I have a question regarding Malala Yusufzai

I thought I'd ask the smarter bunch here who are always great at articulating their thoughts on matters I have trouble in. First of all, it started on FB and then another forum. I clicked like for Malala Yusufzai's recovery and never mentioned Islam but that she was a brave girl and how tragic it was that she would be shot simply for be outspoken about the taliban and wanting to learn. I don't pretend I know everything and I want to stress I never mentioned Islam but I had 2 friends from Muslim backgrounds who were upset with me. I had one of Pakistani background tell me if I really care about Malala then why don't I care about the thousands killed in his country by US drones. I told him I was very much against it, I've even mentioned it on FB. So then he started telling me how the western media is just trying to start something so that the US will be at war with them. I didn't know how to answer him especially given how I didn't just see this from western news but other international resources as well like Al Jazeera News. What could I say?


Ok then another friend from FB who is also Muslim mentioned how lame it was that they were using Malala Yusufzai as a western martyr. He didn't try to argue so much as mention the thousands killed in Palestine by Israel drones and asks why no one ever posts that on FB. I never argued with him but mentioned I was much against it as I was any attack on people regardless of their nationality in war. He knows I condone violence whether it's against Palestine or Israel. But again, I had the same problem, I never justified what happened to Palestine as right but am I bias for not being as outspoken for the other side as I am this girl?

I want to apologize if my post comes off stupid. Again I have trouble articulating my thoughts. But on this recent issue, I guess the reason I feel for Malala yusufzai and other women is because it hits close to home. I happen to be female myself and take it personally when a group justifies their behavior through religion and discriminates and attempts to kill a young female who wants the same rights as men. Maybe I'm being partially bias. Was I wrong to support this girl strongly but not Pakistan or Palestine? This whole senseless war is confusing and imo stupid. I would love if our government would stop meddling in other countries. I would love to for "our" troops to get out but I feel powerless. It's almost as if my friends and even people from other countries assume I should be more vocal about it but I feel I can only be so vocal.


I was wondering if anyone had useful input. Maybe I am being bias and only supporting strongly what concerns me?

Seems to me it would be impossible to support or speak out about every single cause that disturbs you. This issue about the young woman being assassinated [almost, I mean] simply for blogging her opinions arose to prominence, so you spoke out. It would appear you've given opinions about the US interference before, so, I can't understand the opposition from your Muslim friends, except perhaps as a smoke screen to avoid giving their own opinions on her shooting; in other words perhaps they are misdirecting you so they do not have to agree with you about the girl.

Perhaps, when they make these statements against you, you should directly ask them to state their feelings about this girl, first?

Heathen Hammer said:

Seems to me it would be impossible to support or speak out about every single cause that disturbs you. This issue about the young woman being assassinated [almost, I mean] simply for blogging her opinions arose to prominence, so you spoke out. It would appear you've given opinions about the US interference before, so, I can't understand the opposition from your Muslim friends, except perhaps as a smoke screen to avoid giving their own opinions on her shooting; in other words perhaps they are misdirecting you so they do not have to agree with you about the girl.

Perhaps, when they make these statements against you, you should directly ask them to state their feelings about this girl, first?

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One of them said it's against Islam and the people who did this were not Muslims. In some ways I felt insulted because I'm not Muslim. I really didn't want to go into a big debate with him. The other guy avoids the issue and says it's the media's way of setting the western world up against the rest of the world. Still it did make me question some things about myself. Am I too quick to judge one incident over a bunch of other issues going on around the world? I have said that I think every girl regardless of nationality or religion should have the right to be educated without fear from society. I would have thought that would make things clear. I know many Muslims who are against the attack but my friends don't seem to be as outspoken on the attack as most. I'm not sure what to think except I guess that it bugs me. One of them is always vocal about the intolerance and injustice in this world but has never said much on the rights of females and this current issue. I don't know, it's an issue I'm still pondering. Maybe I worry too much about what other people think.

MissAlice said:

One of them said it's against Islam and the people who did this were not Muslims. In some ways I felt insulted because I'm not Muslim..

