For some reason, I can't seem to get the recent death of the U.S. ambassador in Libya out of my head. Being in Singapore, this topic is not even on the radar in the news cycles. But I felt deeply affected when I heard of the circumstances involving the anti-Muslim video, the subsequent rioting, and ultimately the tragic death of innocent people. In fact, ew and I had a heated discussion on it where we agreed to disagree, which was probably the first time that I can remember in our relationship where we were not able to meet each other halfway.
I do not condone the violent actions of the Libyans, actions that resulted in several deaths. But at the same time, I do not condone the actions of the anti-Muslims who produced and distributed the video, particularly since there had been prior history with these people doing sacrilegious things, like burning the Koran. And I think a lot of the narrative that will surround these events is that it was only a video, that there is freedom of speech, and that people should not react as the Libyans did. That narrative is correct, but I believe it is also idealistic and not reflective of how we actually interact with each other in a global world. It reminds me of the movie Do The Right Thing, and how accurately that film portrayed race relations--nothing is really that black or white.
Full disclosure: I have not actually seen Do The Right Thing. But for some reason (probably because of Spike Lee's most recent release of Red Hook Summer), I read the plot summary and critical analysis of the film. In the film, long-standing racial tension between blacks and whites (and Koreans) ultimately leads to violence after a series of escalating events. And I think this is what is missing when we talk about this Libya incident: the long standing tension that exists with Muslims and Americans. Full disclosure again: I am not Muslim. But let's walk through how a Muslim may process things. First, there's been an ongoing conflict with Christians for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Second, post-September 11, there's been a huge backlash against Muslims, particularly from the United States, with aggression into Iraq and Afghanistan. Third, with Arab Spring, there's been a lot of instability due to a disaffected population, exacerbated by United States involvement in trying to influence these new democracies. From this perspective, someone in the United States has created a video that is hateful to who you are as a person (a Muslim), and from your perspective (where such speech against Islam is not allowed), the release of this video in the United States is seen as an approved video. Perhaps you didn't intend to kill anyone, but when mobs gather, things tend to get out of control. Just look at the Rodney King riots.
Ew claims that I am being sympathetic to the Libyans. I believe they did an inexcusable act. I don't think just saying something allows anyone to act violently. But I think we need to acknowledge that there is more complexity here than simply saying, "There's no place for violence in response to a silly video." Let's go back to Do The Right Thing. Did anyone do the right thing? Radio Raheem plays his boombox at deafening levels and drives everyone in the pizza shop crazy. Sal smashes his boombox to pieces, prompting him to act angrily. The cops see an intimidating figure and attack Radio Raheem. Small things can escalate to big things when there is that much history and tension. Sal is correct in saying he's free to put pictures of whoever he wants on the wall. Radio Raheem is correct in saying Sal should acknowledge that his store is mostly patronized by black people. These are the freedoms people have and in an ideal society, it stays at this level of discourse. But words are hurtful. And they can incite, particularly with sensitive topics like race and religion. At the end of Do The Right Thing, Spike Lee puts two quotes: one by MLK advocating non-violence and the other by Malcom X advocating violence "if necessary." People need to understand that we all need to do the right thing.
There's an advice column that I'm a bit addicted to called Dear Prudie. One of the things that Prudie is very adamant about is the fact that woman need to take precautions and protect themselves when going out and hooking up with guys. She advocates not drinking to the point of losing control, such that women put themselves at a higher risk of rape. A lot of people respond by claiming that just because a girl goes out and has fun, that doesn't give guys the right to rape her. And Prudie wholeheartedly agrees. She does not condone rape in any manner and acknowledges that the girl is still the victim. However, she makes it clear that she does not believe the world works in such a way. Guys don't act like that. We can all hope that they change and every guy becomes respectful of a drunk girl, but if not, then the girl also needs to take responsibility. That's kind of how I feel about this Libya situation. I don't think we live in an ideal society. I believe we should strive to MLK's ideal. But we also have to recognize that the world doesn't always operate the way we Americans think it should (nor does the United States for that matter). I honestly believe the United States is the most tolerant country in the world. It is an amazing place where most people can speak freely and not worry as much about discrimination. But we have to understand that our American ideals and principles don't necessarily translate globally. And that requires us to take responsibility to do the right thing, to understand that there may be consequences to things we would tolerate domestically. Like a video condemning Muslims.
