only love can conquer hate

…as I get there, a little boy starts screaming and pointing at me. He is hysterical.

His mother says, “He thinks you are Israeli.”

I speak to the boy in Arabic. “I’m a journalist,” I tell him, but he still cries. ~ By Cal Perry, CNN The True Cost of War

I was reading this article online. Its about the war going on in Lebanon. That scene took place in a southern Lebanon hospital. It saddens me, but it also made me think about racism and prejudice. That little boy is prejudice against anyone resembling an Israeli. He is terrified of them, not because of the way they look, but because Israelis are attacking his home, his family. He has discovered that Israelis are his enemy. As a young child, he identifies Israelis by the way they look. Its the only way he knows. If he were to grow up in that environment, where Israelis were constantly attacking him and he learned nothing to displace his visual connection to this form of evil, he might grow up to be prejudice against anyone who looks Israeli. That prejudice might be passed on to his children and their children and so forth.

I’ve always wondered how prejudice and racism really started. I know there is a large part of human psyche which pushes us into an “us vs. them” idea. But I’ve met people who truly hate anyone with black skin (for example). They find them repulsive and even sub-human. I could never understand how a hate and prejudice could go that deep. But this article made me think about children and their thought processes. That little boy is now terrified of Israeli-looking people. It doesn’t matter to him if they are Israeli or even truly dangerous. He’s scared of them. He might teach his children and so forth to be scared and to hate them as well. Generations from now there may be people who are racist against Israeli-looking people.

This is an exaggeration of course. And I’m not approving of prejudice, but its good to understand where something so bad comes from. I’m also not blaming the oppressed group, whoever they may be, claiming ancient injustices. I don’t think people should blamed for their ancestors mistakes (perhaps held accountable, but that’s another argument.) But its interesting to see this moment captured.

This story does have a little happier ending though.

After I hand him candy, kneel and almost cry myself, the boy realizes that I’m here to try to help.

That there is the breaking of a prejudice.

Mother, mother
There’s too many of you crying
Brother, brother, brother
There’s far too many of you dying
You know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some lovin’ here today – Ya

Father, father
We don’t need to escalate
You see, war is not the answer
For only love can conquer hate
You know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some lovin’ here today

Picket lines and picket signs
Don’t punish me with brutality
Talk to me, so you can see
Oh, what’s going on
What’s going on
Ya, what’s going on
Ah, what’s going on

In the mean time
Right on, baby
Right on
Right on

Father, father, everybody thinks we’re wrong
Oh, but who are they to judge us
Simply because our hair is long
Oh, you know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some understanding here today
Oh

Picket lines and picket signs
Don’t punish me with brutality
Talk to me
So you can see
What’s going on
Ya, what’s going on
Tell me what’s going on
I’ll tell you what’s going on – Uh
Right on baby
Right on baby

What’s Goin’ on ~ Marvin Gaye