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How did you feel insulted by that specific thing, and that you were not Muslim? I'm confused.

Heathen Hammer said:

..., except perhaps as a smoke screen to avoid giving their own opinions on her shooting;

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Great. Now we get to devolve into ugly insinuation based on ... what? ... based on them being Muslim?

MissAlice, that you and I are touched by what happened to Malala is both good and, in my opinion, necessary. That you should be condemned for that is wrong and damaging. And that some, intimately aware of the ceaseless and horrid deaths that rape the area, find themselves angry that the west should focus on this one act, is both understandable and informative. There are way too many out there who have seen their Malala's ignored and their grief reduced to background noise. These people need to be heard.

Jayhawker Soule said:

Great. Now we get to devolve into ugly insinuation based on ... what? ... based on them being Muslim?.

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Based on avoidance of the issue to remark on something else? Pretty standard; you do read posts here don't you?

Heathen Hammer said:

How did you feel insulted by that specific thing, and that you were not Muslim? I'm confused.

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Because I'm not a Muslim. I guess to me it made me feel only Muslims are moral and people like me are not.

I agree with Jay that insinuation is so...offbase.

MissAlice perhaps they feel that the widespread recognition and spread of the attack on this girl by a Western audience for one instance of tragedy, perpetrated by the Taliban, is hypocritical in light of the fact that most Americans are unaware or don't care about drone strikes in Pakistan that have killed thousands more civilians. Perhaps they feel that Americans find it easy to condemn a barbaric practice when it is committed by the Taliban but duck the issue when it is American resources committing attacks on civilians on a scale many times larger and in that they are angry.

Though it should also be noted this attack hasn't only spread throughout the Western world, it galvanized and united a dysfunctional Pakistani society against the Taliban (the sole thing that I have seen able to unite such a society on previous occasions).

Bismillah said:

MissAlice perhaps they feel that the widespread recognition and spread of the attack on this girl by a Western audience for one instance of tragedy, perpetrated by the Taliban, is hypocritical in light of the fact that most Americans are unaware or don't care about drone strikes in Pakistan that have killed thousands more civilians.

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Three things here:

1. The United States is not the only country in "the West". By equating the two, you're insinuating that someone like me, a citizen and resident of Canada, a country that never engaged in drone strikes in Pakistan, somehow bears culpability for thousands of innocent civilian deaths in Pakistan. I as a Canadian citizen cannot vote in US elections nor do I have any control over the US government or military. How then is it hypocritical for me to recognize Malala as a hero for trying to pursue education against the backdrop of religious fundamentalists trying to oppress her? The fact is: it isn't. I am aware of the drone strikes, and I feel immense sadness for all those innocent Pakistanis who lost their lives. Nonetheless, it isn't an issue I have any control over or responsibility for.

2. I do believe that most people, even in "the West", including the United States are aware of the drone strikes and that they do kill innocent civilians. There are many, many people opposed to them, too. By generalizing "the West" as a vague monolith of opinion, you are fostering hatred. Resentment should be directed towards those responsible, not the average Joe who has no control over his government. Those that do support the drone strikes are those who have been scared into thinking that it somehow increases their safety at home. These people are idiots.

3. Your critique makes no sense. If Americans are generally unaware of the drone strikes, as you claim, how on Earth do you expect them to condemn the practice?

Perhaps they feel that Americans find it easy to condemn a barbaric practice when it is committed by the Taliban but duck the issue when it is American resources committing attacks on civilians on a scale many times larger and in that they are angry.

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Now you're getting warmer, but this is a function of corruption in the media. But you've hit the nub of the issue. This IS a barbaric practice and it should be condemned by everyone alike, Western or Eastern, Northern or Southern. To attempt to silence condemnation of this barbaric practice by interjecting unrelated issues, you are in effect supporting the barbaric practice. But again, you're generalizing Americans. There are many Americans who do not support these practices and are vocal against them.

Though it should also be noted this attack hasn't only spread throughout the Western world, it galvanized and united a dysfunctional Pakistani society against the Taliban (the sole thing that I have seen able to unite such a society on previous occasions).

