The Spread of Hate Across the Internet

So I have been really taken aback and thrown completely off my feet by my recent encounter with hatred of one or the other -- Israelis or Palestinians -- in comments on the internet.  These hate-filled, vitriolic comments come mostly from people NOT living in Israel or the Palestinian Territories.  Such people are fanning the flames of hatred, and thus violence, and I just don't understand it.  To me, this is simply unconscionable.   

I am not a social media person.  Really, holistically, I am not a very social person at all.  I really like the idea of retreating into the woods with a good book; and that's an old-fashioned paper book of which I can turn the pages, not an e-reader.  So perhaps my usual avoidance of all things social media is the cause of my shock.

This all began when a priest at my church asked some of us to write letters (to politicians and editors) and speak out on social media (and comments to online news articles) around Pope Francis' visit to Israel and Palestine.  To be honest, most of the hatred I encountered in the comments online was aimed at Muslims.  (Though The Economist, which I trust, tells me that ISIS -- now IS -- is very active in social media, so I know the hatred online goes both ways.)  In posting some comments in response to articles about the pope's visit (I mostly cheered the pope on and lauded the articles for writing about his actions toward reconciliation in the region), I inspired some very passionate hate.  Of course, the articles themselves inspired plenty of hate all on their own before I made my comments.

One commenter branded me (as if it were the pinnacle of depravity) a "Muslim lover."  Well, yeah, okay, I am.  But I am also a Jew lover, a Christian lover (I happen to be Christian), a Hindu lover, a Baha'i lover...  I am even (gasp!) an atheist lover.  That being a lover of people of a different religion could be issued as an insult, a curse, is devastating to me.  This is, in fact, fanaticism.

Another person called Pope Francis a moral leper.  Really?  The reason why?  Because he reached out to the Palestinians on his recent visit, and the Palestinians are majority Muslim, and as every reasonable person must know, Muslims are by definition evil.  So the pope, in extending a hand to them, is a moral leper.  And these statements are always uttered as if they are the essence of rationality; no person of reason could possibly deny them.  They say things such as: "if you are honest with yourself, you know this to be true" (that all Muslims are terrorists, that all Palestinians will try to slaughter all of the Israelis if given half the chance...).  Really?  I don't think so!  I am always wary of arguments that end with such a statement.  Clearly I am irrational beyond hope.
 
And this was all before the recent murders.  I shudder to think of how hot the conflagration of hate across the internet has become now.

Islam is not perfect: no religion is.  Religions are governed by human beings, and we are flawed by nature.  I do understand that out of Islam have risen some truly frightening terrorist sects.  IS, formerly known as ISIS, is a nightmare.  Moderate Muslims are slaughtered by them as well as everyone else.  The problem is, if we in turn label all Muslims as terrorists, then we are guilty of the same sort of mentality.  And it is a mentality that breeds violence.  Once we allow ourselves to hate an entire group of people, for any reason, we open up the gates to Hell.

Many Israelis and Palestinians understand this.  Many of them have suffered much at the hands of the other group, and yet they continue to choose each day to reaffirm their love of the other as a fellow human being.  They have been working hard to stop the cycle of hatred and violence with love.  And in the end, that is the only way.  But their voices are not loud enough.  They need amplification.  Groups such as JustVision (a  nonprofit media group) help amplify their voices by telling their stories to the rest of the world.  But the voices of hatred are still louder.

My husband tells me that I should not look at or respond to such comments, that I should just ignore them.  He says that responding only ignites the hatred of fanatics.  But silence cannot be the answer.  Moderates staying silent and passive while extremists shout is part of the problem.  Truth be told, I would much rather run off into a corner with my book, or into the woods.  But I simply cannot.  Because I have heard the voices of those fighting for peace and reconciliation, no matter the cost (and the cost can be high), and their tears have become mine.