Choosing Not to Hate
I am aware of the fact that I do not want to become hateful. Hate is self-poisoning and contributes to self destructive behaviors. I do not want to become hateful or bitter although I am angry. I am angry at what I saw for myself is going on in Palestine. I am angry about what I have come to learn about what's happening in Palestine. I will not let this anger get the best of me but I can and will still feel it for the injustice that I felt and saw there.
When I've come to share my experiences with others who've asked me about my trip, I find myself being taken back and reliving that moment all over again, confused and angered by the incredulousness, for lack of a better word, of it. 19 years ago, I was a naive young 20 year old kid who had moved to New York City from a small town in Pennsylvania. Allentown, P.A. One of the first people I met here was this Jewish guy named David. This 'friend' of mine, David, would often say to me," "Arabs are the sand niggers of the world." Having grown up in the United States and being raised in an hispanic household (thanks to my mother who is Colombian), I was completely detached from my father's culture that I would just laugh.
I never realized the power and the truth these ugly words hold for many Israelis and Jews until I travelled through Israel.
When I've come to share my experiences with others who've asked me about my trip, I find myself being taken back and reliving that moment all over again, confused and angered by the incredulousness, for lack of a better word, of it. 19 years ago, I was a naive young 20 year old kid who had moved to New York City from a small town in Pennsylvania. Allentown, P.A. One of the first people I met here was this Jewish guy named David. This 'friend' of mine, David, would often say to me," "Arabs are the sand niggers of the world." Having grown up in the United States and being raised in an hispanic household (thanks to my mother who is Colombian), I was completely detached from my father's culture that I would just laugh.
I never realized the power and the truth these ugly words hold for many Israelis and Jews until I travelled through Israel.