COVID-19 Lockdown, Day 75
I am so glad it is Friday and that the weekend is coming. Just two more weeks until my much-needed vacation. For those who may ask, I will still do my posts when I am in the monastery. They might be a little late if there is little to no internet. When the monks are working, I plan to use that time writing my book.
This was a ridiculous day. Since my program director wanted me to get groceries at Costco for a while until I can take clients grocery shopping again, I spent practically two hours in that place because their setup was out of order, and so was the shopping list. On top of that, the store was surprisingly busy for a Friday morning, and I hate crowds like that; they make me nervous! Social distancing helped nothing either. When, oh, when, will these restrictions end?! It was in the 90's today, and I was so hot wearing that stupid mask. My agency had better give us some concrete answers soon; this is driving me bloody insane!
Before I go further, a big thank you to Pastor Hicham for encouraging me to focus more on this tragedy in my blog. As an Arab Lebanese American, he has much insight on racism in the Arab World. When I told him that my Indian Muslim adopted family would not move to Bridgeview because they wanted to be around Indian Muslims who seemed to be more welcoming to outsiders who are fellow Muslims than Arabs are, he agreed wholeheartedly, explaining the racism Arabs feel towards others to the point of being cultish. He told me how some Arabs refer to those of African or Black heritage as "abid," which is a term used for slaves taken from Eastern and Central Africa, as well as parts of West Africa. Colloquially speaking, it is equivalent to the N-word. This is why I am tempted to laugh when African-Americans change their birth names to Arabic ones or call Christianity "the oppressor's religion" before converting to Islam. The reality is, the Arab slave trade in Africa began in the 10th Century, when the English and French were still drinking sewer water and bathing once a year. In fact, there are parts of North and Central Africa where Arabs are still in the slave trade.
This should not surprise us much. No matter what religion or faith one professes, there will be hypocrisy. Look at the adulterer-evangelist Jimmy Swaggert and the Ku Klux Klan. Look at the huge percentage of confessing Christians living together and procreating outside of the bonds of marriage. Now, look at how, at the turn of the 21st Century, non-Arabs in Saudi Arabia, even fellow Muslims, lost their jobs during their recession to offer more employment to Arabs. Does not the Qur'an say that all Muslims are equal under Allah? Look at Boko Haram, Taliban, ISIS, Al-Qaeda, the Iranian government, and independent extremists who kill Christians who refuse to convert to Islam even though the Qur'an says "let there be no compulsion in the religion." Look at the Pakistani father who lost his daughter to a gambling match even though the Qur'an forbids gambling. Look at half of the proprietors of liquor stores on the Westside of Chicago even though the Qur'an prohibits imbibing alcohol. Look at the parents who force their daughter to marry a man she does not like, even though the Qur'an says that a girl has a right to refuse a match. Give me a few hours, and I can find hypocrites from followers of all religions. I am a hypocrite too sometimes. We are all human, and we cannot always follow our believed teachings to the letter. Even Gandhi, a Hindu universalist, noticed all of the churchgoing Brits who oppressed Indians Monday through Saturday. He said, "I like your Christ, but not your Christians. Your Christians are nothing like your Christ." Ouch.
So, I must return to the Floyd Affair again. Now that the three oinkers have finally joined the mad hog in jail, The riots have subsided, but the protests continue. Some of the protesters have begun using one of the many watchwords of the 21st Century: defund. What do they want defunded? The police forces! The irony is, these protesters have found something in common with some Republicans. Good for them, I guess, but defunding police forces is not the answer. The answer to Klansmen in Blue is not by removing funding from the police force. It is by constantly vetting those on the force and giving them regular psychiatric assessments. It is by removing from duty anyone who steps over the line whilst promising good pay to good police officers. The only way I would be comfortable with having no police is if all law-abiding, mentally-stable citizens could carry guns in all public areas, even work, and if gun control laws are relaxed, if not removed. Still, in overcrowded areas, this is a recipe for disaster. Without a police force, vigilantism could not be contained, crime would be even more rampant, and even more innocent lives would be destroyed. If you think Englewood is violent, image if there were no police force. Even more people would be killed each week. But, Black Lives Matter, yes?
Black Lives Matter seems to have replaced a series of rally cries in this country. Five years ago, it was "Love is Love." Two years ago, it was "Hate has no home here (unless you are a leftist)." Now, it is Black Lives Matter. They even renamed the street where the rioters burned a church "Black Lives Matter." This is just going to become an empty phrase that White leftists will spout to make themselves feel better about themselves. Do they really mean it? If so, they will learn to treat us more like adults with responsibilities and consequences and less like babies that need to be nursed, comforted, and burped.
