An elderly Buddhist monk was assaulted in Oregon by a man who apparently thought he was a Muslim. Kozen Sampson wears plain brown robes and keeps his hair cropped as his Buddhist faith dictates. He had parked on a side road near Hood River to walk his dog.
“I pulled over, someone ran up and yelled. I turned around, they kicked the door, hit me in the side of the face and knocked my head into the frame of the car,”
Sampson told KATU. “I do remember [him yelling] an F bomb [about] Muslims, and that was it.”
Remarkably, Sampson bears no ill will towards his attacker. “I was thinking, ‘That poor man.’” he said. “Can you imagine living your life in fear and anger? Can you imagine wanting to do something that you had to hurt somebody [sic]?”
The violent racist is still at large, as Sampson was unable to describe him to police, saying that “I lost part of my memory for about 15 minutes.”
Hate crimes against Muslims have spiked since Donald Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric took root following the San Bernardino and Paris attacks. Despite the suffering and fear that Muslim Americans currently live with, Trump has refused to alter his language.
“I am happy it happened to me and not to a Muslim,” Sampson said to Hood River News. “My biggest concern is for how anyone has to live with the fear and the distrust and the possibility of an assault.”
Kozen Sampson, in typical Buddhist garb.
Hood River residents are currently planning a candlelight vigil to show solidarity with Sampson, and to help spread his Buddhist message of “peace and tolerance.”
“We have a country trying to find its tone,” Sampson told Hood River News. “There are some politicians who have people riled up as they seek to build their power base. They are not seeing everyone as a part of the human family. We need to find a kinder way to approach our differences and look at the rest of life.”
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Nathan Wellman is a Los Angeles-based journalist, author, and playwright. Follow him on Twitter: @LightningWOW
It is incredible how much racist crimes have grown in the U.S. It is scary that something as simple as appearance can get anyone killed. I wouldn't doubt that Trump's or any major figure's comments would encourage racism. I honestly think that one should be more respectful towards other and not judge by religion, race, gender, etc.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Luis, it is scary that appearance can get a lot of people killed. It is terrifying.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Scary world we still live in.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Luis. It's saddening to know that not everyone sees us as a human family.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Luis. It's saddening to know that not everyone sees us as a human family.
ReplyDeletenow i sorta feel like going to a buddhist temple. that was really nice of him to say such a thing. honestly if it where me i would end up saying i wish it would be someone else rather than me.
ReplyDeleteIts very disturbing how some people act. Violence is never the answer
ReplyDeleteit's ashamed how crazy this world is. violence is never the key
ReplyDeleteIslamophobia is such a huge problem in the U.S. right now because of people like Donald Trump. It's true that some radical Muslims exist, but the same can be said about any religion. It's wrong to assume that all Muslims are violent.
ReplyDeleteIt saddens me that racism still exist even in today's society .
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone. It is a sad would we live in.
ReplyDeleteI respect him because he actually follows what his religion teaches. He din't wish no ill will upon his attacker but he tried to understand his fear and where he was coming from.
ReplyDeleteIt is surprising how ignorant and intolerant people can be nowadays, they should at least know what they're saying before they speak nonsense.
ReplyDeleteThe amount of ignorance in this society has increased. Being open-minded and respectful to others has gone down the drain
ReplyDeleteThis article is very heart breaking. But i hope this story will help people realize not to hate someone who has a different belief.
ReplyDeleteThis article just shows how this world is full of ignorant people very disgusted by that guy.
ReplyDeleteLet people do what they want to do and follow whatever religion or belief system they wish to. :)
ReplyDeleteI look up to the way this man handled the situation, as I'm sure many Buddhists monk would have done. This reaffirms my awe at the peace they are able to achieve with themselves and the rest of the world.
ReplyDeleteI think that there has always been hostility towards Muslims since 9/11. before Donald trump was even mentioning running for president one of my museum room mates was harassed by two guys on our own campus around September 11th. I don't think it is something that got worse from Donald trump but instead I think that he brings light to a big issue that is in america. That issue is the hate and generalization of all Muslims. People need to be educated about religion because then they would realize that Muslims believe in peace and not harming living beings.
ReplyDeletealso I think this guys reaction shows how enlightened he is. Its ridiculous that someone would try to bash someones head in for their beliefs. It shows how uneducated the person was because they hurt a monk from an entirely different religion. i'm just angered and upset that things like this even happen.
ReplyDeleteThis not only broke my heart but also made me think that how this is how america was with blacks not so long ago, and although it is alarming that someone would do such a thing, it is also somewhat rewarding to see everyones responses. It shows that the world and its views on racism have grown exponentially, hopefully soon this happens for the ignorant people who would do such a thing as this man.
ReplyDeleteHis reaction really spoke to me, what was done to him was terrible but his response just goes to shows how enlightened he is.
ReplyDeleteIts crazy to see how still to this day after so much has happened in this country some people are still very racist and disrespectful to people. It was nice to see how he overcame this and didnt let it bring him down
ReplyDeleteIts crazy to see how still to this day after so much has happened in this country some people are still very racist and disrespectful to people. It was nice to see how he overcame this and didnt let it bring him down
ReplyDeleteIt's very sad to think that some people are extremely racist and will judge others based on appearances such as how they look and their clothes. I'm glad that the Buddhist monk handled the situation in a humble manner though.
ReplyDeleteHis reaction is very humble. I think that is a beautiful thing.
ReplyDeleteIt is surreal reading this article after reading about the Muslims being persecuted on Burma. There is a lot of hate in the world sometimes people don't need a reason to carry out unnecessary and diabolical actions.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me really upset knowing there are still people who are uneducated and not accepting of other people's beliefs and way of life. I hope this changes soon and people stop turning to violence.
ReplyDelete