Saturday, November 14, 2009

The American Terrorist

First off, I'm really sorry to anyone who was waiting on my weekly drop. I've been really busy. I originally had another topic planned, but I changed it up after seeing a movie tonight.


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I just finished watching "Crossing Over" and my mind = blown.


It deals with the issue of deportation, and more importantly, self-identification with a country as a minority. For example: I'm Filipino, but not very Filipino by any means. My closest friend's aren't Filipino, and unlike most of my race, I prefer not to stick with my race - I like a little diversity. Am I Filipino, or Canadian?


I'm digressing - so that's enough about me, let's get into a part of the movie that had my mind going off in different tangents:


A Middle-Eastern muslim girl shared her perspective about 9/11 to her class. Her stance was: (in a nutshell) "As a muslim, I can understand why they felt the need to be heard - but I can't agree with the way they went about it." She was then shamed by her whole class. It jumps to a scene where she's having supper with her parents and her two siblings. They hear a knock on the door. Guess who? It's the FBI, and they've got a warrant (and here I am thinking that my doormat was fool-proof...) They've been tipped off that she's a potential terrorist. They go into her room and find paper with writings about suicide; It's her school notes about whether suicide is moral, but now It's a diary for how she justifies strapping bombs to herself. They search her computer and find her debating on a Muslim forum about whole concept of the Jihad; As a conscious Muslim, she feels the need to be educated on her Religion, as well as take in different view points. That forum is now irrefutable evidence that she's a suicide bomber.


Let's keep in mind that she got to America when she was 3, can't speak her native language, and is 15 years old. Aside from the fact that she's a devout Muslim, she's about as American as it can get (...or can't. Zagga-zing!)


Her parents and her are actually illegal immigrants, so she now has 3 options:

- Risk deportation of the whole family

- Another option which she obviously wouldn't pick (sorry, I can't remember it)

- Voluntary departure with a parent, while the other parent stays with her 2 citizen siblings (that were born there).


This is where I went nuts. Now, assuming that she wasn't a terrorist before...what if she becomes one? I know I'd certainly be angry if a country promised me "freedom of speech & thought", yet deported me for it.


If she wasn't a terrorist before, then maybe she is now. Initially, she could understand 1)where the 9/11 bombers were coming from...but 2) she couldn't support what they did. Having her life completely messed up a country that she sought freedom in may have just provided her with a reason to identify with both parts.


If she became a suicide bomber in an attempt to get even with the government...who's fault would it be? Hers, or theirs? Was she innately a terrorist all along because she could understand where they were coming from? Or did the American government trigger it with their paranoia? If she were to come back in a decade or so and commit some act of terrorism, then did the government bring it upon themselves? Or maybe a couple more years spent living as a devout Muslim coupled with her open-mindedness would have made her do it anyways...


These are all just questions to consider. It had me thinking for a while about destiny, free will, and causality.


Keep in mind that this movie's like Crash. This is just one of the characters in the movie. It's a good watch - I'd recommend it. It tackles the subject of immigration, it's loopholes, and the things people have to do to reap the benefits of a developed or even relatively "free" society.


My life's been made easier just because I happened to be "born Canadian" - and believe me, it's something that I'm proud of.


Peace,


- knowledge


4 comments:

  1. Okay, wow. I've been wanting to speak about Muslim, and terrorism and everything in between for while.

    a) No, I don't believe she would've turned into a terrorist if she continued to explore her culture in America. why?

    Number one, it is the biggest American misconception that the Muslim religion revolves around hating Americans. which is a big ass no. Their religion and culture if any one ever bothers to read is not at all violent, its very peaceful. Allah is a God of goodness not a God of violent acts.

    Number two, ignorance is what made those suicide bombers do what they did. I'm not calling them ignorant I'm calling it ignorance, why? Because they do not know otherwise. They were taught and was enculcated that hate for most if not all their lives. That girl, was not. That girl grew up with two cultures side by side with an objective view of both sides therefore she is not ignorant of both side's argument. Meaning she'd be smarter and she'd know whats right. She would not bomb anyone especially since she knows the effects and I'm pretty sure how she knows how dumb it is to kill yourself for for a bunch of extremists who will gain nothing from the act.

    b) If she does turn into a terrorist later on, who's fault would it be? The Americans.

