In the following exchange between the woman and McCain something is very wrong...and...the wrongness extends to the media. Its inherent implication needs to be addressed.
Woman: "....he's an Arab."
John: "No, ma’am, he’s a decent family man....
It seems that underlying the void in recognizing the prejudice and racial bias in this interchange is an unacknowledged acceptance in America that Arab equates with terrorist--that any person of Arab extraction is an enemy.
John should have challenged the word but so should have Campbell Brown, Katie Couric, Charles Gibson, Larry King, et al--maybe even Barak. America is composed of all nationalities, including Arab. The premise of our nation is maligned when implications such as this are left unaddressed. An apology is owed to our Arab citizens--decent, family men.
Another Good Read
Khaled Housseini, author of The Kite Flyer and A Thousand Splendid Suns has written a piece that is well worth reading.
3 comments:
An excellent article from one of my favorite writers. Thanks, Jane.
Arab goes way beyond a country. Arabs are a Semitic group and live in lots of countries, only one of which is called Saudi Arabia. Iranians are not Arabs, for example.
I would like it if we all had an interest in who we all are and a curiosity for how we became whatever that is, but did not think that one group was in any way superior or inferior. That won't happen until every parent knows it and teaches it.
At present there are many ignorant parents teaching their kids ignorant prejudice and it looks like a lot of politicians are satisfied with that.
Jane, I too thought the way that woman's response was handled was so offensive. I was embarassed for Arab-Americans, and our society in general.
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