Monday, May 12, 2008

speaking with forked tongue

I am always amazed at the vehemence and disdain that many in the west have directed towards the Arab nations of the world and even their religion. It is difficult for me to understand this in many respects. Sure I am aware of (911 and of the recent wars and invasions that we have taken the liberty to impinge upon these countries, their citizenry and the culture of these folks). However, in many respects, it is unjustified, for I feel that there is no right for us to be so hateful towards a people unless our history was one that had no hate present at all. I mean, why be so vile toward folks because of one event?

Now having a total dislike for ones government and their policies is on thing, but a group of people for their beliefs, or because their beliefs are juxtapose to ours is plane old foul.
I know some would say that these are folks that will send women and children, with bombs around their bodies to blow up innocent people. True, But I recall that her in this country, the same occurred, when General Amherst gave Indians blankets infected with Small Pox. Now we over here venerate Jones and have even named a prestigious university after him and a major city in New York. Although Jeffery was officially an English Lord by my recollection of history, he was the one that first introduced germ warfare. I know of this via reading Carl Waldman's Atlas of the North American Indian. In the book, while referencing a siege of Fort Pittsburgh by Chief Pontiac's in1763, he pointed out that General Amherst had via letter, suggested to Captain Simeon Ecuyer to give the Indians smallpox-infected blankets and handkerchiefs (BTW this started an epidemic among them

I can continue and I will because the Indian Boarding Schools were just as bad as the schools we criticize in Saudi Arabia. They were designed to mandate forced assimilation as well as destroy the culture of native Americans – it was always funny to me how a person can discover a place where people already live, talk about arrogance. These schools too were made popular by another American historic Icon of sorts - Richard Henry Pratt. Pratt started the Carlisle Indian School in 1879 and set the standards for such schools to follow. And just like the Muslims abroad, here Christian denominations were allowed to build them on reservations (thanks to another hero’s peace plan - Ulysses S. Grant).

And like the Christian’s were with Africans, their Christian like nature tended to display act more akin to: physical, mental, and emotional abuse that often resulted in death. From promoting poor sanitation and hygiene to washing Indian children in kerosene to prove their point – whit is the only way and right.

They would cut their long hair – the main reflection of their culture pride) had to where the clothes of the “white man.” But I imagine the worse thing was being bound and beaten or even burned for speaking their language. And I won’t even mention slaves. But if there is a point I am trying to make is, don’t be so hateful for others because they are different and don’t let the beliefs of a few produce generalizations to all. More importantly, don’t have double standards, be two faced or speak with a forked tongue for we all have dirt behind our ears.
ps - i aint 4got, the love post will be up this week, its written and saved, but such is tha of an infamous and diabolic mind

22 comments:

Tha BossMack TopSoil said...

I think whenever a person encounters somthing that is different, tha natural reaction is fear. All religion is dogmatic, and to argue and scrap over which one is correct is amazing to me. I have tried to understand all the major religions of the world. Yet if I was to try to debate my Grandmother on tha relavence of otha religions she would tell me "I only know Jesus Christ, period".

Amina said...

i have to agree with tha bossmack topsoil. When people face the unknown, they're afraid and the easiest way to deal with it is to criticize/ hate without understanding it!
I am muslim and since 9/11 it really saddens me that a lot of people associate islam with terrorism or even just don't try to be open-minded. So sad...

Lina said...

I have to congratulate you on speaking truth that not many people are willing to accept. And I have to agree with Bossmack also, that difference breeds fear.

A.u.n.t. Jackie said...

as a woman with an arabic first last and middle name, who has been detained more often than not when i travel i am acutely aware of the fears in the heart of americans when it comes to people of arab descent although i am not...i am american. black american. my family bought their freedom from slave owners, walked the trail of tears when put out of their home stay and was apart of the historic black wall street in oklahoma.

i may detest some american policies, but i'm still a bi-product of it's mess, and that makes me an american like it or not.

the diabolical way in which america has worked so hard to erradicate other cultures will be reckoned with, one day or another, because for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction....

that much i think is true.

JayBee said...

they washed them down in kerosene? seems extreme.

JayBee said...

and i didn't know about that smallpox blanket thing, but that goes with the tuskeegee experiment...although we know that happened much later.

Lena said...

As many have already said, I believe it's because of their fear of the unknown and it's also ignorance. The movie Crash is a wonderful example of this for multiple races and religions. America is this melting pot that we claim to be, in my sociology courses we prefer the term "Salad". Lie you said, everybody is out to prove who is right and the most righteous but we're all at fault for one thing or another.

Anonymous said...

word to everything you said.

msladyDeborah said...

It is always difficult to understand what fuels prejudices.

Many people do not put forth the effort to learn about other people's culture or beliefs.

Christians are often the most biased people when it comes to learning about the belief systems of others. Ironically many Christians do not take time to learn about the Jewish connection to Christanity either.

I have a friend who did a social science experiment to see how people treated people from different cultures.

She dressed like a Somolian woman and headed across the Oval of Ohio State on her way to class.