    Why? Let's go to the root of all evil here, who attacked who first? Who invaded first? Who actually went out of their way to try and mold someone's culture to something that they could understand just so they can feed their wallets and fill up on their oil. We all know the answer right? Yes, the Americans brought with them female rights but did they ever think for a second that well thats how they live. It works for them. No, because they wanted gold, they're greedy they leave everything in their path barren. Could you really blame the Muslims for hating them no. This is why the girl sympathized with the Muslims but she knows as much as I, that its wrong to go about it that way because she knows this way is just as bad as how Americans treat other countries. And I believe something traumatic as being deported to another country may very well trigger her psychopathic ways (Which I believe all of us have btw) which otherwise would've never showed up if the American didn't do anything to her. I'm pretty sure before this whole ordeal she loved America. Afterall America probably gave her rights and a life she would otherwise not have elsewhere.

    so to conclude, I believe in the end if she does turn suicide bomber on everyone its the Americans' fault because they knoe their guilty and they know all their sins will come biting them in the ass.

    that is all...
    it might not make sense

    katralber.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think it's ludicrous to assume that every Muslim has the potential to be a suicide bomber. thats like saying every Canadian has the potential to drink maple syrup while playing hockey and sleeping in igloos every night of their lives; its a stereotype, and a bad one at that.

    Something interesting about suicide bombers: they are never (or very very rarely, <0.1%) disgruntled and alone persons. They are not poor, uneducated or lonely. Suicide bombers are usually the opposite. They usually tend to be intelligent, have many close friends who they identify with on a personal level, and have very strong beliefs which they share with those friends. They are of course fanatical, but they are always members of fringe groups, that is, they never identify with mainstream beliefs.

    In short: if you think Muslims who live in America or Canada are at risk to be suicide bombers, you are as naive as CNN or Fox newscasters. A prerequisite for suicide bombing is Altruistic beliefs you share with many people around you. If Muslims are being discriminated against in small numbers in the USA, they actually pose a lesser threat to be terrorists: they are not socially solidated into any culture, and therefore do not identify strongly enough with any group to kill themselves Altruistically.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think it's ludicrous to assume that every Muslim has the potential to be a suicide bomber"
    It's only ludicrous to assume that muslims are the ONLY ONES who have the potential to be suicide bombers. It's fair game to assume that it's plausible.

    "They are not poor, uneducated or lonely. Suicide bombers are usually the opposite. They usually tend to be intelligent, have many close friends who they identify with on a personal level, and have very strong beliefs which they share with those friends."
    So then, she could potentially be at risk.

    I guess what I'm trying to say here, is: through Americas "war on terrorism", are they actually increasing the likelihood of terrorism through aggression? Is it even effective?!

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  4. lmfao this reminds me of an episode of 30 Rock:
    tina fey has a new Muslim but thinks nothing of it until one day, as she passes by his open door, she happens to peer inside and notice that his wall is covered in maps. As this raises suspicion she also starts to pick up little bits here and there that start to make her assume that he's a terrorist and so she calls the hotline that her boss gives her. In the end, he turns out to be just a passionate man who dreams of competing in the amazing race and has memorized maps and practises survival moves and all this jazz. That had to be one of my favourite episodes.

    Anyways, I think the problem that knowledge is trying to point out pertains to the way America's "war on terrorism" twists and bends people's otherwise normal actions and hobbies when it comes to possible terrorists, or in other words, Muslims (in American viewpoints, not mine)into obvious proof of terrorism. I can see why this would leave victims unhappy but is it a root cause of terrorism for some? Possibly, I can see why. It would be ironic.

    At the end of the episode they did say that "if he wasn't a terrorist then, he definitely is now". just goes to show that some people actually are aware of how unjust the system tends to be.

    -Jen

    ReplyDelete

 

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