One person's idiocy, everyone loses.

September 11 this year will mark 10 years since the terrorist attacks in New York City. It was one of those events that sent shockwaves around the world and I think everybody still pretty much remembers what they were doing when they heard about it. Me? I was getting ready for school. Upon arriving at school everyone was talking about some crazy thing that went down in the 'States'. During the next few weeks the attacks dominated every news outlet, Osama Bin Laden was identified as the mastermind of the attacks, the world grieved with the US and most notably, hatred and fear of Muslims ran riot.

I read the newspaper this morning and in a section devoted to 'Ten Years On' since the attacks, a small article was included in which an Australian family of Palestinian Muslim heritage express their sadness over the hatred Bin Laden caused. The father, Neil El-Kadomi laments how people give them dirty looks in the streets, how people question their religion and how some media outlets add fuel to the fire by continuing to incite fear and hatred of Muslims. El-Kadomi stressed how he and his family, and average Australian Muslims are proud to be Australian and proud to practice their faith and that they condemn the acts of extremists.

Don't you just hate how when one person from any given community or minority screws up or crosses the line, everyone instantly hates on the rest of their people? Not only is this unfair to the innocent parties of that community, it is also an act of pure ignorance. No one should be made to suffer from another person's idiocy. I get angry whenever I see stories on current affairs shows that talk about some 'Muslim Uprising' and how 'Western' culture is in serious danger thanks to Muslims. Ok, so maybe there are some extremists out there who take their religion too far but that shouldn't be an excuse to hate on the entire religion and its worshippers, especially since Muslims in general do not condone such acts and view it as going against their faith which preach the power of peace.

It isn't just Muslims that's getting a bad rap. Migrants and people of ethnic backgrounds also take the heat whenever one of their own commits a crime and also when they are VICTIMS of a crime, accident or tragedy. For example, you look at the news and read about how an Asian or African person committed a crime, you immediately hear the masses calling for these people to be banned or sent back to their countries, normally with the use of racist epithets. Just recently we saw in the news how a young African girl was mauled to death in her Melbourne, Australia home by a neighbour's American Pitbull Terrier. While the girl's family received an outpouring of sympathy from the country, a few shitheads out there (I try not to use profanities in my blogs but in this case I felt it was appropriate) used it as an opportunity to racially attack the victim, praise the vicious dog as a 'True Aussie Hero' and tell other people of the same heritage that the same fate awaited them if they didn't leave the country.

This repugnance has got to stop. Just because someone who represents a community or a minority screws up it is no reason to hate on the other innocent people within that community or minority. It is an unfair and ignorant practice and has no place in an accepting society. Criticise the culprits, not their people.