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Though I completely understand Pakistani frustration and anger with the US, these are two separate issues and conflating them is a deliberate attempt to diminish the barbarism in attempting to kill a girl for wanting to go to school. Politicizing Malala will not carry positive consequences for Pakistani cohesion. Malala is a hero and an inspiration and the actions of the US in Pakistan have nothing to do with it.

That's the thing, you make an outcry over what happened to Malala, but you wouldn't even know who she is if she was killed by a drone. This whole situation if anything just annoyed people more in regards to Pak's relationship with the US.

Perseveranze said:

That's the thing, you make an outcry over what happened to Malala, but you wouldn't even know who she is if she was killed by a drone. This whole situation if anything just annoyed people more in regards to Pak's relationship with the US.

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Not to sound insensitive, because I really do wish those drone strikes would stop, but so what? Do you know all the names of those killed in the drone strikes? Probably not. How many were killed in the Arab Spring? Do we know all their names? Hell no. What about the Syrian civil war? Do you know the names of all the rebels killed? No? What are you, an ignorant Westerner? Why don't you know these things?

I don't see how knowing the names of everyone killed in the drone strikes is a prerequisite to condemning the brutal oppression of Pakistani women by religious fundamentalists. The conversation should be about how to guarantee access to education for Pakistani women. It should not be about drone strikes because that is a separate issue. Conflating the two gives a nice smokescreen to barbarians who support the oppression of Pakistani women.

Yes, the drone strikes are a violation of Pakistani sovereignty and they should be stopped immediately. Yes, they kill innocent people. How do you expect me, a non-resident and non-citizen of the United States, to control and influence the US government enough to stop them from continuing drone strikes?

Vile Atheist said:

Not to sound insensitive, because I really do wish those drone strikes would stop, but so what? Do you know all the names of those killed in the drone strikes? Probably not.

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That's the difference, I don't go around screaming and crying and making headlines about Malala knowing she's just one compared to the thousands droned by the US. If I did, I should be doing the exact same for everytime a girl gets killed for being droned.

She spoke out against the Taliban and for that reason, they attacked her. Whilst I doubt any of the innocent children who know little about what's going on - spoke ill of the US only to be killed and annihilated.

Vile Atheist said:

How many were killed in the Arab Spring? Do we know all their names? Hell no. What about the Syrian civil war? Do you know the names of all the rebels killed? No? What are you, an ignorant Westerner? Why don't you know these things?

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Just so you know, it seems you completely and utterly missed the point of the post and just put text on the page.

Vile Atheist said:

I don't see how knowing the names of everyone killed in the drone strikes is a prerequisite to condemning the brutal oppression of Pakistani women by religious fundamentalists.

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And you yet again miss the point. Unless you believe we should condemn the Taliban trying to shoot a girl for speaking out against her, but ignore the girls who just want to simply get on with their lives and having the US drone them to death.

Vile Atheist said:

The conversation should be about how to guarantee access to education for Pakistani women. It should not be about drone strikes because that is a separate issue. Conflating the two gives a nice smokescreen to barbarians who support the oppression of Pakistani women.

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It's not a "seperate issue". We're talking about lives being played with here, you don't just dismiss the other because it's "not about woman's education". The Taliban also didn't attack her for wanting an education (they even set the record straight that they're not against anyone being educated), they attacked her for being pro-secular and anti-Taliban. There's a massive difference and ignorantly, you took what the western media spouted for first hand facts.

Vile Atheist said:

Yes, the drone strikes are a violation of Pakistani sovereignty and they should be stopped immediately. Yes, they kill innocent people. How do you expect me, a non-resident and non-citizen of the United States, to control and influence the US government enough to stop them from continuing drone strikes?

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By being consistent in what you condemn. Don't run to the first Anti-Taliban post you see and "give your input" whilst ignoring all the topics talking about the US crimes - oh wait, I doubt anyone bothers to post those.

That's the difference, I don't go around screaming and crying and making headlines about Malala knowing she's just one compared to the thousands droned by the US. If I did, I should be doing the exact same for everytime a girl gets killed for being droned.

