Learning from intolerance

Over the weekend, I went to a relative’s home to visit family and discovered that intolerance is alive and well.

As I sat to discuss family happenings over coffee, another event was occurring with our children just out of ear range.

Two of the youth got out of hand, one holding down my teenage stepson while the other one jabbed him in the stomach and groin. I found him some time later, sitting alone in a quiet room, crying.

He didn’t go into too much detail, only revealing that he was embarrassed and didn’t understand why the other kids wanted to hurt him. It is difficult for someone with Autism to process information and make sense of why something like that would happen.

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” I assured him.

It was a shocking and hurtful situation, but I turned it into an opportunity to speak with my relative’s kids, and my own, about discrimination.

Since the nonviolent activism of Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement, we have seen great strides in putting a stop to racial discrimination.

But as the Federal holiday of observance has come and past, we cannot forget that discrimination exists – through differences in race, religion, gender, class, age, ability, and beyond.

While intolerance will probably not be eradicated in any of our lifetimes, we can still look to the injustice around us and learn from it.

Many in the Kirkland community are already doing this, and we should follow their example.

A recent panelist discussion at the IMAN (Ithna-asheri Muslim Association of the Northwest) Center in Kirkland focused on our Muslim neighbors, and the misconceptions some people have on the religious community.

It was a worthwhile experience, sitting in a room of nearly 80 attendees, including many women who wore the traditional Muslim head scarf to respect the modest Muslim practice. The event was hosted by the Kirkland-Redmond branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW), a national organization that advances equity for women and girls through advocacy and education.

Whether it’s getting to know someone new or educating yourself about something or someone you didn’t know before, we should all take a look around us, seek out differences, and embrace them.