This article may be better at capturing the thoughts I have tried to express: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/09/the-contradictions-of-diplomacy/262271/
I do not condone the violent actions of the Libyans, actions that resulted in several deaths. But at the same time, I do not condone the actions of the anti-Muslims who produced and distributed the video, particularly since there had been prior history with these people doing sacrilegious things, like burning the Koran. And I think a lot of the narrative that will surround these events is that it was only a video, that there is freedom of speech, and that people should not react as the Libyans did. That narrative is correct, but I believe it is also idealistic and not reflective of how we actually interact with each other in a global world. It reminds me of the movie Do The Right Thing, and how accurately that film portrayed race relations--nothing is really that black or white.
Full disclosure: I have not actually seen Do The Right Thing. But for some reason (probably because of Spike Lee's most recent release of Red Hook Summer), I read the plot summary and critical analysis of the film. In the film, long-standing racial tension between blacks and whites (and Koreans) ultimately leads to violence after a series of escalating events. And I think this is what is missing when we talk about this Libya incident: the long standing tension that exists with Muslims and Americans. Full disclosure again: I am not Muslim. But let's walk through how a Muslim may process things. First, there's been an ongoing conflict with Christians for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Second, post-September 11, there's been a huge backlash against Muslims, particularly from the United States, with aggression into Iraq and Afghanistan. Third, with Arab Spring, there's been a lot of instability due to a disaffected population, exacerbated by United States involvement in trying to influence these new democracies. From this perspective, someone in the United States has created a video that is hateful to who you are as a person (a Muslim), and from your perspective (where such speech against Islam is not allowed), the release of this video in the United States is seen as an approved video. Perhaps you didn't intend to kill anyone, but when mobs gather, things tend to get out of control. Just look at the Rodney King riots.
Ew claims that I am being sympathetic to the Libyans. I believe they did an inexcusable act. I don't think just saying something allows anyone to act violently. But I think we need to acknowledge that there is more complexity here than simply saying, "There's no place for violence in response to a silly video." Let's go back to Do The Right Thing. Did anyone do the right thing? Radio Raheem plays his boombox at deafening levels and drives everyone in the pizza shop crazy. Sal smashes his boombox to pieces, prompting him to act angrily. The cops see an intimidating figure and attack Radio Raheem. Small things can escalate to big things when there is that much history and tension. Sal is correct in saying he's free to put pictures of whoever he wants on the wall. Radio Raheem is correct in saying Sal should acknowledge that his store is mostly patronized by black people. These are the freedoms people have and in an ideal society, it stays at this level of discourse. But words are hurtful. And they can incite, particularly with sensitive topics like race and religion. At the end of Do The Right Thing, Spike Lee puts two quotes: one by MLK advocating non-violence and the other by Malcom X advocating violence "if necessary." People need to understand that we all need to do the right thing.
There's an advice column that I'm a bit addicted to called Dear Prudie. One of the things that Prudie is very adamant about is the fact that woman need to take precautions and protect themselves when going out and hooking up with guys. She advocates not drinking to the point of losing control, such that women put themselves at a higher risk of rape. A lot of people respond by claiming that just because a girl goes out and has fun, that doesn't give guys the right to rape her. And Prudie wholeheartedly agrees. She does not condone rape in any manner and acknowledges that the girl is still the victim. However, she makes it clear that she does not believe the world works in such a way. Guys don't act like that. We can all hope that they change and every guy becomes respectful of a drunk girl, but if not, then the girl also needs to take responsibility. That's kind of how I feel about this Libya situation. I don't think we live in an ideal society. I believe we should strive to MLK's ideal. But we also have to recognize that the world doesn't always operate the way we Americans think it should (nor does the United States for that matter). I honestly believe the United States is the most tolerant country in the world. It is an amazing place where most people can speak freely and not worry as much about discrimination. But we have to understand that our American ideals and principles don't necessarily translate globally. And that requires us to take responsibility to do the right thing, to understand that there may be consequences to things we would tolerate domestically. Like a video condemning Muslims.
This article may be better at capturing the thoughts I have tried to express: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/09/the-contradictions-of-diplomacy/262271/
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