i am always torn about celebrating gestures of solidarity with the victims of certain kinds of violence, accompanied by complete silence over larger-scale forms of imperial genocide. however, i have a rule. any expression of tolerance and mutual support towards any group which seems to be willfully targeted or dehumanized, by anyone, is a good thing. i know that because i appreciate small gestures of support and solidarity from jewish and christian activists whenever the victims happen to be muslim (which is often). i am not denying that context is important, i talk about that incessantly. altho acts of violence need to be understood within a comprehensive historical and political framework, their victims need not be politicized in how (or whether) we mourn for them. i know this is not always easy to do considering how propagandized and interconnected every act of brutality now seems to be, i wrote an entire post about it after the peshawar school killings, but i still hope to see the death of a human being for what it is: a tragedy. i appreciate any show of support in such dehumanized and morally relative times.
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“We think that after the terrorist attacks in Copenhagen, it is the perfect time for us Muslims to distance ourselves from the harassment of Jews that is happening,” 17-year-old event organizer Hajrad Arshad said in an interview with Norwegian television. “If someone wants to attack the synagogue, they need to step over us first,” posted another of the event’s organizers on Facebook. More here.