Dealing with intolerance
A number of factors contributed to the horrible Orlando massacre over the weekend. First and foremost were loose US gun control methods, of course. People, including American presidents, have cried themselves hoarse and tried to overcome the pro-gun lobby, but with very little success so far. President Obama seems to have covered some ground – by American standards — since the San Bernardino tragedy, and at least some background checks will be mandatory before selling firearms. But that is not nearly enough.
Clearly some US government will finally have to put its foot down on the matter, even if it violates some ‘inalienable’ democratic rights in the process, considering the proportion this phenomenon has assumed. But equally responsible is the culture of intolerance that certain communities reflect more than others. South Asian Muslim segments, for example, have become increasingly intolerable both at home and abroad. That the individual that perpetrated the Orlando attack came from a Muslim, Afghan background surprised few people in the eventual calculation. Granted, most of America’s internal gun-related violence has come from indigenous groups or individuals, but when Asian Muslim types resort to aggression, it is far more easily understood and digested, with good reason.
Obviously some freedoms of Muslims and Asians living in America will come under increasing scrutiny. Most people, even Republicans, chose to be politically correct in reply to Donald Trump’s ‘I told you so’, but some of them will eventually give in to paranoia as the security machinery increases the threat level a notch or so. Such tragedies should, at the very least, prompt some serious soul-searching in societies like ours. How and why did we grow so intolerant of ‘the other’ that resort to aggression, violence and murder has become the norm rather than the rare exception? Unfortunately, once again the madness of an individual not only robbed 50 innocent people of their lives, but will also impact thousands others for years to come.
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Not clear what led Mateen to kill 50 people and injuring more than 50. Did he kill all of them ? First it was a terror attack but downgraded to hate attack. Even there are unanswered questions about 9/11. Some said it was CIA/Israeli act because not one Israeli working in Trade Center was present on that day. Mateen's father, a migrant from Afghanistan decades ago, said the killing has nothing to do with religion. Killing of people is condemn-able an act, be it in US, Afghanistan, Iraq ( in millions), Yemen or North Korea.
It is very sad that a deranged Muslim decided to end his misery by killing many innocent people…
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