• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Valley Citizen

Nature, Environment, History & Politics

The Valley Citizen

  • Arts
  • Education
  • Environment
  • History
  • Nature
  • Politics
  • Wit
  • About
  • RSS Icon

“Why do we wait for occasions like this?”

March 19, 2019 By Eric Caine 1 Comment

Entering the Islamic Center
Entering the Islamic Center

An overflow crowd packed Modesto’s Islamic Center Monday night, as speaker after speaker emphasized the need for unity and love in the aftermath of the slaughter of fifty worshippers at a mosque in New Zealand last Friday.

Muslim leaders apologized several times for not having a facility big enough to accommodate everyone, and earlier on had placed a plastic covering over the rug inside the mosque so that visitors wouldn’t have to remove their shoes in the Muslim tradition. Several speakers said that now is a time to act and speak out against violence, but despite the unity and support that pervaded the gathering, the likelihood of action against mass shootings here in America is virtually nil.

New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, vowed to seek stricter gun control in a nation that averages just over thirty homicides a year. For comparison, the United States had over 17,000 murders and non-negligent homicides in 2017.

In an attempt to deny him the publicity he so obviously craves, Ardern also promised never to speak the assailant’s name. Nonetheless, the shooter’s supremacist manifesto, published online before the attack, has already received widespread distribution via social media.

Like many nations around the world,  New Zealand has experienced an increase in white-supremacist groups and an escalation in rhetoric directed against Muslims especially. The rise of New Zealand’s alt-right has troubled members of Islam for several years now.

Approaching the Islamic Center

Ironically, white supremacist groups argue that their mission is to protect western civilization and its European roots. Here in the United States, western civilization reached what many think is its zenith when our founding fathers made tolerance and freedom of religion the cornerstones of the nation’s moral foundation.

Monday night, Congressman Josh Harder was only one of many local leaders who vowed unwavering support for our Muslim community as he received loud applause from the audience. Harder emphasized that attacking people in their place of worship is an especially heinous act that violates everything our nation holds dearest.

Given the coming together of so many good people of so many different beliefs and creeds, for a few short hours it was difficult to imagine how such an evil as mass murder could cast such a long and dark shadow over the world as the horror in New Zealand. But as several speakers repeated what has become a common refrain at such gatherings, everyone was reminded that these events are becoming more and more frequent.

Hug shared by two men“Why do we wait for occasions like this before we all come together in unity,” said speaker after speaker, echoing words that were heard only a short time ago in Modesto’s Congregation Beth Shalom.

One Muslim leader uttered what most of us would consider the animating spirit of America when he said, “People want the same things…they want peace and a better future for their children.”

Those basic elements of the American project of freedom for all have always been threatened by proponents of division and hate, but every Christian, Sikh, Jew, Buddhist and agnostic who embraced our Muslim community Monday night offers evidence of the power of hope and courage over the demons of terror and death. The American Dream endures.

 

 

 

Filed Under: History

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ken hansen says

    March 20, 2019 at 10:51 am

    Verrry interesting! Going by what is NOT being said, says alot…why no comments?

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Note: Some comments may be held for moderation.

Primary Sidebar

Off The Wire

Californians: Here's why your housing costs are so high
Californians: Here’s why your housing costs are so high
Half the state’s households struggle to afford the roof over their heads. Here’s what you need to know about one of California’s most vexing issues.
calmatters.org
Las Vegas Pushes to Become First City to Ban Ornamental Grass
Las Vegas Pushes to Become First City to Ban Ornamental Grass
A desert city built on a reputation for excess and indulgence wants to become a model for restraint and conservation with a first-in-the-nation policy banning grass that nobody walks on. Las Vegas-area water officials have spent two decades trying to get people to replace thirsty greenery with desert plants, and now they’re asking the Nevada Legislature to outlaw roughly 40% of the turf that’s left. The Southern Nevada Water Authority estimates there are almost 8 square miles (21 square kilometers) of “nonfunctional turf” in the metro area, grass that no one ever walks on or otherwise uses in
www.voanews.com
Half of Republicans believe false accounts of deadly U.S. Capitol riot-Reuters/Ipsos poll
Half of Republicans believe false accounts of deadly U.S. Capitol riot-Reuters/Ipsos poll
Since the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, former President Donald Trump and his Republican allies have pushed false and misleading accounts to downplay the event that left five dead and scores of others wounded. His supporters appear to have listened.
www.reuters.com
Inside the Koch-Backed Effort to Block the Largest Election-Reform Bill in Half a Century
Inside the Koch-Backed Effort to Block the Largest Election-Reform Bill in Half a Century
On a leaked conference call, leaders of dark-money groups and an aide to Mitch McConnell expressed frustration with the popularity of the legislation, even among Republican voters.
www.newyorker.com
New Zealand raises minimum wage to $20 an hour
New Zealand raises minimum wage to $20 an hour
Taxes on the richest New Zealanders are being raised
www.independent.co.uk
The Invisible Asylum | City Journal
The Invisible Asylum | City Journal
Olympia, Washington, is a microcosm of the problems created by the emptying of mental hospitals.
www.city-journal.org
California needs affordable housing. Could these bills help? | CalMatters
California needs affordable housing. Could these bills help? | CalMatters
Key legislators push duplexes, looser regulations and more money to boost housing supply.
calmatters.org
The rich-poor gap in America is obscene. So let's fix it – here's how | Bernie Sanders
The rich-poor gap in America is obscene. So let’s fix it – here’s how | Bernie Sanders
While working people toil, the richest have never have it so good. It’s time to fight back – our democracy depends on it
www.theguardian.com
Sen. Bernie Sanders' Next Progressive Frontier: Reshaping A 'Rigged' Tax System
Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Next Progressive Frontier: Reshaping A ‘Rigged’ Tax System
Sanders will introduce legislation Thursday to restore the corporate tax rate to 35% and add a new progressive tax on the estates of the wealthiest Americans.
www.npr.org
Perspective | Five myths about poverty
Perspective | Five myths about poverty
No, it’s not just an inner city problem. And it’s not the result of individual failure.
www.washingtonpost.com
Los Angeles police clash with protesters in fight to evict major homeless encampment
Los Angeles police clash with protesters in fight to evict major homeless encampment
Echo Park Lake site has become a battleground in the city’s worsening housing and homelessness crisis during the pandemic
www.theguardian.com
The High Stakes in the Amazon Union Fight in Alabama - The Bulwark
The High Stakes in the Amazon Union Fight in Alabama – The Bulwark
It’s about workplace democracy, and could affect not just the tech giant’s employees but those of other firms.
thebulwark.com

Find us on Facebook

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Footer

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Subscribe for Free

* indicates required

Search

• Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 The Valley Citizen

Dedicated to the memory of John Michael Flint. Contact us at thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Editor and publisher: Eric Caine

Website customization and maintenance by Susan Henley Design