felix qui possit rerum cognoscere causas
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May 13, 2003
The art of whining
I complain a lot about how poorly Arab immigrants assimilate into our western society here, but in some case they have useful aspects of our culture down pat. They're quite the Master Whiners now. Take this story for instance, about X-Men 2. Various Islamic groups in the US are demanding an apology from director Bryan Singer. They also want the DVD version of the film to be edited. Najee Ali explains: "Within the first five minutes of 'X2,' an evil villain, 'Colonel William Stryker,' is in the White House signing a document," Ali declares. "As he signs, he is shown wearing a ring featuring the Arabic symbol for 'Allah.' Col. Stryker was never depicted as a Muslim in the comic book series. We feel this is a subtle but obvious attack on Islam . . . It is unfortunate, as we continue to live in a post-9/11 world, that Bryan Singer would engage in a subtle campaign to breed intolerance and hate." I read this story before seeing the film, and even with this knowledge and looking for the scene, it flashed by before I had realized it. It's hardly a "subtle but obvious attack on Islam" if you have trouble finding the right scene in the film while looking out for it. Moreover, how many people actually know what the Arabic symbol for Allah looks like, much less can identify it from a detail in a quick scene in a movie? Of all the ways of attacking Islam in a film, this must be the most obtuse and ineffective ever. Even if it was the intention (which is a ludicrous claim in itself), it has failed miserably. What a bunch of whining sissies. But it's not just them. The era of Political Correctness has spawned the Whining Reflex within self-identified Victim Groups. That's the way to get attention: first, be a victim. Second, whine. The whining has become a way of life, a substitute for argument or thought. Unfortunately it has been successful in many areas, as in the evisceration of cartoons. The inventive, hilarious and deeply un-PC Bugs Bunny episodes of yore are no longer shown on TV. Literature is castrated if it refers to any "sensitive" subject. The rewriting of history is progressing apace in what once were centers of learning, the American universities. I wonder how long it's going to take them to rewrite the Civil War in non-racial terms. They way things are going, someone somewhere at an elite university is probably doing Ph.D. thesis on this very subject at the moment. The lesson is that whining can be successful. In that light, the Muslim groups' attempt to whine about X-Men 2 is almost rational in a contorted way. It's not going to work though. Tolerance for whining has come way down, and especially if it's on an idiotic premise as this one. So my advice to these whiners: grow up. Comments
"The whining has become a way of life, a substitute for argument or thought." But enough about the reaction of conservative Americans to the Dixie Chicks. There's more than one kind of "political correctness," you know. Posted by: Peter on May 14, 2003 12:01 PMYes, I have noticed a tendency for victim groups to wear their victimhood like a badge of honor. Some of these groups seem to have a vocabulary with only three words, "racist, sexist, homophobia." What is particularly dreary is when a writer limits his discourse to those three words. Yes, it is time for these whiners to grow up. As for boycotts of particular celebrities or groups, that is affirmative action. There is no need for whining in those cases, you let your dollars do the talking. Posted by: RB on May 14, 2003 10:07 PMThere's a major difference between a symbol flashing momentarily in a movie that hardly anyone notices and the islamic people complaining and a quasi-celebrity badmouthing the US president during time of war and people reacting to it. If the actor playing Stryker did wear the ring bearing the Allah inscription, why did he wear it? Was it some kind of prop? Why was it used? Did it bear any significance? If he was not Muslim in the comic books, then why was he depicted wearing a Muslim-symbolized ring? Questions like this are probably in the minds of many Muslims who saw the ring in the movie. For if there was no significance to it for the movie itself, then why was it used? Did it somehow come into the mind of the writers or costume-designers to use this ring as part of the character's costume? Are they trying to depict Stryker as Muslim? If so, why? So when a certain group of people do not like being depicted, covertly or overtly, as "evil", and they speak their mind about it, they are being labeled as "whiners". Basically, that would mean that everyone who has spoken up about the image of their group being portrayed in the media, be it religious or otherwise, are also "whiners". So then it's best that when we see something wrong, however small or big, to just be quiet about it? Not bring out into the light so it can possibly be corrected? When has "shutting up and stop whining" been the norm in American society that spawned the Civil Rights era and figures such as Martin Luther King Jr? What would America be like if he had stopped "whining"? Or would it have been better if he and others like him should just stop whining? Possibly...I mean, the world would be less annoying if everyone would just shut the hell up. Then we would not have to deal with opinionated people, like you and I, and damn, that wouldn't that be a relief! Posted by: nia on May 23, 2003 05:52 AMUmmm....there WAS NO SYMBOL ON THE RING!!! Have you noticed that NO OTHER MUSLIM GROUP or organization has come out in support of this? Stop arguing about something that IS NOT THERE. Wespoint grads say it is a westpoint class ring...wich makes a hell of lot more sense. But even THEY cannot see for sure. The ring is on screen for about 0.3 seconds, and not in focus. I actually EMAILED the guy who accused this and asked how he could see it - I looked REALLY hard. He said he had "obtained" a blowup of the scene. Oh? From whom? It is not in any of the publicity stills Fox distributed. DOes he know someone on the inside? And his press release is dated the same week the film was released. He obtained the blowup BEFORE the movie came out? WHy won't he show it to anyone as proof? I asked him to email a scan to me. He refused. I said put the picture on his website. He refused. SHUT UP because it is a non issue. Move on. Posted by: jason on June 3, 2003 07:07 AMPost a comment
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