The Middle Eastern Bakery in Phoenix, Arizona has been in business for years. They're a local favorite, winning awards and making friends in their community. Isam, the owner, is described in an ongoing GoFundMe campaign as "loving and generous to all who enter the door."
The fundraising effort on behalf of the community is in response to multiple attacks by vandals on the bakery in the wake of the election.
It reads "Peace on Earth" in gold writing on the large front windows of the Middle Eastern Bakery and Deli in Phoenix. But the owners of the beloved local restaurant have been experiencing quite the opposite recently, some customers say.
Marnee Burrus, a regular at the small grocery and restaurant, which serves lamb kebabs, baba ghanoui and baked treats such as baklava, stopped by Saturday afternoon only to see that a window had been smashed, leaving cracks resembling a large spiderweb on the decorated front, according to a Facebook post.
In her post, Burrus wrote: "I asked the store owner what happened and she told me this is the second time this has happened to them since the election and they can't afford the expense of replacing the glass a second time right now."
Fortunately, the community has definitely rallied around Isam and his family, donating to a fund for repairs, offering to install security systems, and more.
Still, how long will that last? How long will people be willing to step up and defend good people in their communities? Look what is happening to Comet Ping Pong in DC and ask yourself whether or not the same will happen here, where people will be afraid to step out and help out of fear of harassment online and in real life. Out of fear that someone will bring their online fantasies into real life on the wings of bullets fired by assault weapons?
Resist. Always resist. This is no time for fear.
