Us and Them

What does it say about Great Britain that within hours of a brutal murder, everyone turns so quickly on their neighbours? Why is it that if a white man goes on a shooting rampage we single him out as a lone nutter, but if it is done by a man with dark skin and who might have said something Islamic it is terrorism and we must all be afraid?

Have you stopped sending your children to Catholic schools because of the extensive child abuse committed by Catholic priests? Have you stopped your daughter going to art classes because of Rolf Harris’ arrest? Do you judge white Yorkshire men by the acts of the Ripper or British people because of the horrific acts of oppression in India during the occupation?

It’s incredible how quickly people are prepared to shut their doors on their neighbours. How this is a terror attack instead of a brutal murder seems to me an inflammatory act by a weak and flailing government. Children are systematically stabbing each other over postcode territories, but we don’t start shutting out our nieces and nephews; they are not classes as terrorists although they are using terror to get what they want.

To those of you who are liking the RIP Woolwich Soldier page on facebook, please look carefully at who you are joining with. This poor nameless man was murdered a few hours ago. It is not fair that his death is being hijacked by racist nutcases who think that being British is synonymous with religion and skin colour. Nick Griffin has already asked people to wear Help for Heroes badges to ‘resist Islamist terror’ instead of supporting Help for Heroes to HELP soldiers! Hate doesn’t help anyone and it is disgraceful that a wonderful charity is being used to imply that soldiers are standing up for racism. This poor man’s family now has to stand by helpless while hundreds of thousands tell his son to Rest In Peace whilst preaching hate. How can he rest in peace with this tirade of violence from the mouths of strangers?  

Muslims aren’t terrorists and, if these two men considered themselves Muslims, it is as irrelevant as it would have been if they were Christians. I know Catholics who do not consider paedophile priests to be Christians and we seem on board with that – my Catholic friends have never felt the need to apologise for their community and have never been shut out because of the acts of their religious leaders. Why should we see these murderers as Muslims? Islam is a religion, just like Christianity, that can be manipulated to violence or to beauty. Why do we see two men committing a murder for their own twisted reasons and blame an entire religion?

This is how it starts every time. The acts of the few stains the many because, if we are honest with ourselves, we realise that (just like has happened before) it only takes one act of horror and barbarity by The Muslims to make us believe that all whole of ‘them’ are against the whole of ‘us’.

We have to be better than that.