitement to commit terrorist acts.’

Obviously I have a problem with this. I can see what they’re trying to do, and I’m sure it’s all for the best intentions, but it seems incredibly ambiguous to me.

For one thing, just what is the definition of terrorism? What makes it any different from any other sort of murder, such as that committed by American and British war criminals in Afghanistan or Iraq? This makes me very nervous, not least because of what I saw on the TV last night. Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammed (hope I got his name right – this is from memory) was paraded as an example of someone Blair would like to expel from the country, because he incites terrorism. There he was being asked about his attitude to Osama Bin Laden. He condemned Blair and Bush for their actions in Afghanistan and Iraq, but no, he said, he didn’t condemn Osama Bin Laden because he didn’t believe he was responsible for 911or 7/7 (how trite these cool nicknames are). He was going on to say something else, but the clip was cut. I certainly didn’t hear him say he supported terrorism or any other kind of murder. Perhaps someone else saw the same clip and heard something different? I must admit I haven’t followed this cleric closely, so I don’t know what else he has said in the past, but I didn’t feel this clip supported Blair’s intended new law. If they want to throw him out of the country, what are they going to do with me and all the other people I know who don’t support any kind of murder whether perpetrated by governments or ‘terrorists’ or ‘freedom fighters.’

What about the respected Islamic scholar I saw on Newsnight a few nights ago who unequivocally condemned 7/7, but stated clearly that suicide bombers in Palestine were a different matter, because they were fighting decades of illegal occupation? Will they throw him out? Blair refuses to talk about Iraq, Afghanistan or Palestine in relation to these bombs, despite warnings after 911 and before the invasions, despite warnings and evidence since such as the recent evidence of the JTAC report which stated clearly that these three conflicts were a source of inspiration to would-be bombers. Blair took the wrong path and should be man enough to admit it. I voted him in because I hated Thatcher and the Tories for what they did to poor and vulnerable people, and I supported Blair because he offered us a brighter future, but I couldn’t bring myself to vote for him again once he became a war criminal, and I will never forgive him for all the innocent blood on his hands. Perhaps he did it to pull Bush back a little, and the bloodbath might well have been worse without British troops involved, but I think Blair should have stood up to Bush and condemned his actions in the strongest possible way. The UN had Saddam fairly well under control by the time of the invasion; the threat he posed was nothing compared to the threat posed by the Nazi George W Bush. It’s certain that Iraq is less peaceful since the invasion.

I’m not sure who the terrorists are and who are the freedom fighters. There’s no doubt today that Nelson Mandela was a freedom fighter, although he was labelled and treated as a dangerous terrorist for decades. And he didn’t take up arms, he only used his intelligence and charisma. Although there was a significant anti-apartheid movement in Britain, I remember at that time that I was considered radical (just before Mandela’s release) because I argued that he was a freedom fighter, I boycotted Barclays, Shell, Del Monte and other firms benefiting from and propping up apartheid, I marched, I even got sacked from Pizza Hut for discouraging customers from choosing the South African pineapple topping.

Bush’s evangelical mission to spread ‘democracy’ across the globe barely disguises his real motive to control global oil wealth. The published ‘Project for the New American Century’ is chilling in its cynical 100 year strategy to conquer the world by diplomacy, persuasion, stealth or ‘shock and awe bombing’ campaigns. If I say this is bordering on Nazism, are they going to throw me in jail for this heresy? All the time Bush accused Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein of being Nazi’s my stomach turned, it’s him that wants to change everyone else’s way of living, it’s him that wants to take over the world, it’s him who has no understanding or tolerance for other’s ways of life. You only have to look at America itself, look at how Black families live in the Deep South to this day, no jobs, no money, short of food. Compare it to some pictures of impoverished African states, and it’s like spot the difference – similar life expectancy, similar infant mortality, similar lack of interest from those in American Power, only this is the reality of the great American Dream. I now boycott America and American companies, and have done for decades. I encourage you to do the same. It makes me anxious to think that there is a powerful Nazi taking over the world and because the propaganda and brainwashing has been so effective, no one is noticing.

