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Did we allow ourselves to get complacent?
On this year's anniversary of September 11th, members of Michigan Peace Team
- along with scores of others - attended a presentation in East Lansing
entitled, "New Vistas for Peace", sponsored by the Vaishnava Centre's
International Service Society. Many people went from this event to the public
reading of the Qur'an, hosted by All Saints Episcopal Church and Canterbury MSU.
It's safe to say that as we headed home Saturday night, we all felt that we
belonged to a community that was not only open and respectful, but appreciative
of the rich diversity found here.
To awaken the next day to the news that someone(s) had desecrated the Qur'an by
tearing it to pieces, smearing it with feces, and burning it at the front doors
of the Islamic Society of Greater Lansing was not only appalling, it was
jarring. How could this happen here, in a community we perceived
to be well-educated, progressive, and tolerant? Until this moment, many of us
thought East Lansing to be relatively-insular: an exception to the fear, bigotry
and ignorance found in so many pockets of the United States. Yet here, at their
doorstep, was laid the same kind of hate that cross-burnings, lynchings, and
swastikas are famous for.
Of course, we immediately contacted the Islamic Society to share our heartache
for them, our concern, and whatever support we could lend. But is that enough?
The only way to counter these deplorable kinds of hate crimes is to work
tirelessly at their root: fear born of ignorance - exactly what the Islamic
Society is calling for.
If we are truly to be a part of the kind of community we can be proud of, we
will need to take the risk of reaching out to those that are not like-minded. We
will need to do the hard work of extending them the compassion that truly
fearful people deserve. We must encourage them to get to know others that,
initially, they will want no part of. We must appeal to their highest selves, be
willing to invest time and patience in helping them see that, in the end, we
really are all one human family.
If we cannot reach out to these - hurting people who in turn hurt others - than
the cycle will never end. It is not a responsibility we will necessarily take up
gladly, but if it is shirked, then communities like East Lansing and others are
doomed to a future where hate and prejudice can carve themselves a permanent
home.
All of us at Michigan Peace Team are determined to do this hard work. We will
continue to speak to the power of nonviolence, teach the skills of nonviolent
conflict resolution, and put our bodies between people that would hurt each
other. And we will make a concerted effort to touch the hearts of those least
like us. Please - for the sake of a viable future - join us.
Mary L. Hanna on behalf of Michigan Peace Team
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Please visit our friends at
http://lansingislam.com/
for more information on this incident,
and learn how they
- and the community at large - are responding. |
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