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Muslims Manage To Laugh At Racism In This Video

by Eliza Castile

It's not exactly a surprise when people use tragedy as an opportunity to spew racism and hatred online, but that doesn't make it easier to deal with. To draw attention to the most recent ignorance being put forth by Facebook trolls, activist group Peace House asked American Muslims to read hateful comments for their latest video. It's a lot like "Celebrities Read Mean Tweets," only you'd be hard-pressed to find any humor in these comments. It all began when a day care attached to a mosque in Tampa, FL burned down completely, Elite Daily reports. Somehow all 60 occupants, some of whom were children, miraculously made it out alive. To most people, this is cause for celebration, but when a local news station covered the story and posted the video on Facebook, it quickly became apparent that not everyone agrees. Islamophobes from all corners of the Internet took to the comments to express their disappointment, resulting in dozens of hateful, racist comments associated with the story. Rather than simply ignoring it, however, Peace House decided to draw attention to the ignorance by asking local Muslims to read the comments aloud. As you can imagine, the comments are illogical and frighteningly racist. "Let it burn!!!" read one from a local firefighter. "This is what happens when you have a student falling asleep in a islamic IED class [sic]," read another. "They blow themselves up." Instead of giving the commenters the satisfaction of taking their words seriously, the participants laugh at the hatred, Facebook stalking a few of the posters and laughing incredulously with their friends. Their refusal to give the commenters what they want is admirable, although I personally had a hard time finding any of it funny. Check out the video for yourself below, and be sure to visit the Peace House website when you get the chance. If you'd like to help rebuild the daycare, donate to the Islamic Society of Tampa Bay Area.

Image: Islamic Society Of Tampa Bay Area/Facebook