X Adversaria

Once again…assed out of #lunch at the @cinnamonsnail. The...

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:17:24 -0400

Once again…assed out of #lunch at the @cinnamonsnail. The line is 50+ people deep. Going to stand on it for a few minutes and see how far I get. #wishmeluck (at Random House)

Came out of the bathroom to find her like this, waiting for me...

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:23:14 -0400

Came out of the bathroom to find her like this, waiting for me to get into bed. #apbt #pitbulls #pitstagram #pitbullsofig #pitbulladvocate #dogsofig #dogstagram #dontbullymybreed (at House of Pibble)

#freedom_tower #nyc #skyline (at Shippen Street, Weehawken)

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 20:29:49 -0400

#freedom_tower #nyc #skyline (at Shippen Street, Weehawken)

On our #walk tonight. #weehawken #sunset #NYC #esb...

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 20:29:03 -0400

On our #walk tonight. #weehawken #sunset #NYC #esb #empirestatebldg (at Shippen Street, Weehawken)

alexthebeck: DOGGY

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 11:38:28 -0400

alexthebeck:

DOGGY

#discdog #border_collie (at Animal Farm Foundation)

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 19:12:50 -0400

#discdog #border_collie (at Animal Farm Foundation)

This is Mona. #adoptdontshop #pitbulls #pitstagram #pitbullsofig...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 19:10:42 -0400

This is Mona. #adoptdontshop #pitbulls #pitstagram #pitbullsofig #apbt (at Animal Farm Foundation)

#santiago is a bit of a #celebrity for #dog_folk. Here he is...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 18:56:33 -0400

#santiago is a bit of a #celebrity for #dog_folk. Here he is with a line of adoring #fans waiting to greet him. #discdog #apbt #pitbulls #pitstagram #pitbullsofig (at Animal Farm Foundation)

#bsl #sucks #do_something #psa #pitbulls #pitstagram...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 18:54:05 -0400

#bsl #sucks #do_something #psa #pitbulls #pitstagram #pitbullsofig #apbt (at Animal Farm Foundation)

Amazing #antique #bulldog painting. Really wanted to make it...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 18:26:42 -0400

Amazing #antique #bulldog painting. Really wanted to make it mine. (at Bowen Barn)

#santiago (at Animal Farm Foundation)

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 14:38:36 -0400

#santiago (at Animal Farm Foundation)

Visiting for the #Annual #Adopters’ #Picnic. Love this...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 14:12:16 -0400

Visiting for the #Annual #Adopters’ #Picnic. Love this place. (at Animal Farm Foundation)

pourlapaix: elgin-marbles: 9/11 Hate-Crime Victim Seeks To...

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 23:29:11 -0400

pourlapaix:

elgin-marbles:

9/11 Hate-Crime Victim Seeks To Save His Attacker

Just 10 days after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Rais Bhuiyan was working at a gas station in Dallas when he was shot in the face by a man named Mark Stroman.

Stroman was on a shooting spree, targeting people who appeared to be Muslim or of Middle Eastern descent. Stroman is due to be executed July 20; Bhuiyan, the only survivor of the attacks, is fighting to save his life.

When Stroman entered the gas station, Bhuiyan initially thought it was a routine robbery.

“I opened the cash register, offered him the cash, and requested him not to shoot me,” Bhuiyan tells weekends on All Things Considered host Laura Sullivan. “In reply he asked me, ‘Where are you from?’ And the question seemed strange to ask during a robbery. And I said, ‘Excuse me?’ And as soon as I spoke, I felt the sensation of a million bees stinging my face, and then heard an explosion.”

Bhuiyan required medical attention for years after the attack. The bullet hit him on the right side of the face, leaving severe injuries, particularly to his right eye.

“I had to go through several surgeries and finally the doctor could save the eye, but the vision is gone, and I’m still carrying more than 35 pellets on the right side of my face,” he says. “Once I touch my face, my skull, I can feel it’s all bumpy. It took several years to go through all these painful surgeries one after another one.”