To her surprise the most difficulty that she encountered was with other black people.

At one point she tells how a group of black males tell her to get out of "our country" and go home. That was the remark that made her break character so she could cuss them out.

Perhaps there will be a time when people are at the high peak of accepting others who are different.

Perhaps we will be blessed to see that happen.

Marina said...

Peace my Brotha! Thanks for stopping by my blog and dropping off some luv. I like what you're doing here as well. And no doubt, you are on point with this thought! Religion and politics, two subjects most Americans can't talk about without somebody losing their cool. I commend you for taking on the tough subjects. Let's stay in touch my brotha,
Marina

Curious said...

Whoa, let's not paint all of us with the same brush. I have lived in fairly cosmopolitan cities for much of my early life where differences were the first thing that you learned in life. Some people choose to fight and be frightened by them and others don't. I didn't, but maybe because I have always been in the minority wherever I've been so I could be biased.

But since I was born when the Beatles were still together I grew up believing the words of the John Lennon song Imagine:

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

Call me Marxist, pinko or stupid but hating people just for who they are or what group they belong to, just aint my line of business. I usually get to know them 1st, then I hate them, LOL.

BTW Jackie is an arabic name? The things you learn on this blog.

Anonymous said...

For whatever reason America has a hatred for those folks over there, which is why we are over there still destroying their country. The only righteous war is the one that is carried out by the almighty himself and that is not America because America is not God!

:::Marcus LANGFORD:::

Anonymous said...

Curious Jackie is my blog moniker it has nothing to do with my real name just like I have a Pam Grier photo in the box it keeps me private in the world wide web. My names means woman and is a verse in the Holy Koran.

Curious said...

Jackie, yes I had figured out that with a profile picture of Pam Grier that the name Jackie might have been based on Jackie Brown, the last Pam Grier picture I saw and not your real name.

I know that names given to us or acquired in later life are very important to most people and should be respected. My feeble attempt to find irony and humor was not meant in anyway to disparage your real name or you. Regardless I'm sorry, whether you took offense in it or not.

Anonymous said...

And then there's the tricky business of names. We can change our names here, and become anonymous, or look like Pam Grier, but the children of Pratt's experiment were given Anglicized names in order to meld them into new Anglo personnae. The thing is, it didn't really make the racist culture into which they were thrust, accept them. They were still Lakota, or Dine, or Haudesonee, or Anishinaabe, and on and on. We are talking about hundreds of different cultures blended into one. It didn't work, it couldn't work not because of who the children were, but because of who the dominant culture was (is).

Kudo's to RDB for this history lesson. Very few get it.

Yobachi said...

Raw Dawg, in order to sooth their seering souls, disguise the history and culture of extreme inhumane violence, and to justify the blood lust for econonic and religious reason; they must perpetuate derogatory myths about those they wish to enslave and brutalize; and even convince themselves of the others innate evilness. Therefore, they're not really human, so it doesn't really matter what you do to them.

This has been seen time and time again throughout world history. That's how they justified the Crusades, that's how they justified the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade and that's how they justify the War on Arabism, I mean Terrorism.

shine said...

"General Amherst gave Indians blankets infected with Small Pox... Although Jeffery was officially an English Lord by my recollection of history, he was the one that first introduced germ warfare."

You are so on point. I am always cognizant of this fact. In my first year of school, a young chap sneezed on me in the library and I was infected right before final exams. We seem to forget that the American government has built the template for terrorism— never forget Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

And...like Aunt Jackie, I too have an easily identifiable Muslim name, although I am not Muslim. Needless to say, I hate sending out resumes. Let us remember that Barack once called himself Barry.

People are so afraid of nuance. In the end, they turn to half-truths, more palatable I guess, to avoid the complexities of Islam, terrorism and the grand ole US of A.

BTW: I'm going into public interest law--working at a public interest law firm this summer. I tried blogrolling(?) you--no luck. Can you help a sister out?

All-Mi-T [Thought Crime] Rawdawgbuffalo said...

Tha BossMack TopSoil & nywele & Lina
i can buy that for a $ if u add nescience to it

Lina

thanks hon but most folk care more about jay z wedding than history


Aunt Jackie
u always tell it like it is


JayBee
just like stick moth screws in slaves to force them to eat and rif




Emeritus said...
word to everything you said.

May 12, 2008 9:10 PM

thanks scholar, how is ucla


msladydeborah
all i can add is aint that the truth


Marina
no thank u and come back if u can

Curious
ok you are right and you sound like a poet


Marcus LANGFORD
yep or love for greed and wealth over humannity


Anonymous
nope kudos 2 u for reading it

Yobachi
need i say more great point

shine
just represent to the fullest, u will mke a great barrister

Sista GP said...

As a senior in high school, I enrolled into a World Religions course. It was just something to fill one of the 5 electives needed to graduate.
Surprisingly it was one of the best courses I've ever had. We covered Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism.
Despite the many differences, there was one common theme, respect for other people/things.
This should have been a required course for everyone.

Fear can come from lack of knowledge.

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