Sod them, they can throw me out, send me back where I came from. My ancestors came here a very very very long time ago; I don’t think we have records of where they came from, but I know our human race did not begin on British land, but in Africa. As long as they pay my airfare, and my kids and husband (because I’m sure they all incite terrorism in some way too, especially my 9 yr old son who likes designing bombs) I’d be happy to get out of here and stop paying taxes to support this confused government topped by a war criminal.

I feel like Blair has dragged us all into this war, kicking and screaming. No-one wanted to invade Iraq. It pains me to think of how much money is spent on arms to fight these wars. It pains me to see children starving and dying of malaria and AIDS while Bush focuses on world domination, and all the money is spent on weapons. It is sick and obscene. It is disgusting. The west created Saddam and bin Laden; while they were on ‘our side’ the west trained them in bomb-making, insurgency, terrorism. They remain the same people with the same skills, but because they’re not on ‘our’ side any more, they are now terrorists. If we had supported them 10-30 years ago, no problem. We support them now – well, there will be new laws to deal with us.

What is the solution? I raise lots of questions, but I like to pose a solution too, or at least make some suggestions.

Blair should apologise for his war crimes, stand down as Prime Minister, and submit himself to trial at the international war crimes tribunal. If he’s not willing, someone should perform a citizen’s arrest (I hear Peter Tatchell’s pretty good at this).
The government needs to deliver a clear message about murder, and it needs to act as a good role model. The government needs to cease direct and indirect involvement in and support of murder at home or overseas. The role of the armed forces should be to participate in United Nations actions and to defend Britain from mass murderers, whoever they are - citizens, invading forces, freedom fighters or terrorists.
We must stand up against Nazism and Fascism. We must be able to recognise it. We mustn’t let this powerful media machine brainwash us. Every argument they give us, we must turn it around, and find the hidden motive, the hidden agenda, for they are very sophisticated at this, with decades of experience behind them. We, as individuals are small and powerless against their power, but if we see and think clearly we will know what’s really going on, and who the Nazi’s really are.

Brainwashing

Brainwashing

Young people, usually boys, every day fall into the hands of fucked up people, usually older men, and become embroiled in the world of alcohol, drugs, crime and violence. As a result some go on to commit truly horrific crimes, like gang rape, violent murder, taking a gun and, to quote Geldof (!) shooting ‘the whole school down.’ It’s been going on since he wrote that in the 70’s and a long time before too. Why do they fall into these dangerous hands? Because those hands are the only ones offering love, warmth, comfort, acceptance. Because those hands share things, like ideals, political viewpoints, cynicism, a feeling of belonging to something that is outside the ‘system’ that has so neglectfully failed to care. If the parents loved more, the schools cared more, perhaps it wouldn’t happen, but the truth is it does. So 10 year olds murder toddlers, 15 year olds rape teachers, 14 year olds rape little children, and 13 year olds kill fathers. Just how many people die and suffer each year at the hands of disengaged teenagers and young adults?

The question is; are they brainwashed? I’ve never heard any news item or radio debate suggest that they might have been, not one. Whatever age, 18, 15, even 10, they are held responsible for their actions, tried and punished (often held in adult jails, but that’s another rant).

I am confused about the media’s use of the word ‘brainwashed’ to describe the recent London bombers; as far as I could understand they were all adults and legally responsible. The fact that they might have been part of an organised network doesn’t stop this. I suspect it’s something to do with them being identified as ‘British’ and public squeamishness about the possibility of any one of ‘our own’ consciously doing something like this. It’s probably a bit early for us to face up to that fact, if it is true, but for me the young one’s anyway were lost youths who fell into the wrong hands, and we (as a society) should have been looking out for them better. We let them down.

Note to government: Should do better for young people.