Easter Terror Attack, And A Respite *Open Thread*

Before I go on (and on), I must extend the deepest of gratitude to dear Kenoshamarge for her tremendous posts in my absence, and for her general oversight of my little blog while I was out of the country. As a very small token of my great appreciation, I will have a respite for you all, but especially for Marge at the end of this post. So stay tuned for that (and that is why I am a little late getting this up – I think it will be worth it, though!).

Naturally, a whole lot happened while I was out of the country. My internet time was greatly limited and I learned quickly that checking email was about all I had time to do since minutes are costly onboard. I did see a bunch of headlines though, especially from my regular sites like The Federalist, Legal Insurrection, Daily Signal, etc. And I caught some news from CNN or BBC . As you might imagine, the terrible attack in Brussels was big, big news, and continues to be so. Even on our last excursion this past Saturday in Buenos Aires (and to the Gaucho Ranch), embassies were flying their flags at half mast for the victims of that terrible attack.

And it certainly was that with the revised figures of 35 dead at the hands of Islamist extremists. As Bill Maher said, “Maybe Europe Will Have A Little More Sympathy For What Israel Goes Through…” One can hope so, but I kinda doubt it.

I have no doubt that Israel routinely gets the short end of the stick in how terrorist attacks there are covered. Too often (in my opinion), the concern is more for the dead Palestinian terrorist than the Israeli civilian or soldier assassinated, including parents in front of their children.

Sadly, they are not the only ones ignored by the so-called “human rights activists.” The others ignored by them, by the media, by our nation, and so many others, are the Christians in the Middle East who are being slaughtered at the hands of radical Islamist terrorists (I was reminded by our concierge and friend from previous cruises that our President told us not to call them that. He was being sarcastic, of course. Oh, he is from Chile, and lives in South Africa now. He is extremely well informed about our politics and what is going on in our country.). There is no doubt that what happened in Brussels is a terrible tragedy, especially since there is a connection between those terrorists and the Paris terrorists.

But since the Brussels attack, there has been an even more horrendous attack by Islamist terrorists, the Taliban specifically, killing almost twice as many people, and injuring hundreds. Those people were Pakistani Christians, and they were killed on Easter Sunday. The news mentions them in passing, but they are not having major segments about them, or about the wholesale slaughter of Christians on going in the Middle East. I don’t think we, or any other nation, has decided to fly the flag at half mast for these victims.

There is NO DOUBT that these people, mostly women and children, were killed because they are Christians. No doubt at all. From Legal Insurrection:

[…] Jamaat-ul-Ahrar’s spokesman told media that “we have carried out this attack to target the Christians who were celebrating Easter. Also this is a message to the Pakistani prime minister that we have arrived in Punjab [Pakistan’s most populous province].”

The attack comes at a time when Islamists are rioting in Pakistan in support of Islamist gunman Mumtaz Qadri, who murdered the governor of Punjab 5 years ago. Qadri was hanged for the murder last month, sparking nationwide protests from the Islamic fanatics.

With a population of just over 2 million, Christians make up around 1.5 percent on Pakistan’s population. The tiny minority has long been a target of terrorist attacks, as well as persecuted by state-sanctioned Sharia and blasphemy laws. […] (Click here to read the rest.)

It is just heartbreaking. It is heartbreaking that Christians are being singled out for death because of their beliefs, yet so many remain silent. This Federalist author, David Marcus, has a great article on why these victims seem to merit so little attention:

[…] Many of the dead are women and children guilty of nothing more than sharing a faith with so many of us in the United States. But while Americans mourn, fear, and post on social media about attacks in Paris and Brussels, attacks like yesterday’s fly under the radar. They are treated as the natural course of things in territories on fire.

But they are not. They are a careful and constructed attack on Christianity. As such, they are a direct attack on us all.

 

[…]

Such actions can and have been understood. They are evil. They are not the tragic result of Donald Rumsfeld’s failed policies, they are not the natural result of centuries of colonialism, they are not the deserved result of a history of Christendom replete with terror and murder. They are simply evil.

Evil is a more difficult enemy than Islam. But it, not the religion of Mohammad, is our true enemy. No walls can stop it. It respects no borders. It resides in all of us. The rejection and suppression of evil is why the religious pray and why the non-religious study. But where and when evil thrives until it twists men into murdering children, we must see it for what it is. We must not be too afraid, in the recognition of our own sins, failings, or privileges to destroy it. […] (Click here to read the rest.)

Yes, we must strive to destroy it, strive to not dismiss these victims of terrorism “just because” they are Christians. How we got to this place confounds me, that Christians can be targeted because of their religion by Islamist terrorists and ignored, but here we are. That must change…

My thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the victims, and I pray for healing for those injured by this (and other) attacks simply because of their faith…

And for a total change, and as a way to thank Marge for her outstanding stewardship in my absence, I give you a video Suzy made with her GoPro on a tripod. These are Magellanic Penguins, and they are just the cutest things (ignore the clueless human who interfered with the recording of these adorable creatures):

 

Aren’t they  fantastic?! Love them! Hope you do, too.

This is an Open Thread.

Tags: Brussels, Christian persecution, Christians, Islamic terrorism, Pakistan, Paris, Taliban