Muslims Read Horrible Facebook Comments Responding to a Mosque Daycare Fire

Impact

At times, one must laugh to keep from crying.

This was never more true than after April 27, when an air-conditioner fire destroyed the daycare center attached to the Islamic Society of Tampa's mosque, forcing 60 children to evacuate. Thankfully, no one was hurt. But when the owners posted their story to Facebook in an effort to raise money to rebuild, their comments section was flooded with such Islamophobic vitriol as to make you lose whatever faith in humanity you had left.

The Daily Dot reports that activist group Peace House subsequently asked a group of Muslims to read the comments aloud on video, in a nod to the Jimmy Kimmel Show's famous "Mean Tweets" segment. They are predictably horrible, but also so absurd, heartless and uninformed in their conception of Islam that the readers cannot help but laugh — sadly and incredulously, but laugh nonetheless.

This is America in 2015. Some highlights include:

"Burn them all down and deport them all!"

"Let it burn!!!"

"They hate us, and they're waiting for the signal" (Here's a demonstration of what happens when they receive the signal)

"See...there is some good news on TV."

"Is it full of muzzies?"

"This is what happens when you have a student falling asleep in a Islamic IED class. They blow themselves up."

"Burn them all down and deport them all."

Remember, these comments are referring to a fire at a daycare center. There isn't much left to say, besides that the dehumanization of Muslims and the conflation of their religious followers with tired and violent stereotypes obviously isn't reserved for adults in this country —  it's leveled at children as well. And not just in casual, everyday contexts, but in the wake of a dangerous accident that may very well have resulted in deaths.

So with Facebook as our witness, let us never forget the depths of ignorance to which our fellow citizens are capable of sinking. And let our laughter forever drown our tears.

h/t the Daily Dot