No Hate No Fear

Let me begin this by first declaring , I have no religious affiliation, I’m not atheist, but do not have a true belief in a God . I do own a copy of the Quran , the Holy Bible . As well as the Torah and something called Buddhist bible on iPad . I’m not an expert when it comes to religion , but I have some knowledge about everything .

Religion is one of my favorite subjects to talk and learn about , but, one thing I’ve learned is you can not speak about religion to a religious person , they try to sell you their beliefs , but don’t ever listen to your thoughts if it doesn’t line up with theirs .

Now , that being said . I started off the year 2020 by attending the ” No Fear No Hate ” march in New York City on Sunday January 5th . If you are not aware this was sparked by : A machete attack in New York by an anti-Semitic person an a group of Jewish people . So the march which included senator Chuck Schumer, NY state Governor Andrew Cuomo and NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio was to help awareness and stand up to anti- semitism and just hate in general more toward religious beliefs . I attended for 2 reasons , 1) I’m a NYC media photographer and wanted photos and 2) I think it’s very important because, though I do not have a religious affiliation, I do respect everyone’s beliefs and the rights to worship however they choose . I have friends of all faiths and judge people as people not their beliefs . I do not care if you choose to worship your God on Sundays , Saturday’s , 5 times a day while facing Mecca or visiting a shrine . It’s your life , live it the way you choose BUT ! I also have that same right and nothing wrong with my choice just because it doesn’t line up with yours .

Now , about this march , I hope , Really hope that it has opened eyes and that the hate for people just because of their religious beliefs, their skin color where they are born or whatever reason people hate for can fade away . People are obsessed with a hatred of people they’ve never met and most don’t even know why they hate them , it’s just what they are taught .

Let me say this , I respect the conviction of the Muslims and the Jewish toward their beliefs. Just because I don’t believe , doesn’t make them wrong , in truth , none of us no who is wrong or right. That being said , I did feel this march as important as it was , was a bit hypocritical. Why ? Because the worst thing about religions is they can’t see passed the hate , if you don’t believe as they do they can’t except it . The Russians imprison Jehovah witnesses , China imprisons Christians , muslims , Buddhist . Israel continues to attack Palestinians ( Muslims ) in the West Bank . Trump tries to ban Muslims in the USA . It’s on and on and on … The world would be a much better place without religion .

To sum it all up . My belief is , if there is a heaven or something better after this , it’s just about being a good person and being good to others . But , if you believe that standing at a wall , kneeling on a prayer rug or sitting in a confessional is your way of getting there to , then continue to do what you do , but do not judge or dislike people who do not choose your path to the next step . We all have our own roads to follow and there is no true map to follow . We are all lost .

Ok , hopefully someone read that . If not , here’s some photos from the No Hate No Fear march in New York City . 25,000 people crossed the Brooklyn Bridge