As many of you know, one of the things that matter to me is transforming the converations of race and racism not only in the US but in the world. This was how I began promoting the practice of AGREE TO BE OFFENDED (and stay in the conversation anyhow), which was a gift from a young Korean woman in a hip-hop class I taught at NYU in 2005. We got that people always take things personally and that the groundrule of agreeing to be offended allowed us to openly say so and stay connected. This allowed the possibility of transforming any barrier between people. I am playing to transform racism.
As a professor of anthropology and as a singer-songwriter, I can make a difference in practicing and sharing a new kind of courage and compassion for anothers' worldview. I can combat ethnocentrism by not being ethnocentric myself and inviting others to call me on my own if it surfaces. Most of us did not LEARN to have a capacity for all of humanity however it shows up, esp. when it does not conform to our worldview. Especially when my worldview, not theirs, leads to fear and hatred. It's my worldview I must be vigilant against not others. I've been noticing how fear impacts me not only around race/racism but in how often I hear the fear around this financial crisis. Even in parts of the world where there is NO money to be found, invested or stretched, humans beings have a remarkable spirit to survive and tolerate difference in times of war and poverty.
FEAR-MONGERING IN THE US ELECTION
ColorofChange.org (Changing the Color of Democracy) has captured evidence of McCain and Palin race-baiting the issue of Obama being a terrorist at rallies and evidence that supporters at these McCain/Palin rallies have yelled "kill him,"1 "terrorist,"2 "traitor!"3 and "off with his head!"4 about Obama. There videos and other references to this evidence are listed below.
What I find most interesting is how the U.S. media is underreporting the actual evidence and only commenting on the possible race-baiting involved. Meanwhile the English version of the Arabic-language news network is breaking the news quite effectively in this video. Al-Jazeera English TV is the only independent Middle Eastern news outlet. featuring great background pieces and global reactions to current news. How ironic. This Islamaphobia that has invaded US whisper campaigns has many non-muslim or non-Arab citizens and immigrants unwilling to investigate the veracity of not only the claims against Obama but to insist our national media outlets and the McCain campaign stop this hate inciting speech among white working class Americans who fear Obama will make America 'black'.
American citizens have never have heard of AlJazeera before it broadcast Osama bin Laden's videos, and guilt by association, is not a democratic value. This video reveals aspects of American culture we rarely see on CBS, NBC, or ABC News soundbytes this election season. Thank godness for the Web 2.0 era where many alternative and even ordinary broadcasters can get the message out.FROM WIKIPEDIA: Al Jazeera (Arabic: الجزيرة, al-jazīrah, IPA: [aldʒaˈziːra], meaning "The Island," referring to their status as the only independent Middle Eastern news station[1], is a television network headquartered in Doha, Qatar. Initially launched as an Arabic news and current affairs satellite TV channel with the same name, Al Jazeera has since expanded into a network with several outlets, including the Internet and specialty TV channels in multiple languages, and in several regions of the world.
The original Al Jazeera channel's willingness to broadcast dissenting views, including on call-in shows, created controversies in Persian Gulf States. The station gained worldwide attention following the September 11, 2001 attacks, when it broadcast video statements by Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaeda leaders (see Videos of Osama bin Laden).
References
1. "Unleashed, Palin Makes a Pit Bull Look Tame," Washington Post, 10/07/08
http://tinyurl.com/3wmg4c
2. "Obama called a terrorist" (video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
3. "McCain Supporter Yells Out 'Traitor!'" (video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
4. "McCain's 'Fellow Prisoners'," First Read, 10/08/08
http://tinyurl.com/4qc5vn
5. McCain-Obama Presidential Debate Transcript, Commission on Presidential Debates, 10/15/08
http://www.debates.org/pages/
6. "TV Ad: Dangerous", John McCain campaign, 10/06/08
http://tinyurl.com/48j9uj
7. See reference 1.
8. See reference 1.
9. "'Kill Him' Yell At Clearwater Palin Rally Being Probed," Tampa Bay Online, 10/10/08
http://tinyurl.com/442vn5
10. See reference 4.
11. "McCain camp defends the behavior?," First Read, 10/10/08
http://tinyurl.com/4az7uw
12. "John Lewis vs. John McCain," First Read, 10/11/08
http://tinyurl.com/3m6qln
13. "The Sidewalk to Nowhere, McCain Supporters in Bethlehem, PA" (video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
14. "Misconceptions of Obama fuel Republican campaign" (video), Al-Jazeera, 10/13/08
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
15. "Florida Sheriff Intros Palin, Says 'Barack Hussein Obama'," (video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
16. "McCain and Palin in Bethlehem: A live report!" Philly.com, 10/08/08
http://tinyurl.com/3wvq9x
17. "Who is Barack Obama?" Snopes.com, January 2008
http://www.snopes.com/
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