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Not exactly. Malala is an exceptional girl who was campaigning for women's education in Pakistan. That's pretty amazing for someone so young to be that aware. That isn't to diminish the lives of the people who died in drone strikes. They're all special. They all had families who loved them and they were important to the people around them. The difference is Malala wasn't just an innocent bystander, but an exceptional little girl who nearly died for the sake of her beliefs. Malala wasn't collateral damage. She was the intentional target.

Just so you know, it seems you completely and utterly missed the point of the post and just put text on the page.

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I don't think so. The point you were trying to make is that we're paying attention to Malala, but we don't even know the names of those who perish in regular drone strikes. And again, not to sound insensitive, but so what? Throughout North America, there are probably hundreds of people who get murdered a week. Most of these don't even make the news. Does that mean that if the media covers a drunk driver killing someone with his car, that all those murders are meaningless?

Overall, your point is moot because our perceptions of world events are guided by what the media does and doesn't cover and how they cover it. If I don't know something happened, how can I be outraged about it? If something receives particular attention, I'm forced to examine it. It really seems like you're trying to provide a smokescreen here. Drone strikes have nothing to do with Malala.

And you yet again miss the point. Unless you believe we should condemn the Taliban trying to shoot a girl for speaking out against her, but ignore the girls who just want to simply get on with their lives and having the US drone them to death.

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Who said I should ignore them? Why does lending coverage to one thing mean that another thing is ignored? I'll say it again because you're incapable of digesting this point: I've condemned the drone strikes numerous times on this thread alone.

It's not a "seperate issue". We're talking about lives being played with here, you don't just dismiss the other because it's "not about woman's education". The Taliban also didn't attack her for wanting an education (they even set the record straight that they're not against anyone being educated), they attacked her for being pro-secular and anti-Taliban. There's a massive difference and ignorantly, you took what the western media spouted for first hand facts.

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It is a separate issue. This girl was almost killed by the religious fundamentalists for her beliefs. There were no drones involved. The US was not involved. The incidents are not related at all just because they both happened in Pakistan and people died or almost died. It has nothing to do with drones or the US.

And where did I dismiss drone strikes? I've said on numerous occasions that they should stop. Who do you think I am? The owner of CNN? I have no control over what the media covers.

And mercy me! They didn't shoot and nearly kill Malala for THAT set of beliefs? They tried to kill her for ANOTHER set of beliefs!? Wow. That makes everything SO much better. A little girl who is pro-secular and anti-Taliban really poses a threat to their power, eh? It was totally justified to shoot a little girl for having an opinion?

You're right. It was wrong of me to look for "first hand facts" in the media, my only link to Pakistan. Let me just bust out my address book and pull out Uncle Ahmed's phone number in Karachi so he can give me some clearer details. Ahmed always knows everything.

By being consistent in what you condemn. Don't run to the first Anti-Taliban post you see and "give your input" whilst ignoring all the topics talking about the US crimes - oh wait, I doubt anyone bothers to post those.

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Where do you get off telling ME what I condemn and don't condemn? You know nothing about my stances. I've denounced the drone strikes numerous times on this one thread alone, even though the drone strikes are completely irrelevant to the Malala incident. So yeah, I'm pretty damn consistent. And I don't need lessons in consistency from some Taliban defender.

If I shoot your mother, that does not make you shooting my mother okay. Do you understand that? Do you understand that one wrong does not justify another? Condemning irrelevant drone strikes is not a prerequisite to condemning the attempted murder of a little girl for her beliefs. And anyone defending or justifying it by pointing to US crimes as a smokescreen is just as much a barbarian. And anyone defending the US drone strikes is also a barbarian.

Unless someone is trying to intentionally trying to provide a smokescreen cover for the religious fundamentalist barbarians who tried to murder a little girl for her beliefs, I can't imagine why anyone would be against coverage for the Malala incident when it:

1. Shows to outsiders that not everyone in Pakistan is a fundamentalist or a terrorist. There are many people inside Pakistan who are secular and do great things for their country.

2. Finally gives a face to that movement. And it makes the Taliban more reviled within Pakistan because their target was a helpless little girl.

