We live at a moment in history when tyrants hold forth with none to stop them. Ahmadinejad-the-Monster held forth in all his western-suited glory at the UN and so did the terrorist, Gaddafi.
No one at the UN stopped the Libyan madman from speaking well beyond his allotted 15 minutes. If the UN can’t even do this, can you imagine them actually stopping a genocide or a terrorist plot in process?
If they can’t or won’t, why are we funding them? Why do they exist?
The American President has decided to “engage” with the UN and with the world of tyrants. Perhaps he can, perhaps he thinks like them. Me - I have an increasingly hard time dealing with their righteous arrogance and post-colonial resentments, not to mention their demonization of Israel. For example, let me share two recent conversations with you.
In retrospect, both conversations were a little like talking to Red Guard Maoist youth leaders in 1949 in China.
The first conversation took place in Rome at the international conference I attended. In my speech I referred to “third world” countries. Immediately afterwards, a young woman in a business suit (pants and a jacket) started following me around. She was from South Africa and was pleasant enough but strangely persistent. She said: “We do not say ‘third world.’ That suggests that one world is ‘first’ and the others, last, or lesser. We would like you to say ‘developing world’ instead. Isn’t that more hopeful?”
Said I: “You make an interesting point and I actually agree with you. Going forward, I might do as you suggest.”
But she was programmed to go on, to wear down, force concessions, so that everyone will think exactly as she does. She was not used to easy victories and did not seem to hear or believe me. She continued explaining why ‘third world’ was a derogatory phrase and not a good post-colonial way of thinking.
I repeated that I agreed with her. When she continued to press on, I backed away. Afterwards, I thought that she had shown very little respect for one of the keynote speakers (myself) whose presentation had just excited a good deal of interest. Ah–she was psychologically programmed to go after those in positions of authority.
The second conversation took place in New York City. I was interviewing a college graduate for a potential position. One young woman identified herself as a feminist—but then quickly told me she was a Muslim and that some of her female relatives wear hijab and that their decision was a private one that no government should abrogate.
I said that given my work and given how strongly I’d bonded with a stellar group of Muslim feminists at the conference in Rome, I would welcome a Muslim feminist on the job. And, I agreed with her about the importance of separating religion from state–but then said that the matter was still exceedingly tricky.
Said I: “One does not want the government mixing in matters of religion or telling women what to wear but as long as Muslim girls and women can be killed for refusing to wear hijab, how can we as feminists fully support it?”
Throwing all caution to the winds, I referred her to my website and recommended some books including Nonie Darwish’s Cruel and Usual Punishment, and a new and rather elegant little book by Marnia Lazreg titled Questioning the Veil. Open Letters to Muslim Women.
I should have kept my mouth shut. Read more here ...
Source: Chesler Chronicles
No one at the UN stopped the Libyan madman from speaking well beyond his allotted 15 minutes. If the UN can’t even do this, can you imagine them actually stopping a genocide or a terrorist plot in process?
If they can’t or won’t, why are we funding them? Why do they exist?
The American President has decided to “engage” with the UN and with the world of tyrants. Perhaps he can, perhaps he thinks like them. Me - I have an increasingly hard time dealing with their righteous arrogance and post-colonial resentments, not to mention their demonization of Israel. For example, let me share two recent conversations with you.
In retrospect, both conversations were a little like talking to Red Guard Maoist youth leaders in 1949 in China.
The first conversation took place in Rome at the international conference I attended. In my speech I referred to “third world” countries. Immediately afterwards, a young woman in a business suit (pants and a jacket) started following me around. She was from South Africa and was pleasant enough but strangely persistent. She said: “We do not say ‘third world.’ That suggests that one world is ‘first’ and the others, last, or lesser. We would like you to say ‘developing world’ instead. Isn’t that more hopeful?”
Said I: “You make an interesting point and I actually agree with you. Going forward, I might do as you suggest.”
But she was programmed to go on, to wear down, force concessions, so that everyone will think exactly as she does. She was not used to easy victories and did not seem to hear or believe me. She continued explaining why ‘third world’ was a derogatory phrase and not a good post-colonial way of thinking.
I repeated that I agreed with her. When she continued to press on, I backed away. Afterwards, I thought that she had shown very little respect for one of the keynote speakers (myself) whose presentation had just excited a good deal of interest. Ah–she was psychologically programmed to go after those in positions of authority.
The second conversation took place in New York City. I was interviewing a college graduate for a potential position. One young woman identified herself as a feminist—but then quickly told me she was a Muslim and that some of her female relatives wear hijab and that their decision was a private one that no government should abrogate.
I said that given my work and given how strongly I’d bonded with a stellar group of Muslim feminists at the conference in Rome, I would welcome a Muslim feminist on the job. And, I agreed with her about the importance of separating religion from state–but then said that the matter was still exceedingly tricky.
Said I: “One does not want the government mixing in matters of religion or telling women what to wear but as long as Muslim girls and women can be killed for refusing to wear hijab, how can we as feminists fully support it?”
Throwing all caution to the winds, I referred her to my website and recommended some books including Nonie Darwish’s Cruel and Usual Punishment, and a new and rather elegant little book by Marnia Lazreg titled Questioning the Veil. Open Letters to Muslim Women.
I should have kept my mouth shut. Read more here ...
Source: Chesler Chronicles
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