There’s an old (from our youth :p) Bollywood song that goes “Main ro’oon ya hansoon; karoon mai kyaa karoon?!” or “Should I cry or laugh; To do, what do I do?”

Users subscribing to the Internet though the PTCL (Pakistan Telecom Corporation Limited, the semi- or formerly-government-owned corporation), in particular, have been getting the following message today if they tried to access YouTube:

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Dear Internet Users

Shahed, I think you're doing a great job. I totally hear you about full time student, job and kids; I got two toddlers myself…

I remember when Ahmed and Jawad kept MWU going. One of the things that attracted me to it despite the sometimes Leftist political content was that there were smart people who didn't require I support their politics in order to have good mutual learning experiences with regard to Muslim issues and Islamic theology. I had initially deteremined to discuss only Muslim issues and disregard all political items, until people started spouting stuff about where I was deployed to, which I knew for sure to be untrue. I've liberalized quite alot because of that experience.

I see asholes in the ummah; they are all around me.

So, on a particular website, there is this shrill and obscenely rude and racist commenter who has a strong streak of anti-semitism and hatred towards "white trash". He assumes I'm the latter, and likes to declare me a munafiq. What to do? The editor there edits out my comments when I call the guy a supporter of terrorism and a terrorist/insurgent sympathizer but won't edit out the ad hominem insults towards me all of which I find more than mildly offensive. WTF?

I should simply disengage, but the testosterone in me (blatant sucking up to male-haters) keeps from going since it looks like I'm surrendering to his juvenille antics. There were other times when people disgreed with me, but they kept it civil so I didn't see the need to keep responding: they have a view, they were respectful about it so let's leave it at that. But, this just grates me, because I know that the moron is just one among many who are out there holding down our communities with thier venemous hatred and simplisticly ethnically chauvenist analyses. Of course, he makes childish assumptions about his "enemies" which is probably what irkes me the most, or is it the fact that as usual, other Muslims let such people get away with it? Justice? We want justice in the Middle East, but we can't even establish justice on a single website, in a single mosque. Good luck, mofos, on that there justice project. Let's see some local results first, then talk to me about fucking justice abroad. Let's see what we can do here first before we start trying to solve other peoples' problems. Doctor, HEAL THYSELF!