A few years ago, I was having lunch in a Shawarma place on Main St. next to the JJBean coffee shop I used to work from. A group of guys sitting a couple of tables away were drinking beer and eating fries while being loud and a bit rowdy. One said, “Why the hell did they name a terrorist group after hummus?!”
Every time I think about it, it reminds me that the West doesn’t seem to comprehend how the Middle East works and all the nuances of their history and different ideologies trying to either co-exist or annihilate each other.
It is also a reminder to me that whenever I feel helpless about the unpleasant events in the world, the least I can do is to learn about it as much as I can and take the time to educate myself by reading books and legitimate sources, because staying ignorant, in my opinion, is the most atrocious thing to do.
Maybe someone could form a peace group called Hummus, because it’s one good thing that many cultures have in common these days.