babble
Friday, October 18, 2002
Yesterday, on a show on the local talk radio station, there was a call-in segment during which listeners were encouraged to call in with fictional names of Middle Eastern knock-offs of Western products. There were plenty of callers with something to say, most of which contained crude camel references or cheap shots at various aspects of Arab culture. During this segment, one of the hosts mentioned that in many Middle Eastern countries, women are decapitated or stoned to death for having extramarital or premarital sex. As he was commenting on this, he said the phrase "Yeah, they do that over there." They. Now, I am vehemently opposed to many punishments for perceived "crimes" in that region and this one in particular, but the thing that stuck out in my mind about that comment as well as the segment is that people in the U.S. just don't understand other cultures. (And yes, I knew this already. This was just an unpleasant reminder.) Not only do we, as a country, not understand other cultures, we don't seem to have any interest in learning about them. There are far too many Americans who make no effort to learn about the many rich and diverse cultural heritages that exist elsewhere in the world. They are so convinced of their cultural superiority that they just don't care about anyone else. Yes, many practices that are the norm in other cultures are ones that I find completely abhorrent. But there are just as many that I find interesting, fascinating, and beautiful. And even though I'm opposed to many of these practices, I will be better able to understand people who were raised in a different cultural environment if I make an effort to learn about their culture. Having a xenophobic attitude does nothing to foster cultural understanding or peace between disparate nations.
Been paying attention to the news lately? In the past week, there has been a bombing in Bali, unrest in West Africa, bombings in the Phillipines, revelations from North Korea, and sniper attacks near Washington, DC. Of course, our "leader" has been quick to blame al-Qaeda for the attacks in Bali. Britain and Australia also think that the attacks are tied to Islamic extremists. Some are even suggesting that the sniper attacks could be related to al-Qaeda. And you know what? I'm offended.
I'm offended that the U.S. citizenry can't see the wool that's being pulled over its eyes. I'm offended that the Bush administration is trying to link tragic events to an alleged terrorist organization that may or may not have committed them so that they can further their own warmongering agenda. I'm offended that someone thinks it's a good idea to detonate a truck full of explosives in front of a building to prove a point. I'm offended that some person thinks so little of human life that he or she is picking off random strangers as they fill up their cars with gas or standing in front of their school. I'm offended that people are so eager to rush off to war. I'm offended by pretty much everything that's going on in the world right now, because I think humanity is capable of so much more. And I'm particularly offended that we can't seem to overcome our propensity for violence for just one fucking minute and realize that we're on a path to complete and utter destruction.
Fuck. Come on, people. Can't we all just get along?
babbled by Kat @ 8:48:00 AM |
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