Boston, which experience in 2014 a terrorist attack that some readers may recall – a terrorist attack carried out by Islamic extremists, if we remember correctly – has apparently decided that it’s time for citizens of Beantown to be reminded of their manners. Specifically, they are rolling out a new public service campaign aimed at fighting that old, trusty bogeyman: ISLAMOPHOBIA. Oooh, doesn’t it just give you the shivers!
The campaign began on Monday with 50 posters that give residents a step-by-step breakdown of what they should do when they see a Muslim being harassed. Boston commuters can look forward to viewing these posters on city buses, benches, and other public areas where Muslims may be being harassed at this VERY moment.
Emblazoned with the title “What to do if you are witnessing Islamophobic harassment,” the posters instruct people to focus their attention on the subject of the harassment in order to draw attention away from the big meanie who is Islamophobing them. It guides heroic Bostonians to stand or sit next to the “victim” and begin discussing a random subject such as recent movies you might have enjoyed, the weather, or where to buy a pressure cooker at a discount.
“These posters are one tool we have to send the message that all are welcome in Boston,” Mayor Marty Walsh said. “Education is key to fighting intolerance, and these posters share a simple strategy for engaging with those around you.”
Thrilled with the new campaign, Suzan El-Rayess of the Islamic Society of Boston said, “We encourage all of our fellow Bostonians to apply the approach in these posters to anyone targeted – whether Muslim, Latino, or otherwise.”
Right, right. But of course the posters, which feature cartoons depicting a white man yelling angrily at a woman in the Islamic hijab costume, do not say anything about Latinos or “otherwisers.” They are clearly and specifically marketed towards stopping Islamophobic harassment, which means this is a particular problem in Boston, or at least perceived as one by whoever authorized the campaign.
Of course, lacking evidence that this IS actually a problem that needs a public service campaign to solve, we can only conclude that Boston’s Democratic leadership is rolling out these posters not because there’s an imminent need to protect local Muslims but because they want to “DO SOMETHING” to show they are part of La Resistance against the Biggest Meanie of all, President Donald Trump.
Unfortunately, all the posters in the universe won’t make a bit of difference the next time some deranged Islamist sets off a bomb or shoots up a nightclub or hijacks a jet or attacks a cop with a hatchet, so we can’t help but point out that “stopping Islamophobia” would be easier to accomplish if ISLAM would take responsibility for what’s actually causing the PHOBIA.
