It's been a while since posting on the blog largely because I've been dealing with my reason for doing the blog in the first place (and reaffirming the initial reasons: the interactions with people, learning and discovery). I'm writing today about the shooting in Oak Hills, Wisconsin at the Sikh Gurdwara by a white supremacist.
For those who don't know much about the Sikh community here is my post from a while back:
http://thereligiousoutsider.blogspot.com/2011/05/meeting-babaji-redmond-wa-april-30th.html
The Sikh community is one of the kindest and welcoming communities I've ever known.
The reasons behind the shooting were fear and hatred of the Other. In this case Muslims, though I think for the guy the fact that the they weren't Muslims mattered very little. He was part of an organization that believed white supremacy, a philosophy based not only in fear and hatred of the other, but a belief that superiority exists in something as superficial as the color of ones skin.
One thing I think needs to be done is to approach this kind of terrorism the way we approach any other kind. There is a reason that there haven't been any successful terror attacks from radical Muslims, the same should apply to any other group that targets people because of their ethnicity and beliefs and believes that murder is right. The government should do monitoring and action before the evil occurs to prevent it in the first place.
This is not the only thing that should be done though, education is also key. People don't tend to fear what they understand. That's one thing where we as people as well as our education system can do better. How exactly, like my idea above should be done, I'm not sure. I think whatever is done should be based on whatever is most just and true.
The philosophy of any sort of supremacy of race is built on a lie. It falls when held up to the light of the truth. It's broken base cannot be supported and it crumbles. This is the importance of education, people who choose to be good can change when they (white supremacists, fundamentalists who believe in killing for their ideology) realize just how flawed and wrong the ideology is.
I shall end with a quote from the first Guru of Sikhism which is relevant on the actions we take:
"In the whole wide world that I see around, Nothing can be without good actions."
(Guru I, Japji)
May we remember the bad that is done in the world and create good.
