Justifiable Anger

If you are wondering why I have been so angry with the Middle East lately, then I'm slightly shocked.

No, not really, because that's making me almost as angry as the blatant atrocities and human rights violations Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the like have been committing. I am sick and tired of hearing how those in power in these places are the "exceptions" and how the majority disagree with them, because that is a flat-out lie.

It took more than a handful of people to riot against Danish cartoons which led directly to the death of nearly a dozen people, as well as the firebombings of churches, places of business, and private citizens' homes. There were more than a few people dancing in the streets and firing automatic guns in the air whenever news of American or Allied deaths were reported in the ongoing coverage of the "war." Those in power are not the only ones who openly support such barbaric laws as the stoning deaths of those accused of adultery and other sex-related crimes.

The overwhelming minority in these countries are supposedly the only ones who routinely abuse their women, though these same women are not allowed out of doors without burkas and will be beaten if they dare to do so... by the minority of extremists which include entire towns. The minority of these "extremists" just so happen to live in these very countries and I am sick and tired of hearing how they are the extreme minority!

Don't accuse me of hatemongering or stereotyping when every terrorist who hijacked a plane since about 1980 just so happened to be from the Middle East! When I am having to sell my great, little car that gets 35mpg because I cannot afford gas! When there are people around the world rioting for food because grocers have had to jack the prices up to outlandish rates to offset the shipping costs! (And, according to NPR, prices are going up as much as 20-25% more in coming months!)

I'm no left-wing radical and I'm far from a right-wing fascist; what I am is a normal, regular American who is sick and tired of being exhausted because I have no one to blame for something I know damned well someone else is responsible for! The simple fact of the matter is that these particular Middle Eastern countries have chosen this culture and lifestyle and, while I feel for those who disagree with it, they are the extreme minority.

And, I am sick and tired of having to approach these awful stories with a jaded, guarded, "don't lump them all in together" outlook when I know better -- and no amount of whitewashing, revision, or false humility is going to convince me otherwise!

If it offends you, that's fine, I would love to hear your (hopefully intelligent) comments. But, if you cannot understand my position on this matter, then I really don't think we have anything to discuss.

Anyway, back to the weird and inexplicable.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008