… Despite the difficulties, Bhuiyan looked to his faith in order to find forgiveness.

“According to my faith in Islam, there is no hate, no killing. It doesn’t allow anything like that,” says Bhuiyan. “Yes, Mark Stroman did a horrible thing, and he brought a lot of pain and disaster, sufferings in my life. But in return I never hated him.”

Bhuiyan has created a website called World Without Hate to educate others about hate crimes as a means of preventing them. He’s also working with Amnesty International and Stroman’s defense attorney, who has filed several appeals on Stroman’s death sentence.

“I strongly believe executing him is not a solution. We will just simply lose a human life without dealing with the root cause, which is hate crime,” Bhuiyan says. “In Islam it says that saving one human life is the same as saving the entire mankind. Since I forgave him, all those principles encouraged me to go even further, and stop his execution and save another human life.”

[top photo: after the shooting; bottom photo: 2011]

In case you don’t know, Bhuiyan wasn’t able to save Stroman. Stroman was executed on July 20, 2011. But before his death, Bhuiyan and Stroman reconciled. Hours before the execution, they spoke over the phone, for the first time since the shooting.

Here’s the transcript of their conversation :

Bhuiyan: Hey Mark, how are you buddy?

Stroman: How are you doing, man? Hey man, thank you for everything you have been trying to do for me… you are inspiring. Thank you from my heart, dude.

Bhuiyan: Mark, you should know that I am praying for God the most compassionate and gracious… I forgive you and I do not hate you. I never hated you.

Stroman: You are inspired Rais.

Bhuiyan: …and this is from the bottom of my heart.

Stroman: You are a remarkable person. Thank you from my heart. I love you, bro. I love you with the whole of my heart… Thank you for being such an awesome person… I mean it.

Bhuiyan: You will always be there.

Stroman: You touched my heart. I would have never expected this.

Bhuiyan: You touched mine too.

Stroman: Hey Rais, they are telling me to hang up now. I will try to call in a minute.

“Ziv says Stroman never called back. Ten minutes later his phone was cut and Ziv was moved to the administrative building to await the execution. The United States Supreme Court had refused Stroman’s last appeal.

Strapped to the gurney, the chaplain at the end touching his leg, Stroman began speaking his last words. “Though I lay on this gurney, seconds away from my death, I am at total peace. Hate is going on in this world and it has to stop. Hate causes a lifetime of pain.” Then, he said: “I feel it; I am going to sleep now. Goodnight, one, two, three, there it goes.”

He was pronounced dead at 8.53pm.”

(full article)

She is so ridiculously cute, I can’t stand it. 💖 (at House...

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 23:18:04 -0400

She is so ridiculously cute, I can’t stand it. 💖 (at House of Pibble)

💖 (at House of Pibble)

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 22:41:51 -0400

💖 (at House of Pibble)

My #buddy. #apbt #pitbulls #pitstagram #pitbullsofig...

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 22:35:02 -0400

My #buddy. #apbt #pitbulls #pitstagram #pitbullsofig #pitbulladvocate #pitbullsofinstagram #dogs #dogsofig #dogstagram #dontbullymybreed #love (at House of Pibble)

I don’t know this #kitty. New addition to the...

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 21:52:09 -0400

I don’t know this #kitty. New addition to the #neighborhood #feral #colony, I presume. (at Shippen Street, Weehawken)

It’s not every day that your boyfriend is on the...

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 10:54:08 -0400

It’s not every day that your boyfriend is on the #front_page of the @WSJ. 😘

I want in on the community pillow! I’m the one who’s...

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 19:36:13 -0400

I want in on the community pillow! I’m the one who’s sick! (at House of Pibble)

Best #sick_day #buddy on the planet. (at House of Pibble)

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 11:08:28 -0400

Best #sick_day #buddy on the planet. (at House of Pibble)