--Signing off.
This was a ridiculous day. Since my program director wanted me to get groceries at Costco for a while until I can take clients grocery shopping again, I spent practically two hours in that place because their setup was out of order, and so was the shopping list. On top of that, the store was surprisingly busy for a Friday morning, and I hate crowds like that; they make me nervous! Social distancing helped nothing either. When, oh, when, will these restrictions end?! It was in the 90's today, and I was so hot wearing that stupid mask. My agency had better give us some concrete answers soon; this is driving me bloody insane!
Before I go further, a big thank you to Pastor Hicham for encouraging me to focus more on this tragedy in my blog. As an Arab Lebanese American, he has much insight on racism in the Arab World. When I told him that my Indian Muslim adopted family would not move to Bridgeview because they wanted to be around Indian Muslims who seemed to be more welcoming to outsiders who are fellow Muslims than Arabs are, he agreed wholeheartedly, explaining the racism Arabs feel towards others to the point of being cultish. He told me how some Arabs refer to those of African or Black heritage as "abid," which is a term used for slaves taken from Eastern and Central Africa, as well as parts of West Africa. Colloquially speaking, it is equivalent to the N-word. This is why I am tempted to laugh when African-Americans change their birth names to Arabic ones or call Christianity "the oppressor's religion" before converting to Islam. The reality is, the Arab slave trade in Africa began in the 10th Century, when the English and French were still drinking sewer water and bathing once a year. In fact, there are parts of North and Central Africa where Arabs are still in the slave trade.
This should not surprise us much. No matter what religion or faith one professes, there will be hypocrisy. Look at the adulterer-evangelist Jimmy Swaggert and the Ku Klux Klan. Look at the huge percentage of confessing Christians living together and procreating outside of the bonds of marriage. Now, look at how, at the turn of the 21st Century, non-Arabs in Saudi Arabia, even fellow Muslims, lost their jobs during their recession to offer more employment to Arabs. Does not the Qur'an say that all Muslims are equal under Allah? Look at Boko Haram, Taliban, ISIS, Al-Qaeda, the Iranian government, and independent extremists who kill Christians who refuse to convert to Islam even though the Qur'an says "let there be no compulsion in the religion." Look at the Pakistani father who lost his daughter to a gambling match even though the Qur'an forbids gambling. Look at half of the proprietors of liquor stores on the Westside of Chicago even though the Qur'an prohibits imbibing alcohol. Look at the parents who force their daughter to marry a man she does not like, even though the Qur'an says that a girl has a right to refuse a match. Give me a few hours, and I can find hypocrites from followers of all religions. I am a hypocrite too sometimes. We are all human, and we cannot always follow our believed teachings to the letter. Even Gandhi, a Hindu universalist, noticed all of the churchgoing Brits who oppressed Indians Monday through Saturday. He said, "I like your Christ, but not your Christians. Your Christians are nothing like your Christ." Ouch.
So, I must return to the Floyd Affair again. Now that the three oinkers have finally joined the mad hog in jail, The riots have subsided, but the protests continue. Some of the protesters have begun using one of the many watchwords of the 21st Century: defund. What do they want defunded? The police forces! The irony is, these protesters have found something in common with some Republicans. Good for them, I guess, but defunding police forces is not the answer. The answer to Klansmen in Blue is not by removing funding from the police force. It is by constantly vetting those on the force and giving them regular psychiatric assessments. It is by removing from duty anyone who steps over the line whilst promising good pay to good police officers. The only way I would be comfortable with having no police is if all law-abiding, mentally-stable citizens could carry guns in all public areas, even work, and if gun control laws are relaxed, if not removed. Still, in overcrowded areas, this is a recipe for disaster. Without a police force, vigilantism could not be contained, crime would be even more rampant, and even more innocent lives would be destroyed. If you think Englewood is violent, image if there were no police force. Even more people would be killed each week. But, Black Lives Matter, yes?
Black Lives Matter seems to have replaced a series of rally cries in this country. Five years ago, it was "Love is Love." Two years ago, it was "Hate has no home here (unless you are a leftist)." Now, it is Black Lives Matter. They even renamed the street where the rioters burned a church "Black Lives Matter." This is just going to become an empty phrase that White leftists will spout to make themselves feel better about themselves. Do they really mean it? If so, they will learn to treat us more like adults with responsibilities and consequences and less like babies that need to be nursed, comforted, and burped.
--Signing off.
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