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Readers’ comments |
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Readers air their views on Obama and the Arabs, the fishy controversy
surrounding Hitler’s favourite dish, ‘Eve teasing’ in |
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November
2008 Hitler’s trout I wrote
recently to Brian Whitaker pointing him to a blog post I wrote
about the cookery programme controversy with Hitler’s trout. J Mostafa November 2008 Keeping up Arab
appearances I recently read your article What’s the
difference between Obama and an Arab? – I thought it was very well-written,
informative, and amusing. Your blend
of humor and insight is wonderful. However, there was one part that I am wondering
about. Since there are many things in
the article that have been written sarcastically in order to point out the
absurdity of the situation, I’m not sure if one of the things you said was
sarcastic or genuine. In paragraph 10 you say, “Self-deception and keeping up
false appearances are universal Arab traits.”
I live in the Do you have any comment about that? Were you being sarcastic or sincere? Do you think that Arabs are somewhat more
prone to self-deception and trying to make things appear differently than
they actually are? Thanks for your interesting writing, it is always
enjoyed. G Bluth November 2008 The article on McCain saying that Obama is “a
decent family man”, as opposed to an Arab is delicious. It reminded me of
Colin Powell, in the interview in which he endorsed Obama, distinguishing
between the “correct” and the “really right” answer to the question “Is he a
Muslim?” (“No, he’s not” v “And what if he is?”): high time someone publicly
made that point. S Craps October 2008 Obama and the Arabs I’m one
of many anxious Americans ticking off the days until our election and
praying, very hard, that we elect a more thoughtful and less loose cannon
president. Browsing the Guardian, I came across your column about McCain’s
comment about Obama that “No, he’s not an Arab, he’s a decent family man.” Please
believe me when I say that many Americans – the people McCain would dismiss
as ‘liberal elite’ – noticed the insidious implication of those words. It’s
statements like that which give the world ample reason to hate and mistrust
us. McCain probably didn’t consciously mean to imply that Arabs aren’t
family-oriented, but it was a gargantuan Freudian slip. A lot of us were
appalled. Thank
goodness someone of Colin Powell’s stature finally called McCain on the carpet
for these words, even if McCain “laughed” him off. Obama couldn’t speak out
about the slip, because Muslim hysteria in this country right now is so
severe that he’d lose the election if he tried to point out the unfairness of
this. I was recently dismissed as “Muslim” in an online discussion, where the
implication was clearly that I was the sort of person who’d lie to try to
convince people I was harmless and peace-loving when I was really a... what?
A bloodthirsty maniac? Scary.
Many of us are appalled by this kind of name-calling and stereotyping, but
there’s also a large chunk of the American population, encouraged by Bush and
now McCain, who divide the world into “good guys” and “bad guys” and make
that synonymous with “us” v “them”. The
only good that’s coming out of this is that McCain’s been so blatant in his
dividing the world into “us” versus “them”, going so far as to single out
many Americans as “unpatriotic” or “not real Americans”, that some people are
catching onto his fallacies. They didn’t see the problem when he was making
non-Americans out to be the “bad guys”, but now that he’s doing the same
thing to Americans, they notice. Obama
won’t do that, at least. If
elected, Obama will not make all the right moves in the But I
do think Obama will try to approach Also,
Obama has stated that an important way to prevent terrorism is to address the
needs of people in desperate circumstances – poverty, famine, high crime
areas, AIDS. Not that any of these factors are necessarily common in the Most of
all, Obama knows that being an Arab most likely means you are a “decent
family man”. He’s aware of what ‘real’ Muslims are like. He’s grown up with
some of them. I’m not
sure if what I’ve said makes total sense here – I’m writing while very tired!
