I don’t watch much TV at all, so it’s probably no surprise that I’ve never seen MTV’s Jersey Shore. As my favorite Governor said, it’s not like those people are from NJ anyway. And although I live very near the Jersey Shore, I have so little in common with those people that I don’t feel too affected by anything that they do. It really has nothing to do with me.
Like I said, I’ve never seen the show, but I did watch the Jersey-Shore based episode of Southpark where the people from the MTV show attempt to take over America. That episode expends a lot of energy making fun of the hyperbolic fear that some people in Middle America really feel when they think about New Jersey’s citizens. Obviously, it’s not really like that. Most people in New Jersey are just like the people everywhere else. And the vast majority of us are just as horrified by that imported collection of MTV imbeciles as the rest of the country.
My point though is that when someone finds out that I live in New Jersey, and even worse – very close to the beach, thanks to MTV they now have very unrealistic expectations about my dress, my behavior, and even my accent. Based on those assumptions I wouldn’t be too surprised if they wanted nothing to do with me on principle, although I think a sense of morbid curiosity would probably be more typical.
But however they feel, I don’t see it as their problem. They are entitled to feel any way they like about people from my area. If all they know is that TV show, then I think they have the wrong impression, but it’s still their prerogative. And if I want them to feel differently about me and my family, then the responsibility falls on me to show them the error of their ways. It would only take a moment or two for most people to see their wrong, and I think once corrected about the real ‘Jersey shore’, most minds will probably stay changed.
I think there is a parallel there for America’s Muslim community. Like it or not, a bunch of guys (about as many as appear on the MTV show actually) hijacked planes and flew them into buildings in the name of Allah. If they don’t like that image, then it’s their responsibility to change people’s minds. Maybe they agree with that view, in which case they should go ahead and broadcast that fact and learn to live with making most Americans ‘ill at ease’. But if they want to be accepted on any other terms, then the responsibility for making people feel comfortable falls directly on them.
Juan Williams did nothing wrong at all except honestly express his perfectly rational feelings on the subject. If mainstream Muslims don’t like his anxiety and think it’s misplaced, then it’s their responsibility to change that. As you can imagine, liberals don’t see it that way. In their minds it’s Williams’ responsibility to purge himself of any thoughts that would constitute liberal heresy, however justified they may be. This is stupidity on stilts – even for liberals. And this episode with Williams is showing their true colors in all their rigidly conformist ugliness.
We teach people how to treat us. If I don’t mind being treated like those idiots on MTV, then I can go ahead and look and act exactly like them, but then I’d have to live with the consequences. The same is true for America’s broader Muslim community. If they don’t like the assumptions that people are making about them thanks to 9-11, all they have to do is act differently, and most people will eventually learn.
4 comments:
I don't mean to nit pick. But your observation and remedy that it is up to them to change how people perceive them is a bit irrelavant. No matter how logical it may be to me or yourself. You simply skip the simple fact that they don't have the same thought process as us. Just me using 'us' is a mistake because their are some of 'us' who want to go along with 'them' for whatever gain. Fact of the matter is..America has an education system, immigration system, and a large portion of the political system that has intentionaly promoting a foreign way of thinking than that which this country was founded on and intended to produce. This has going on for some time. People raised in that 'other' way of thinking. And already raised their own kids in it. America isn't going to change with a one sentance cunclusion
who doesn't think like us Arlo ... Liberals? If that's who you meant then I dispute your definition of the kind of projection, rationalization and ego stroking that liberals typically engage in as 'thinking'. Self congratulation is not a sound basis for social policy no matter how much a liberal's insecurity needs it to be so.
But if you mean Muslim's then I respectfully disagree. There are a lot of Muslims in this country with no axe to grind and who are interested only in assimilation. Don't go thinking CAIR speaks for everyone in that community. And if CAIR does speak for them, then I would insisting that they 'live with the consequences'.
O.K. Tom, let's put it this way. You and I probably come to a lot of the same conclusions to issues presented to us. Let's multiply that so we can assume there are other Americans. We also must make a distinction between mob mentality or individual rights. I notice you didn't say Muslim American. Have you read the headlines for London, Britain.
What if I told you that conservatives have no representation. That the Dem. party is the socialist party and the Rep. party is the Dem. party?
The Tea Party is building a foundation for a reason.
Now, you and I have to exist. An average Muslim in America has to exist. No matter what you or I think, and these moderate Muslims of yours agree with to be peaceful. Our (American politicians) are doing business with CAIR. Our freak'n government makes policy based on CAIR and ghetto pimps. Nothing you logicaly think means nothing.
Have you stopped and thought why America is going into and actually is in bankruptcy? You take white snabs who like to tell other white people who failed is because they don't think right. I'm telling you (plural) it is you who isn't thinking right. You voted. You complied with Corporate. (who get kickback from whom you voted for).
here's something for ya. I was working as a cook in a restaurant in Atlanta. My hair was getting long so I began wearing a bandanna. For self instinct and obvious food handling reasons. Also there was a waitress from New Jersey. End of shift moment at the bar. Jersey girl commented on my look with a bandanna. Told her it was for working with food and hair deal. For at least 15 minutes to walking away she couldn't get passed the idea that the bandanna wasn't for a 'look' but for the job position. That in itself was an enlightenment that some people just want to go on with their own thought process.
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