Crazy things are afoot these days. Governments all across the Middle East are in turmoil as the citizens take to the streets to demand political reform. Tunisia and Egypt’s respective governments are already defunct and it looks like Jordan and Yemen may be following suit – while rumblings in Syria and Iran are being put down the old-fashioned way – with batons and tear gas. As usual, America is walking a fine line between ideals and total hypocrisy. We gave a sort of quasi-support to the Egyptian people and a whole-hearted “heck yeah!” to the citizens of Iran – while our response to the protests in Yemen and Jordan has been much more muted. Of course in those countries the governments tend to side with America, while the citizens, well, not necessarily so. Hence the tepid response in Egypt as well.
Like everyone else I am curious to see how all of this shakes out. Democracy is dicey business. Even here in the States where we’ve supposedly been practicing the stuff for over a couple of centuries we seem to get handed a phony bill of sale more often than not.
Not “Sexual Assault” – Rape
My thoughts and prayers right now are with CBS News correspondent Lara Logan, who was apparently attacked, beaten, and raped by a mob of “celebrating” Egyptians after the fall of Mubarak. Maybe it’s too soon to be writing about this – most of the media is staying away from the story and for good reasons of privacy and decorum. Myself I shudder at the thought. My hope for Logan is a speedy recovery, but it’s going to be a weird one, played out in the public eye. My hope for the rest of us is that her ordeal sparks a lengthy and long-overdue discussion on the treatment of women both in the Middle East and around the world. The plight of women and children in some parts of the Middle East has troubled me ever since reports of the Taliban’s cruel and draconian enforcement of Sharia law made the news a few years before 911. Since our invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan even more disturbing reports have continuously seeped out of that region. Granted some of it may be propaganda – but there is too much to chalk up entirely to the whims of government-sanctioned media bias. From the mandatory burkas to the stoning of teen “adulteresses” to the systematic molestation of “dancing boys” revealed in leaked military documents – there appears to be a sinister, misogynistic culture in place in much of the Middle East. I don’t mean to give the U.S. a pass – we certainly have our issues too – but at the very least people are not beating and raping journalists in the streets.
I don’t understand this – I mean, a rapist who takes something so personal from someone else – that scars the women for sure, but it must scar the rapist as well. There must be a hardening of the heart and soul that takes place, or has taken place, that allows someone to carry out that kind of action.
Dehumanization, I guess. Isn’t that the story again and again? Xenophobia – the fear of the other. Segregate, stereotype, dehumanize, attack. A tried and true series of tactics used throughout the ages to perpetrate inhuman acts of violence and aggression against otherwise ordinary citizens. Where does it come from? Why? Any ideas?
madbob@madbob.com
2 comments:
Lara Logan has made some public appearances I think since her ordeal went down, but not in a professional capacity at her day-job.
I also think Logan's misfortune was more a vengeful scheme by people who detained her week before (she was deported once and came back) than random mob-violence.
There is problem with sexual harassment and general misogyny in Egypt I think, but whoever ultimately is responsible for attacking Logan was taking advantage of that more than it spontaneously erupting out of that crowd.
I could be wrong, but something about that story and then the pin-drop silence on any follow up tingles my proverbial tin-foil hat.
Yeah honestly I wrote this piece right after the event, and now I probably would have worded it differently. It was a reactionary column, as most of them are. Thanks for the comment.
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