10 Tweets Say Exactly What Needs To Be Said About What Just Went Down In Pakistan
Oh, Earthlings. What are we doing?
Pakistan suffered a horrid tragedy: a school shooting perpetrated by extremist militants in the name of a verryyyyy extreme interpretation of "religious" dogma.
Just hearing about it, comedian Kumail Nanjiani (you've seen him on TV), himself a Muslim originally from Pakistan and now living in L.A., reacted.
What Nanjiani is doing is a truly great representation of what it's like to see people like you, or who you care about, or who could even be loved ones ... killed.
You'd feel mad. Sad. Confused. Helpless. Misrepresented. And eager to share some illuminating factoids. Lucky for us, Nanjiani did just that.
The things that people do in the name of the religion I grew up with is angering and sad and I feel hundreds of contradictory ways about it.
— Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) December 16, 2014
#RealTalk #ReallyUpsetting
Must've missed that part of Sunday school where they said to kill children.
— Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) December 16, 2014
This is the best part. In tragedies, I *always* admire those who call on us to walk in another's shoes.
The fact that it's kids who look different in a land far away makes folks not relate. Imagine how you'd feel if 120 white kids got murdered.
— Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) December 16, 2014
While this was breaking news on Dec. 16, 2014 .... Twitter was oddly silent.
I hadn't heard about that school shooting yet. But 120 kids die in Pakistan & it's business as usual on here. As if nothing happened.
— Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) December 16, 2014
In my opinion, there's a part of American culture that "just accepts" this kind of violence ... especially in places like Pakistan. We're immune to it because we view that violence as just so common.
Why are we unsurprised when certain cultures experience violence? Stereotypes we don't question and a lack of role models in the world who actively show us that extremes are exactly that: stereotypes.
One of the issues is that we don't have a public image of a moderate Muslim. We can imagine moderate Christians & non-practicing Jewish ppl.
— Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) December 16, 2014
I'm sure we've all been judged based on a stereotype about us. I'm sure we've all been there when someone, some place, or some thing that we relate to gets judged based on a stereotype. It's frustrating, to say the very least.
When most people think of a Muslim, they think of a guy in flowing robes with a big beard & angry eyes. Muslims look all kinds of ways.
— Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) December 16, 2014
What do you see when you imagine a Muslim man? Any stereotypes you'd like to check?
This is where knowledge is dropped.
Part of the problem is that many Muslim countries have strong blasphemy laws so any differing interpretation of Islam can be deemed illegal.
— Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) December 16, 2014
And this is where I wonder why more news shows don't point this out.
The Pakistani government's reputation is so warped that it chose to come out and say that it doesn't support crimes like this attack on schoolchildren.
The fact that the Pakistani government had to make a statement condemning the attacks is crazy yet illuminating.
— Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) December 16, 2014
This part — where he talks about his home — is sad but also bittersweet.
Have you ever been away from somewhere special to you and seen bad things happen? How do you feel?
I'm conflicted because I feel like I abandoned Pakistan. I love much about it but much about it is infuriating. I don't feel strong enough.
— Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) December 16, 2014
Can't only hear about Pakistan when something bad happens there. So people think only bad stuff happens there.
— Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) December 16, 2014
More comedians with deep things to say, please.
Maybe if more people see this anguish, we can come together to stop tweets like this — or, more importantly, massacres like this — from ever happening again.
It's worth a try.
#PrayForPeshawar