We attended a candlelight vigil at a Mosque in Vancouver tonight in response to the outrageous act of hate and violence displayed at the Quebec shooting. The place was packed. They let people in and it filled up pretty quick with tons of people still outside in the snow.
You can see the mound of shoes outside from all the people that went in beside some of the flowers people brought from all different faiths. One lone wolf commits a senseless act of violence and thousands more come out in support in cities across the country.
There was a First Nations sister that played her drum outside and sang a traveling song for those who have passed on and are traveling to the other side. It was very nice.
The spiritual leader from the Mosque spoke about the golden rule and wanted to make sure the guests from other faiths were allowed to speak. He invited his friend who was a Jewish Rabbi to speak who blew a rams horn as a wake up call to arms in support of religious freedom.
So that candlelight vigil and the warning from the rams horn did indeed spark an awakening. The rally then moved to the Olympic Caldron which was relight in memory of those recently slain in Quebec. Vancouver speaks out against Islamophobia. This is my home. Today I am proud to be Canadian and proud to be from Vancouver. This is the kind of society I choose to live in. Peace.
The Toronto Star is reporting that a group of Toronto-based Jewish organizations is leading an interfaith effort to express support for Canada’s Muslim community on Friday. A local rabbi has galvanized synagogues and organized groups throughout the city to form “rings of peace” around mosques during Islamic mid-day prayer services.
We really need to put the blame for this tragic series of events right where it belongs - in the lap of the media who have been doing everything they can to sensationalize.
ReplyDeleteIt was only a matter of time before something like this happened and if the media are not held accountable for their actions, it may well continue.
That's simply not true. We all make choices and we are all responsible for the choices we make. Some of the people that voted for Trump are flat out racists. Not all but some. Those people say they are not racist but they are. Trailrunner has been trying to post numerous comments that are so racist they make we want to throw up.
DeleteWhen I posted the picture of a Muslim and a Jew walking together in various communities, Trailrunner insisted that would never happen in real life. Yet here in Vancouver it did. The Imam from a local Mosque is good friends with a Jewish Rabbi and invited him to speak at his Mosque. That is real life in Vancouver. That is the way it is supposed to be in a free republic.
the media made me do it, is about as good as the twinkie defense.
DeleteHey, this is Canada and there are lots of people who have friends of other faiths and that includes religious leaders. Most of them pray to the same God, so why would there be a big difference.
What would people of different religions have in common? well religion for a start. A friend's family wound up living in a country where there was no place of worship for their religion, non at all, so they found a place of worship which was sort of "near" to theirs and went there. wanting a place to pray, contemplate, etc.
Having lived in Belfast and Jerusalem I have to admit that different religions have not always got along in the world. However, it is refreshing to see them leave their animosity behind them and come together here. That is the way it;s supposed to be.
DeleteNow that emotions have hopefully diminished to a more reasonable level (although the problem with waiting is most people never refer back to old posts and their level of "care" is also diminished) I think a cursory exploration of the fact negative media does influence is in order.
DeleteI have to state I am rather surprised at the lack of cognizance regarding the amount of influence negative media has.
There is a reason the HA try to do everything they can to make sure there is no negative press about them and to suppress anyone who negatively tries to influence the public related to them. (I think this Blog is proof of that in regards to court actions, as well as many very famous incidents like Michel Auger's attempted assassination by the HA, not to mention countless other incidents less reported and especially those unreported.)
The effects of negative media are widely reported and well researched.
For instance, Wanta, Golan and Lee (2004) noted in Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly when specifically studying public perception on political policy coverage, “the more negative coverage ... the more likely respondents were to think negatively” (http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/107769900408100209). Possibly more important was their finding that “positive coverage ... had no influence on public perceptions”.
Kahn and Kenney explored the influence of negative campaigning (and I believe we have never seen such negative campaigning in the history of the Western world as it was against Donald Trump, both in the breadth of coverage as well as in the levels of negativity) and the influence thereof in the American Political Science Review (2014) (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1540-5907.2008.00358.x/full).
Hollanders and Vliegenthart (2011) explore the effects of negative media influence on behaviour of the public with an emphasis on economics in the Journal of Economic Psychology (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167487011000134).
To read more on the effects of how negative press influence the public one can turn to Barabas and Jerit in the American Journal of Political Science (2008) (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1540-5907.2008.00358.x/full).
I can add more if there is still disbelief that negative media coverage affects how and what people think and of how and what people think affecting their behaviours.
I am not sure what EAF is referring to, nor do I care, to be honest. If she was convicted of a crime trying to claim “the twinkie made me do it!” that is her business and the world does not need to hear about it...
It is true that the CIA oppose Trump and support Hillary and is the reason why they are spamming the media with anti Trump propaganda just like under Operation Mass Appeal. However, I personally oppose Donald Trumps hate and racism just like the Jews and the Mormons do, not because I have been blinded by the mainstream media but because I am an Irish Republican - I believe in a free republic. Neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton or the CIA support the US Constitution and a free republic. I do. So does Edward Snowden.
DeleteOh yeah what years did you live in Jerusalem and Belfast?;Which neighbourhoods?
ReplyDeleteI was in Ireland north and south for two years in 1998 and 1999. I lived in West Belfast for at least six months. We had friends in Twinbrook, Suffolk, Turf Lodge and of course the Divis Flats on the Fall Road. That was my favorite.
DeleteIn Israel I worked on Kibbutz Einat for about 4 months before I was in Ireland and after I was in New York the first time. I went back to New York for a visit after Egypt and Israel before Ireland. That was all a very long time ago. Before I had kids. The kibbutz was near Petah Tikva between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Lived in East Talpiot in Jerusalem years ago defiantly made me see both sides. Lots of young Israeli families living there with very liberal progressive views. Unfortunately also many hard liners on both sides that cancelled out forward thinking people like the people I was neighbours with
ReplyDeleteThe orthodox guys are pretty hard core. The big scandal when I was there was an undercover op by the Jerusalem Post catching a few orthodox Jews spray painting a bush shelter because it had an ad with a woman in a bikini on it. I thought it was rather amusing because neither was newsworthy. A woman in a bikini or a group of people offended by it. You get extremists in every religion, trade union or political party. There is good and bad everywhere you go.
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