| | This whole Arab-controlled company controlling U.S. ports story is quickly becoming a dangerous one. For those of you that need background, check it out.
All in all, the situation is a sad state of affairs.
Arab advocacy groups have begun trumpeting the calls of bigotry on the part of officials who would block the deal. See? Now, it's hard to argue with their stance. Certainly, Americans get in an uproar when other countries such as Germany and Japan move to purchase our large primary-job providers. And there are people who call for the deal to be stopped, but rarely are those people in such high positions of influence. No doubt there are security concerns with any sort of port deal — including American ones (we can be terrorists, too, remember?). It's impossible to ignore the history Americans have as far as pigeonholing people, so there's obviously something else happening here, even if it is lurking deep in the dark recesses of our psyches. Because of the unfortunate connotation people of Arab descent here have with terrorism, prejudice is undeniably at work.
Sadly, however, that prejudice is founded. Look at this whole cartoon snafu. It doesn't do a people a whole lot of credit when they destroy things and hurt and even kill others over a cartoon. Yes, many of those Mohammed cartoons could be construed as offensive, and yes, the call for them from the Danes was insensitive and juvenile. That does not excuse the actions of a violent and narrow-minded few, however — for Jeff MacNelly's sake, the cartoonists had bounties put on their heads. Can you imagine the havoc in this country if the Christian fundamentalists went around the bend every time they got offended? The cities would be in ruins, heaps of smoldering rubble, and all the newspapermen, gays and environmentalists would have to develop some sort of underground sewer-city to avoid persecution and reconditioning programs; meanwhile, massive crosses and temples would soar above the fallen secular false idols, ushering in a new era of faith-based America as Bill Frist, Sam Brownback and Pat Robertson gaze on in leathery-faced, too-white-teeth-grinned glee.
Its unfortunate that the many are labeled by the acts of a few. Arabs, who happen to be predominately Muslim, have been slapped with the label of potential terrorists and dangerous fundamentalist freaks. Americans have been derided as world-hating snobs with no regard for pretty much anyone but ourselves, and we'll crush you if you get in our way.
Neither perception is right. Neither is fair. But enough people with enough power are taking enough action to keep them alive, and, by extension, keep them from seeming wrong.
Ports being the latest firestorm seems too appropriate. Don't you get the sense that a ship is sinking here? |
| | Posted 2/22/2006 9:26 AM - 12 Views - 0 eProps - 0 comments
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