James BlakeVerified account

In the Mosque, my anxiety skyrockets and I feel like I'm going to die. I've been in two active shooter situations in my life. I have been spit on, shoved and cursed out. And once, a man with a gun on his hip turned to me and said something that made my blood run cold 10/

Because in his mind, he was the good guy with the gun, despite his t-shirt that clearly proclaimed to "shoot 'em all, and let G-d decide" with the dead bodies obvious Muslims. Nowhere is safe. And this feeling that you have right now, this is how some of us feel every time 11/

we leave our homes. Because every Friday prayer could be our last. Today, families went into Mosques in NZ, ready to sit with loved ones and pray and they were slaughtered. The current climate allowed this. This isn't about some unhinged loner in his parents' 12/

basement. When Islamaphobia is normalized, this could be anyone. Because people are afraid to stand up, or if it doesn't affect them, maybe they "mind their own business". Anytime you hear Islamaphobic remarks (and antisemitic remarks because Jewish Americans are not safe, 13/

in this climate, either) and you say nothing, you are letting them know that their words mean nothing. You cannot be an ally if you shy away from confrontation. When your family members and friends joke about stereotypes and you avoid conflict, you feed the beast. 14/

We need you all to speak out. We can't be the only ones to stand up to the hate. This is the time when allies make a marked difference. We need you to stand up. To say that there is no such thing as a harmless joke or a funny stereotype. Don't say that your father/brother/ 15/

grandmother/boss didn't mean "regular Muslims". You can't just let this stuff go, because it grows and it builds up until there is nowhere safe for anyone to worship. Or live. Or breathe. My daughter deserves a world where my heart doesn't skip a beat every time she comes 16/

out of school wearing a hijab she snuck in her backpack. On holidays when the kids can come to Khutbah, I shouldn't wonder if "Thanksgiving Massacre at [name] Mosque" is going to be the next headline. To be forgotten a week later. This is our daily life. When the headline 17/