Who is the REAL terror?

On my way home yesterday, I picked up a copy of the New York Post. Shortly after scanning through the front page, a headline caught my attention (the other headlines were about baseball and Judge Judy: I’m not a fan of either). “Hate Rap for Kid, 12, in Attack on Muslim girl” read the front of the paper. The story was about a 12 year old boy from Staten Island who beat down a fellow classmate because she was Muslim. 12 year old Osman Daramy apparently approached the female classmate and asked her “Are you a Muslim?” Later, Osman and an accomplice punched and kicked her to the ground, trying to rip her hijab off her head. The victim suffered a few bruises and a cut lip, as reported.

Now, at a glance, this may seem like a hate crime. 2 non-Muslim kids attacking a Muslim; but, what really got to me was the fact that these kids are 12! I have a nephew who is 10 years old and just imagining him plotting a plan to beat another 10 year old would be quite mind-boggling to me. Osman was eventually arrested and currently, he could be facing up to 18 months in a Juvenile facility. The thing that bothers me the most is the way the NY Post covered this story. The newspaper gave no empathy to Osman and was extremely harsh on him in a lot of the phrases and rhetoric used. For example, they called him a “Holy Terror,” ”Menace” and even boldly stated that he is “Staten Island's number 1 problem child”. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/staten_island/si_kid_fickle_finger_of_hate_GYtdHKlW6UTM6HtXNzuUiL

           I agree that what he did was wrong, BUT it is important to keep in mind that the assault on the Muslim student happened on school property and the question that really should be asked is where were the school officials? Where were the parents? Where were the people older than 12? The NY post had only mentioned the alleged mother of Osman and had one quote from her. The quotation simply stated that it is not right to bug other people about their religion; there was no mention of the assault. This was not the first time Osman had gotten in trouble. On an earlier account,he had cut a girl's hair with scissors after running around the class with them. In another earlier incident, young Osman and a few other “Punks/Crooks” (as the NY Post delightfully put it) robbed a pizza deliveryman and got away with food and cash. These were explicit signs that this was a problem child, yet nothing was done about his actions. When one of your students is caught robbing a pizzaman, the school and parents have to bear responsibility. Why wasn’t anything done earlier? Why did the school or the parents not punish Osman accordingly? All the school did was suspend him. A more stringent punishment should have been pursued which may have prevented any of this. Although there were other incidents that young Osman was involved in, the “hate crime” against the muslim girl is something that we as a country can influence.

             This is classical personaliztion bias, where the media looks at the single,short-term events now and does not look at the long-term effects.This kind of prejudice will not stop here and continue to go on if we do not educate ourselves better about the different races and cultures around the world.

          This story is a microcosm of a bigger national issue.I feel that in the past,the media's potrayal of muslims has been unfair and fabricated.This feeling of uncertainty and hatred towards muslims trickles down to younger generations.What can the governing board of education do to prevent this from happening? What can the federal government do to educate our future generations on different races and cultures.I do believe it starts with the government and schools in implementing a better understanding of the different races and cultures I feel like the writers of this article created the perception that Osman was a troublemaker who could not be helped.They are wrong.I strongly believe it all starts with education.I think it is the media's job as agenda setters to shine stories like this in a light where the government can be aware of the bigger picture.I believe prejudice arrives when education has left the building.

 

Cited

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/staten_island/muslim_bash_bust_for_tiny_terror_l8RVfAaCJ4rnQGfUn1fekI

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/staten_island/si_kid_fickle_finger_of_hate_GYtdHKlW6UTM6HtXNzuUiL

Who really cares about Libya?

                      For the past month,all eyes have been on the Egypt. It all started with a series of protests and demonstrations in Tunisia.As the protests went on, it started a chain reaction of demonstrations and rallies that threw parts of the middle east and North Africa into turmoil. It is unlikely that anybody has gone through the month without reading or even hearing about the protests. The story has been on front page news for most major media outlets. Throughout the on-going protests, Egypt has been in the spotlight. Being a highly populated country and a close ally of the United States,I can understand why Egypt was covered so closely. With the weeks past,the situation has mitigated in Egypt and Libya in the has taken over the forerunner in the news with their own protests against their government and leader, Muammar Gaddafi. Now protests and violent clashes with people and their government is nothing new,it happens all over the world ,all the time;but for the events in such countries like Libya, I can think of reasons why the U.S media is covering Libya so closely and if not closer than most other countries in revolt.

