[samarsanderz]

I am the daughter of Muslim immigrants

But we are here today, not just for the quarter million Muslim immigrants who enter the U.S. each year for a better life

We are here not just for Batool Shannan, a 33 year old Syrian skin cancer researcher who was turned away from Philadelphia yesterday

We are here today not just for the young woman who downed 30 sleeping pills in JFK on Thursday to avoid deportation

We are here for generations of future history students

So that they will never have to study the diary of a young Muslim girl in class.

[samarsanderz]

I’ve seen all the coverage of the Paris attack, the rampant Islamophobia, the gun politics.

But I don’t want to write about that.

What I want to write about is Daniel Psenny. This is his picture, but not many have seen it. Daniel Psenny, or Danny as he likes to be called, is a poker enthusiast, lover of fine wine, and one of the unspoken heroes of the Paris Attacks.

Danny’s apartment is located right behind the Bataclan theater. He was enjoying a night in when he heard the shots. He immediately left his flat and pulled the injured to safety. He was shot, but he continued to help people into his flat. He currently is in the hospital and is expected to recover.

In a few days our news feeds will explode with the names of the terrorists, where they were from, what their goals were. And while it is important to know about the situation, it is even more important to remember the heroes: people like the Parisians currently lined up in throngs outside of hospitals to donate blood, people like those who chanted the French national anthem as they evacuated the Stade de France, people like Danny Psenny.

It is because of these people that Paris and all it stands for will not be marred by the violence it has seen today. Because of them, Paris will be known not just for it’s twinkling lights, lovers, and cobblestone paths, but also for its strength.

They have shown that the city of love will never be lost to hate.

[samarsanderz]

I wanted to know more about the victims of today’s horrifying massacre, and since the media’s information wasn’t quite specific enough, I took to Facebook to look for them.

What I found was this playful, innocent status written by a student of Peshawar’s Army Public school. You can just tell how much these kids loved being at school.

Mubeen Shah, the boy at the end, uploaded his cover photo a while back with this quote: “We are a nation of beauty and great grief. Our smiles are much stronger than your guns.”

Mubeen and his other three friends in this picture were all killed by the Taliban today.

And, as much as I want to, I don’t know how to look at these kids and tell them to “Rest in Peace”

Because how can they “Rest in Peace” when every article covering their massacre is riddled by Islamophobic comments?

How can they “Rest in Peace” when they, the victims, are categorized alongside their oppressors?

You do not have to be any particular religion or political party to mourn alongside Pakistan today. Muslim, Christian, Democrat, Republican: it doesn’t matter. All you have to be is awake.

[princepeterwolf]

[samarsanderz]

Comment I made on Youtube the other day!