3. Puts Pakistan, for once, in a positive spotlight when it comes to world affairs for their response to this incident.

Unfortunately, Taliban defenders on this thread and elsewhere want to hijack and politicize the incident to suit their anti-US agenda when the US (for once!) has nothing to do with this story.

To put it into another perspective, the US would not be conducting drone strikes in Pakistan in the first place if some bearded men didn't fly planes into a couple buildings in New York City on 9/11. So why don't we EVER see condemnation for 9/11? Over 3,000 innocent people were murdered by these religious fundamentalists and our Taliban-loving friend in this thread won't say a single word to condemn that.

Salam All,

Miss thanks for raising this issue here,

I condemned the act and not in favour of it, the girl should not be attacked, but people in Pakistan say that she was not attacked by Taliban or Muslims,

Taliban can be and can not be Muslims <<<<< Yes, it is true

Any way by basing on this shameful and cowardly act, may be a Military Operation against Taliban will be started in North Waziristan.

If the Operation starts, then it is possible the Elections which are due in Next year will be postponed and The Government may get extension of couple of years

So, it may be politics behind this shameful attack.


One other theory ,

Their was an old famous joke before Iraq War,
===============================================
Bsuh and Powall were Sitting an Having Coffee,

Bsuh Said We will use lethal bombs in WAR and hundreds of thousand people will be Killed,

Bsuh Continued after a pause, we will also Kill the Girl in Red Skirt.

Powall amazed and asked Why we will kill the Girl in Red Skirt ???

Bsuh Smiled and Replied , see the whole world will get amazed and will ask why the Girl ??? and all will forget the killing of hundreds of thousand people



*above quoted joke is only a joke not reality.

(Bsuh != Bush, Powall != Powell)
==============================================


So the same thing happened, all sympathies are with the Girl attacked by so called Muslims, and thousand of people killed by Drone Attacks are still unnoticed.

Regards,
MeeM AliF SuaD

MeeM said:

Salam All,

Miss thanks for raising this issue here,

I condemned the act and not in favour of it, the girl should not be attacked, but people in Pakistan say that she was not attacked by Taliban or Muslims,

Taliban can be and can not be Muslims <<<<< Yes, it is true

Any way by basing on this shameful and cowardly act, may be a Military Operation against Taliban will be started in North Waziristan.

If the Operation starts, then it is possible the Elections which are due in Next year will be postponed and The Government may get extension of couple of years

So, it may be politics behind this shameful attack.


One other theory ,

Their was an old famous joke before Iraq War,
===============================================
Bsuh and Powall were Sitting an Having Coffee,

Bsuh Said We will use lethal bombs in WAR and hundreds of thousand people will be Killed,

Bsuh Continued after a pause, we will also Kill the Girl in Red Skirt.

Powall amazed and asked Why we will kill the Girl in Red Skirt ???

Bsuh Smiled and Replied , see the whole world will get amazed and will ask why the Girl ??? and all will forget the killing of hundreds of thousand people



*above quoted joke is only a joke not reality.

(Bsuh != Bush, Powall != Powell)
==============================================


So the same thing happened, all sympathies are with the Girl attacked by so called Muslims, and thousand of people killed by Drone Attacks are still unnoticed.

Regards,
MeeM AliF SuaD

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I agree (except with the part that the drone attacks are unnoticed). Good post. Frubals. It reminds me of a quote by Stalin: "The death of one person is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic."

It's hard to feel a personal, emotional connection to hundreds of thousands of people killed in conflict. But when someone is killed who stands out from the crowd; someone you know, someone exceptional, someone brave, someone who died for their beliefs, you are able to make the personal connection a lot easier.

Hello long time no see

Vile Atheist said:

Three things here:

1. The United States is not the only country in "the West". By equating the two, you're insinuating that someone like me, a citizen and resident of Canada, a country that never engaged in drone strikes in Pakistan, somehow bears culpability for thousands of innocent civilian deaths in Pakistan. I as a Canadian citizen cannot vote in US elections nor do I have any control over the US government or military. How then is it hypocritical for me to recognize Malala as a hero for trying to pursue education against the backdrop of religious fundamentalists trying to oppress her? The fact is: it isn't. I am aware of the drone strikes, and I feel immense sadness for all those innocent Pakistanis who lost their lives. Nonetheless, it isn't an issue I have any control over or responsibility for.

