consider yourselves lucky, you get 2 consecutive blog entries in as many days...
alright, allow me to vet a bit this morning (i need it); check out this article from the NYT, i've included some clips below:
"Senator John McCain apologized Tuesday after a conservative radio host who helped introduce him before a rally used Senator Barack Obama’s middle name, Hussein, three times, while disparaging him....
“Whatever suggestion that was made that was any way disparaging to the integrity, character, honesty of either Senator Obama or Senator Clinton was wrong,” Mr. McCain said. “I condemn it, and if I have any responsibility, I will take the responsibility, and I apologize for it.”...
He also said that it was not appropriate to invoke Mr. Obama’s middle name. “I absolutely repudiate such comments,” Mr. McCain said. “It will never happen again.”"
This angers me. and NO, im not angry with the radio commentator for using BO's middle name. I'm angry at john mccain and the media actually for insinuating that somehow someone's middle name is inappropriate to use addressing a person. if the commentator decides to try to suggest something by using BO's middle name, he's simply a coward and needs to say in plain words what he wants to convey. HOWEVER, the notion that somehow a man who's name comes from an immigrant father should be ashamed of his name because its muslim is offensive and clearly, hypocritical. For years now, the Bush administration has been attempting to paint the war on terrorism as a war on militant islamists, not on the muslim faith. mccain's claim that it is inapprorpiate to use BO's middle name, doesn't exactly help the cause. it has the undertones that if you have a muslim (or just different) name, you should attempt to somehow hide it because it would conjure up some memories.
what this is, is a slap to the american intellectual ability (this will probably be the only time that i'll defend americans as been smart). its offensive to think that americans aren't smart enough to know that not everyone named hussein is a bad person (and i would venture to claim that many many americans, especially young americans, know someone, someone good, named hussein). so why label the use of one's middle name as inappropriate, never to be used again? its his friggin middle name. use it. let everyone know that your name does not prescribe that theres a target on your head.
i'm probably botching up this argument, cuz it was very much a knee jerk reaction, but the article and mccain's apology just seems to imply that somehow BO should be ashamed of his middle name and no one should use it. everyone should use their middle names and be proud of it, if they so wish. and people wonder why i strongly dislike republicans at times. this is why.
btw, anyone that wants to use Oluwatofarati is more than welcome to use it when introducing me. And if anyone apologizes to me and implies that somehow its offensive to use my middle name, i'll cut u. [end rant]
6 comments:
Luckily, nobody had a middle name in France :)
Clément, leaving tonight for holidays in the West Indies, youpi !
Understood Folu. I agree with you in principle. Forgetting the "cut you" remark, here is the point. This also has a lot to do with rumors that Obama is a Muslim hence the controversy. These rumors have not gone away. A co-worker just asked me about it two weeks ago. It's all kinda muddled up right now, but in principle, yes it is his middle name. In practise, it is the swiftboating of an otherwise innocent action if I can use that term in this sence.
so wemi, basically the american people are stupid and will believe anything u tell them (or insinuate to them). yea i agree, but its a shame.
i think it's more a matter of psychology than intellect. i don't think that (most) americans would actively assume that someone with hussein as a middle name is a bad person...yes, I think most ppl are smarter than that. but if somewhere in your subconscious, you associate the word hussein with terrorism, then it will influence your reaction. No matter how logical it actually is (or isn't)...that's just the way the human brain works, by association. Whether you want it to or not.
by the way, can i get a pronunciation guide? When i introduce you i want to make sure i'm saying it right.
Also to add to nyla's comment is like if your middle name was Hitler (Adolf is still a little more subtle). If you are running for president in Israel or even mayor of New York, that's something you don't want going around. Don't forget that Hussein is Saddam's last name. Hence the unintended association. Yes the American electorate swallows "it" as they are given. Such is the nature of lack of cynicism in politics.
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