                       Unlike Egypt and Tunisia, Libya is probably the one country that will have a direct impact on average Americans in the weeks to come. Ever since the emergence of the 21^st century, the world demand for oil has been higher than ever. It also does not help that now we also have more vehicles than ever before.Now you might say that is a given but then you should know that it is also a given that the U.S is extremely dependent on foreign countries for oil.Libya produces just about 2 percent of the World's oil supply,it may not seem like much of a startling number but the industry of oil production is far more complex than it seems. With the country of Libya in unrest,oil production has once again greatly dwindled, and the 2 percent that come from Libya is considered the highest quality of crude oil on Earth. Experts say if the unrest in the region continues, production of oil may be inhibited and in-turn create a domino effect of a rise in oil prices around the world. http://www.aolnews.com/2011/02/24/how-will-the-libyan-crisis-and-rising-oil-prices-affect-the-us/ .  I do believe that the on-going protests are something we should all closely follow but I think with this factor of oil, it will give the media a larger incentive to cover the story more closely.

This is a great example of the media embracing it's role as an agenda setter.The more a story is covered, the more the public perceives it as important story. In this instance, the close coverage of Libya makes Americans more attentive to the story as this is something they need to know.Even if it does not seem like Libya will have on impact on the U.S , Libya will have a direct affect them in the long run.

                       On a side note,I thought it would be interesting to show those of you who have not seen the video of Gaddafi.In the an interview with Gaddafi,he is asked what he thinks about the relationship between him and his people. Gaddafi told Jeremy Bowen of BBC that “My people love me” and said “They will die to protect me”. When asked about the protesters in the city,Gaddafi went as far as saying “Where?”. Sure Gaddafi, your people love you, but they sure have a funny way of showing it. See the interview for yourself http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12603086 .

Sources

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2011-02-28-libya-gadhafi_N.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12603086

http://www.aolnews.com/2011/02/24/how-will-the-libyan-crisis-and-rising-oil-prices-affect-the-us/

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/01/world/africa/01unrest.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/01/world/africa/01unrest.html

Is there a line?

                     Circumstances and events in Libya have dramatically changed since my first blog. As of today the U.S along with NATO(North Atlantic Treaty Organization), has started the bombing of major Libyan government locations since March 19^th.Earlier yesterday,NATO's most recent airstrike hit one of Khadafy's villa in Tripoli but Moamar Khadafy escaped unharmed however, his youngest son,Seif al-Arab was killed .Along with Khadafy's oldest son, Khadafy's 3 grandchildren were also killed in the airstrike. The Strike supposedly was aimed for known “Command and Control Buildings" and even though the area was considered a residential area in Tripoli.

                 What really bugs me is whether if there is an international law on this? Is it really in our interest Or NATO's interest to bomb residential areas in major Libyan cities.Sure, you can say this is war, but did I mention the 3 grandchildren were all under the age of twelve? I mean at this point,it seems like NATO is targeting Khadafy himself.

 Many claim that Khaday's son is not dead and that even if he is, Khadafy's regime will use his death to garner sympathy.Yes,sympahty is what I will give for his loss, but not for his government.

It is also reported by the NY Post that it is not the only time Khadafy has escaped a bombing like this.Last week Nato also bombed one of Khadafy's compund, where he also escaped unharmed.

The thing that bugs me the most is that the way this story was covered by the media,specifically between the coverage from the NY post and the Daily News.

In the Daily News,the coverage let readers know that hours before the airstrike,Moamar Khadafy had pleaded for a cease-fire between his regime and NATO.The cease-fire was dismissed and one NATO official said “We need see not words but actions.” Although Khadafy had preconditioned that he would not surrender but he did say he was willing to halt and talk it out; NATO still refused to acknowledge the plea. Now why would NATO not stop and just talk? Now I am not saying that they will just talk and this whole thing might settle in one piece but a little talk never hurt no one. No blood shed is better than any blood shed anyday .Here is the Daily News's coverage http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2011/04/30/2011-04-30_moammar_khadafy_survives_missile_strike_that_kills_youngest_son_and_three_grandc.html

                  Going back to the coverage,the NY Post's coverage was quite different from the Daily News's, as it left out the part about the proposed cease-fire by Moamar Khadafy. Now non-avid readers, can come away with very different views.With The Daily News coverage mentioning the ignored cease-fire,one reader might see Khadafy as wanting to end bloodshed,and see another way though; the NY Post totally disregards that notion.This is the NY Post's coverage of the same story, try and find a mention of the cease-fire,because if you do, this whole blog post has gone wrong. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/khadafy_son_killed_nbjmxMPPg5HxkGCtTogH3K

                  This we have seen time and time again,where the media fragments stories like this and leaves out certain information that can change the very perception of a story.The cease-fire I believe should have been mentioned in every context of this story because it shows the continuation of NATO's efforts after the dissmissal of the truce.Why exactly the NY Post set out to leave that part out while all the other major media outlets covered it, is still unknown to me but it seems they are just setting their own agenda,whatever it maybe.The other Major media outlets that I mentioned are The New York Times and the Huffington Post. If you are interested in the coverage from those outlets, here are their coverages on this story.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/world/africa/01libya.html?_r=1&hp

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/gaddafi-calls-for-cease-fire-as-nato-strikes-tripoli/2011/04/30/AF1jZsNF_story_1.html