News of the tragedy at Virginia Tech on Monday left many people shocked and confused. When it was announced that the shooter was a Korean national, the Korean government expressed its collective condolences to the victims and called for calm as Koreans feared a backlash based on prejudice. It is good for the Koreans that there are those calling for understanding, but who is standing up for the Pakistani victims of prejudice.
Before the police had made their announcement on the identity of the killer famous thought machine Debbie Schlussel already knew that the shooter was Pakistani and part of a terrorist attack. Of course, if he is a terrorist, he must be from Pakistan… except for one thing: Pakistan is not a terrorist country. Pakistani people are victims of terrorism, mostly from outside their borders. Ms. Schlussel was not content to just impugn her imaginary shooter, but by use a racial slur she impugned the whole nation.
Maybe she thinks that being nasty and bellicose is part of being a conservative. Maybe she would like to take that up with Muhammad Ali Hasan and his mother, Seeme Gull Khan Hasan founders of Muslims for America. The Hasans are visible spokespersons for the Pakistani Americans and uphold conservative values. They worked for George Bush’s re-election and promote “zero tolerance for any kind of terrorism, in following the example left by Prophet Muhammad PBUH.”
I am reminded of the scene in the BBC miniseries To Serve Them All My Days where the British boys are taunting a Jewish refugee because he is from Germany. A teacher catching the bullies pointed out that the Jewish boy was in England because of the persecution he experienced in Germany. “He must find it ironic that he now faces persecution because of where he comes from.” Some Pakistanis are in America to escape persecution, only to find persecution here. Ironic. “Do you know what that means?”
It is also ironic that the derogatory term used by Ms. Schlussel plays on the part of the name Pakistan (Land of the Pure) that stands for “pure”. A synonym for pure is innocent. The gunman was not Pakistani. The Pakistani are innocent then.
What Ms. Schlussel did just made her look vulgar and ignorant… all for cheap political points. That reminds me of another quote from the miniseries.
Christine Forster: Politics is full of people who can't cope with their own lives. I worry about that a lot.
Yeah... I know what that means. I worry a lot too.
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