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I use the term "West" because the attack gained a lot of coverage in Western media and audience. Even though drone attacks did not. So even though America is directly responsible for its own foreign policy, Western media and audiences focused on this incident even though less than two week prior 20 civilians including multiple women and children were killed in a drone strike. So yes that is hypocritical and yes it is the fault of Western media to not acknowledge this hypocrisy.

2. I do believe that most people, even in "the West", including the United States are aware of the drone strikes and that they do kill innocent civilians. There are many, many people opposed to them, too. By generalizing "the West" as a vague monolith of opinion, you are fostering hatred. Resentment should be directed towards those responsible, not the average Joe who has no control over his government. Those that do support the drone strikes are those who have been scared into thinking that it somehow increases their safety at home. These people are idiots.

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I am not fostering hatred. I said specifically Americans, not the West. And secondly since George Bush drone strikes have increased many mangitudes over and both Romney and Obama are pushing for greater number of strikes. As for Americans in general

In a February 2012 poll, 83% of Americans (77% of the liberal Democrats) replied they support the drone strikes.[51] In May, the US began stepping up drone attacks after talks at the NATO summit in Chicago did not lead to the progress it desired regarding Pakistan's continued closure of its Afghan borders to the alliance's supply convoys.[52]

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3. Your critique makes no sense. If Americans are generally unaware of the drone strikes, as you claim, how on Earth do you expect them to condemn the practice?

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They are still culpable for the actions of their government which make it a very public matter. There is no excuse for them to ignore the far reaching implications of electing officials who specifically advocate such a policies. This is disregarding the high level of support Americans have for these attacks.

Politicizing Malala will not carry positive consequences for Pakistani cohesion. Malala is a hero and an inspiration and the actions of the US in Pakistan have nothing to do with it

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Perhaps you misunderstand me politics have been disregarded over a common cry of condemnation across all sectors of Pakistani society. This is a good thing.

Bismillah said:

They are still culpable for the actions of their government which make it a very public matter. There is no excuse for them to ignore the far reaching implications of electing officials who specifically advocate such a policies. This is disregarding the high level of support Americans have for these attacks.

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I have to take serious issue with this dangerously naive view. It sounds like so much grossly uninformed nonsense to me. For one thing, you utterly fail to recognize the growing condemnation by the most informed members of the American public of drone attacks. These are a relatively few people who have the leisure and luck to be comparatively well informed despite the massive efforts of their own government and mainstream media to misinform them. And they are coming out against the attacks -- not in favor of them.

For another thing, you utterly fail to take into account the misinformation fed the vast majority of Americans. Face it, Bismillah -- if you yourself knew nothing about drone attacks except what you read in the New York Times or gathered from other mainstream sources, you would be hard pressed to find reasons to condemn them. To blame people for being the victims of propaganda assumes they have a practical choice not to be the victims of propaganda. And to make that assumption displays a level of naivety that is staggering. You might as well blame a kid educated in a religious school in rural Pakistan for not having taken the initiative to learn all there is to know about advanced particle physics.

Lastly, you have displayed complete ignorance of the American political system, which is far and away better at providing the people with an illusion of a choice between elites, rather than any actual choice between elites. There is absolutely no practical way for the average American citizen to vote against drone attacks this year and succeed in making a difference. Or do you know of a way? If so, by all means speak up. But for you to hold all Americans culpable for the actions of a government that they no longer have much say so in is beyond belief in its naivety.

I am sorry that I am using harsh language here, but I am furious that the American government is attacking innocent people via drones, and just as furious to be held accountable for the actions of a group of elites that pay absolutely no attention to my wishes or the wishes of anyone like me. It's like being held accountable for a murder committed by the mayor of a town you happen to reside in, but a murder you had nothing to do with.

For one thing, you utterly fail to recognize the growing condemnation by the most informed members of the American public of drone attacks.