– and I’m sure I’ve made some arrogant, ignorant American assumptions. But the
bottom line is: 1. I’m
sorry. What McCain said was insulting and wrong. 2. I
believe that despite his flaws, Obama will treat Muslims at home and abroad
with more respect and understanding. 3. I
hope and pray we will show you a better side of October 2008 I
prefer my family man when he’s indecent. D Adler October 2008 Your
columns seem to have become quite cynical recently. T Steiert Kabul, Afghanistan October 2008 I
thought Obama was a “that one”? W Thierens Sint Niklaas, Belgium October 2008 I am
following some of your articles, Khaled, you are always a talented writer. G el-Morshidy October 2008 In hot water It is good
that you looked at water resources in your piece
on 9 September. However, I judge that you did not think deeply enough about
the issues. Jon Chenoweth’s arguments are useful and deserve a different
interpretation. If the
topic interests you please get back. We would like your influence to be based
on deeper understanding. As I
have found it difficult to reach you. You do not google easily. I have become
frustrated. As a consequence, when filling in a Guardian reader survey this
afternoon, I commented that they should NOT publish your material on water. J Allan September 2008 Eve teasing in Bangladesh I came
upon your
article too late to make my own little contribution. It made me cry. Cry
with grief, fear, frustration and sheer hopelessness...lets not forget Anger! I’d
like to draw your attention to the following link, which
might make it clear why I had tears rolling down my face (as I sit here
reading the Guardian online & listening to Alphabeat). I am
from I had
the brief pleasure of living and working in It
doesn’t matter what I wear, how I dress, being female and daring to step
outside is enough provocation and justification. I once took on a dare, wore
a burkha (hijab) to prove a point to some male friends that just being female
and on the street is asking for trouble, as far as people are concerned.
While they waited in a car on the other side of the road, I stepped out and
stood on a corner of a residential road, next to a school gate, and what do
you know? I was subjected to the same taunts, stares (what could they
possibly see through the opaque polyester black tent I had covered myself
with?) that I would get if I was dressed otherwise. Needless
to say, my mates were not convinced. My
brief and happy sojourn in London was most pleasurable for the simple joy of
being able to walk down a road, wear what I want, sit in a park, just be
free. That’s over now, unfortunately, the UK Home Office didn’t consider my
well-paid job, testimonials, etc., as good enough reason to give me a work
permit and, though I know that to the lady who refused me the permit, I was
just a number, a statistic, I wonder if she knows how she destroyed my only
chance of living a free and fulfilling life. I am
certain she doesn’t. Yet, not a day goes by when I don’t wake up and wonder
if it is a bad dream and I will wake up to find myself in my bed in London. I just
wanted to share my thoughts and thank you for your article. Excuse my e-mail,
I am afraid that I am way too emotional when it comes to a woman’s lot, the
lack of choice...it’s all so personal. N Kamal September 2008 Optimistic about Obama I do
expect policy shifts from an Obama presidency – assuming he is allowed to
live. But I am also old enough to know
that change is difficult for people.
All people. It is a good part
of why we keep many of our more impractical traditions – many rules of Kosher
cuisine come to mind. It is hard-wired
into us and if nothing else, serves to minimise the number of Hitlers and
Stalins that arise. Doesn’t stop them all, apparently. So I
guess I have higher long-term hopes than Mr Diab. His article
does imply some things, though, that are, as Mr Spock would say,
“Fascinating”. From my personal perspective,
as a Canadian, I have always resented the So I
find it fascinating that Mr Diab seems so willing to accept that I think
he also misses the major point of Senator Biden’s presence on the ticket. It
has been very difficult for Obama’s people to put aside the ‘elitist’
adjective that Hillary stuck on him. How the hell can one describe the child
of a broken home – single mother, raised primarily by his grandparents in
close-to-poverty conditions – as elitist? Logically, you can’t. But the term
stuck and THAT says more about the American media and the American voter than
it does about Obama. Biden was necessary to counter the elitist
classification and to appease those who want white hair in the administration. And
while it is true Senator Obama wants to become President Obama, I still
believe it is for the right reasons.
And I am willing to accept that any major change takes time – even
change that seems imminently logical. D Thompson September 2008 I do
not agree with you about Biden and think he is awesome. D Adler September 2008 The mammoth task of building the pyramids Really interesting
stuff. Don’t know if you saw the egregious movie 10,000 BC, but it was
another great entry into the canon: alien-ruled proto-Egyptians enslaving
mammoths to build the pyramids. Brilliant. P Schemm August 2008 Eco-crisis Good article,
Khaled!! I’m really pleased that it appeared in a paper like The Guardian. So, I see you’re
deepening your knowledge of the eco-crisis. D Thienpont Gent, Belgium July 2008 ã2008 – Khaled Diab. Unless otherwise stated, all the content on this
website is the copyright of Khaled Diab. |
