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i was 26 when the attack on 9/11 happened. i recall being woken up after the 1st tower was hit, watching live as the 2nd tower was hit, as people jumped from flames & heat, & then as the towers collapsed. 2,977 lives lost. early on, the US & the world came together in solidarity, but as usual that began to unravel. fear began to sweep over the hurting & ignorant, Sikhs were attacked – i’m thinking of Balbir Singh Sodhi, owner of a gas station who had donated money to assist victims & was planting flowers outside his gas station when a man shot & killed him, thinking he was Muslim & a terrorist. this is where we are today, where our current leaders & some who follow are naming Muslims as the enemy, grouping an entire group of people by religion (only if they are brown apparently – Dr Oz gets a pass?) & naming them the enemy. going so far to say the Mayor of NY, only 9 at the time of the attacks, is somehow guilty & representative? insane. yet, the majority of the 19  9/11 terrorists were Saudi who we remain allies w/ & the Trump family continues to do business w/, but we don’t blame all Saudis, do we? don’t fall for it. it’s the pathetic reach of every authoritarian power to name scapegoats for the country’s problems – it’s the Muslims, it’s the immigrants, it’s the trans people. what it really is, is predictable. history bears witness. may we not be gullible & manipulated into hate & harm, death & destruction – the terrorist mindset. don’t fall for it! extremism is the enemy, hate is the enemy, aggression & oppression are the enemy, violence is the enemy. if we genuinely want to honor the lives horrifically taken on 9/11, then we must abandon extremism in all of its forms wherever & in whomever it arises, aligning w/ & calling all back to love. may clear, aware, wise, & steady minds arise in this moment. may hearts open w/ empathy, warmth, & fierce compassion in this moment.

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#911anniversary #love #OpenHearts #JinpaLhaga #JMWart