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Do you have any numbers to put on the informed members of the American public. From the poll I quoted it listed democrats as 77% in favor of drone strikes. Now I'm not saying that Democrats are smarter than Republicans, but as per the research I have read in the past Democrats are indeed more likely to have a higher education. Would you say this conflicts with your assertion?

These are a relatively few people who have the leisure and luck to be comparatively well informed despite the massive efforts of their own government and mainstream media to misinform them. And they are coming out against the attacks -- not in favor of them.

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This I feel is a worthwhile point, that is the manipulative nature of media. Regardless is it fair to say that a man is manipulated to support drone strikes? He is obviously making a conscious decision to support unilateral military actions that lead to the deaths of innocents is he not culpable for his choice or can he absolve himself of any guilt and say "they tricked me".

For another thing, you utterly fail to take into account the misinformation fed the vast majority of Americans. Face it, Bismillah -- if you yourself knew nothing about drone attacks except what you read in the New York Times or gathered from other mainstream sources, you would be hard pressed to find reasons to condemn them. To blame people for being the victims of propaganda assumes they have a practical choice not to be the victims of propaganda. And to make that assumption displays a level of naivety that is staggering.

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This ties in with my last response, to what degree do we account for media manipulation that supports American foreign policy? I am skeptical that people are the sheep you make them out to be Sunstone. I have, since I was a child in Pakistan, been attacked from every conceivable outlet of propaganda by the religious, the secular, the ultra nationalists, the jamaat movement advocating a Caliphate, and moving to America not much has changed in regards to the type of propaganda in regards to the military and conservative and the anti-Islamic stances. It doesn't take more than a simple google search, two hours, and an open mind to come across different perspectives. The effects of drone strikes aren't hidden, we don't live in a totalitarian state. Every morning in my car I hear how many were killed in a drone strike but unlike most other Americans I care. I go home and read more articles regarding those who were killed. This isn't propaganda, we hear the same news, I am more empathetic and aware of the consequences of these strikes.

There is absolutely no practical way for the average American citizen to vote against drone attacks this year and succeed in making a difference. Or do you know of a way? If so, by all means speak up. But for you to hold all Americans culpable for the actions of a government that they no longer have much say so in is beyond belief in its naivety.

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Well I would first like a greater awareness of and condemnation of drone strikes rather than the overwhelming support they enjoy by the American public at the moment. This isn't impossible and it rests in the hands of Americans. That is a fair first step.

Regardless all of this is rather tangential, I only listed it because this is the view of the average Muslim that Americans overwhelming support American foreign policy which dictates the killing of innocents. When brown people kill brown people it is a tragedy and when white people kill brown people it is collateral. Most Muslims are angered at this hypocritical stance.

Perseveranze said:

That's the thing, you make an outcry over what happened to Malala, but you wouldn't even know who she is if she was killed by a drone. This whole situation if anything just annoyed people more in regards to Pak's relationship with the US.

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Except that I do care about the people in drone strikes just as I do Malala and girls like her. I believe Mala and any child should have the right to education and rights as any other person without fear. I've been outspoke about many things including this term "collateral damage". I think one of the things that baffles me is that being an American somehow equates me as being in the military and being responsible for the deaths over there. I got some nasty messages telling me how Mala was part of the Western propaganda. There were other Muslims and Pakistanis that were indeed supportive of her. I've always spoken against the military and the deeds that have happened throughout the years. I guess what baffles me is why Malala and others like her are regarded as "propaganda". Maybe for the same reason some Americans are in denial about the drone attacks. They don't want to associated with being a terrorist or war monger because of their nationality.


Looking back at my post, I don't like how I came across. I apologize to many of the Muslims on here if I came off offensive. It's just that I got nasty insults and messages after liking her cause on FB and supporting her recovery. I don't look at it as so much a religious issue but a human issue. If this happened in India or here in the US I would support her cause. There's only so much in this world that's tragic regardless of religion or nationality. I guess what irks me is that supporting her cause is akin to supporting drone strikes or supporting Islamophobia. I would think other Muslims would know better than that and as it turns out, some do.