Monday, September 21, 2009
He's an Arab
McCain's response to this woman's accusation that "Obama is an Arab" surfaces collective racism against Arabs in the United States. Just watch the crowd's reaction for their approval of McCain's "careful handling" of an "extreme question." Perhaps if McCain had more time to answer, he would have disguised his racism better. But this video clearly shows the immediate connection between the word "Arab" and American fear. When did "Arab" become a buzz word and the antonym of "a decent, family-man citizen?" What would have happened if the woman would have said "I heard he's Hispanic," or "he's Native American?" Would McCain have associated these minorities with acts of terror? His fear is not new and nor is it an appropriate reaction to actual acts of violence perpetrated by Arabs. Arabs are decent, family-man citizens too, and when will the rest of America begin to empathize with them? When will we stop seeing harmless fellow citizens as the enemy? Have we learned nothing from McCarthyism and centuries of our country's shameful oppression of other minorities?
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ReplyDeleteIt is sick how this statement was used during the election. There was a clear element in the American public that wanted to exploit this for political gain.
ReplyDeleteHow did you post a video clip like that? I've been trying to post one too, instead of hyperlinking it...
ReplyDeleteWow! This is the first time I have seen this. I watched the clip before I read your response, and to be honest my initial feeling was that the woman was going to make a racist Arab comment and McCain was going to resolve it in some neutral way. Instead, his immediate reaction is to assume that Obama could not be 'Arab' because he is a decent, family man. It's as though he was reacting to her directly calling him a terrorist...
ReplyDeleteI was well aware of this sort of phenomenon happening throughout the 2009 Presidential election. Given our illusions of American superiority and how we've been brainwashed by conservative politics into believing that all persons of Middle Eastern descent are terrorists, I don't find this shocking. During the election, media attention focused highly upon Obama's middle name: Hussein.
ReplyDeleteNice point, Ashley, and good to see video on your blog. McCain thought he was being balanced, but the Arab slur is so standard that he probably didn't even realize what he was doing.
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