Tolerance

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. this post is dedicated to tolerance (specifically within the US). The amount of violence and disrespectful behavior related to hatred and intolerance in the U.S. astounds me. The only thing I can attribute this behavior to is a lack of education and interactions with diverse groups of people. In my personal experience and in the news I read about the U.S. I see some of the biggest problems with people’s view toward minority communities, specifically Muslims and people who identify themselves within the LGBT community.

In reference to the Muslim community of the United States, they have such a long history of living in America that I find it incredibly unfortunate there is currently so much Islamophobia. September 11th, 2001, affected all Americans but this event greatly affected our American Muslims. Personally, I find most religions to have far more similarities than differences therefore the amount of violent acts toward American Muslims are astounding to me. I’m grateful for Muslims who are able to put themselves into the public eye in the attempt of educating other Americans. I believe shows like All-American Muslim on TLC are great ways to get people who many have never interacted with someone of a different religion to see what their lives are like. I have enjoyed watching every episode of this show and was saddened to hear of the behavior of companies like Lowe's and Kayak who pulled their advertisements from the episodes. You can read more about these events HERE. Suhailia, who is a part of All-American Muslim wrote a wonderful blog recently about 9/11. You can read that post here, and a short video can be found here. Media projects and films such as My Fellow American are also excellent ways of educating Americans and uniting communities. I say this because there is a lot of power in education and I feel most people simply are afraid of what they don’t know. It’s this fear that can cause unacceptable behavior and violence toward “other” groups of people. I also find the intolerance many Americans hold toward Muslims to be somewhat ironic because among other reasons, didn't Europeans come to North America for religious freedom?

Furthermore, the amount of violence not only physically but emotionally toward the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) community is worrying. We as Americans need to unite in educating each other in order to end the amount of  bullying LGBT youth face. LGBT Americans should not be the only ones working toward the goals of tolerance and acceptance. Straight Americans also need to stand up, homophobic jokes and slurs are not okay. I don't know how many times I heard people use the phrase "that's so gay" or "don't be gay" when what they meant was "that's so stupid" or "don't be stupid" growing up; but, it was far too many. What is okay is standing up to this type of behavior and not allowing it to occur anymore. Our suicide rate in the U.S. is outrageous and it can only be decreased through empowering one another and teaching each other the power of words. There are some amazing organizations in the states including The Trevor Project, We Give a Damn, and countless others. Please commit to making our community a better place for everyone by choosing to be kind and supporting a tolerant community.

Finally, though these words may have been spoken in 1968, I feel they still ring true today. Please take a few minutes to listen to the words of Robert F. Kennedy. 

The Mindless Menace of Violence

What will you do to spread peace and tolerance?


If you're looking for materials on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. or the Day of Service connected with him. Here's a great site: MLK Day.


Peace, Love, Literacy, and Reckless Curiosity :)