Thursday, June 20, 2013
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
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Thursday, June 20, 2013
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
Terrorism isn't race
KATIE BURKE
EDITOR IN CHIEF
ERIC FERGUSON
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR
ELLIOT ALPERN
MANAGING EDITOR
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily's editorial board.
All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
Sticking togetrAher
Newspapers must support each other despite competition
Recently, former National Security Agency contractor Edward
Snowden reached out to litigator-turned-journalist Glenn Gre-
enwald - a columnist for The Guardian - in order to disclose
information regarding NSA programs. However, in reporting the leak on
their website and on Twitter, The New York Times slighted both Green-
wald and The Guardian, referring to Greenwald as a "blogger" and the
Guardian as a "British news site." This choice of language was a disap-
pointing display of pettiness by the Times - coming off as an attempt to
belittle the work of a competitor reporting a major story. Though heavy
competition is understandable in the dying world of print journalism,
respected newspapers can't discredit one another because of losing a
news scoop - they must continue to put forth the best possible journal-
ism, even if that means letting another paper take credit.
When we think of terror-
ism today, Islam is the
one religious group that
usually comes
to mind. Unfor-
tunately, this is
because the reli-
gion has been
painted in the
worst light since
9/11. Islam has
been hijacked - SARA
its reputation is SHOUHAYIB
no longer in the
hands of Mus-
lims. Rather, it's the media that have
taken over its fate.
The power of the press is
evident - the way Islam has been
portrayed is the perfect example of
that. The media need to remember,
"With great power comes great
responsibility." Even though it's a
corny Spiderman line, there's some
truth to it. The media should be
more mindful of the way they speak
about Islam because they are greatly
responsible for influencing public
opinion. The role of the press and
the media is to serve as watchdogs
of the government and to inform the
public of the world's events. What
they shouldn't do is speak slantingly
about a group of people.
Even the most reputable news
organizations we turn to for top sto-
ries have been guilty. For example,
while CNN was coveringthe Boston
bombings, Wolf Blitzer hinted Tsar-
naev might be linked to the violent
behavior because he had the same
name as a 14th-century Islamic cru-
sader who massacred millions of
people. I couldn't believe they were
making that connection on national
television. A name does not inher-
ently affect someone's actions. And
this is CNN we're talking about here
- one of the most widely viewed
news organizations in the world.
A journalist is supposed to give a
voice to the voiceless. MuslimAmer-
icans don't always have high posi-
tions in politics or positions that can
give avoice to its people. So here it is:
Terrorism is notarace --itdoesn't
have a face and it doesn't have a skin
color. One definition of terrorism is
"the use of violence and intimida-
tion in the pursuit of political aims."
Nowhere in that definition is there
a reference to a religious group or
a particular spiritual following. It's
absolutely absurd that people are
constantly making that association.
I'm not a Muslim American, but I
am an Arab American - a proud
one at that - and because the two
are often conflated I need to set the
record straight.
How are we supposed to learn to
get along and attain peace if we are
demonizing people? We say we want
a better America, a more peaceful
America - well, let's start by
eradicating ignorance. Just because
a person is Arab, does not mean they
are Muslim. Just because someone
is a Muslim, it does not mean they
support Al-Qaeda or that they
are affiliated with terrorism. The
Koran isn't telling Muslims to act
chaotically. Not all terrorists come
from the Middle East. The religion is
called Islam, not Muslim. Say it with
me - I-S-L-A-M. Educate yourself
before developing harsh opinions
about a group of people.
Learn about
other cultures
and religions.
Imagine how Christian and
Jewish communities would feel
and react if their religion was
disenfranchised like Islam is in
America. Just taking a shot in the
dark here, but I'm pretty sure they
wouldn't stand for it. I would like
to make one thing crystal clear: I'm
not in any shape or form defending
the deplorable acts of terrorism
committed by any terrorist, be they
Muslim or any other religion. Yes,
Muslimshavecarriedoutviolentacts
that were wrong and unforgivable.
But how many times do we refer
to a white criminal's religion like
we do with Arabs? Religion is not
the reason people commit crimes.
My main message is that not all
Muslims are terrorists and that the
radicals are the religion's outliers.
They are in no way whatsoever the
vast majority.
It's a shame that pockets of bad
people created a stain that nearly
covered the whole surface of Islam
in some people's eyes. There are
approximately 1.5 billion followers
of Islam around the world - doesn't
that say something? There are
beautiful aspects of the religion,
as well as outdated ones - just like
every faith.
Let's take the time to understand
and learn about other cultures and
religions. Once we do that, we all
may actually start to get along.
-Sara Shouhayib can can be
reached at sarasho@umich.edu.
New York Mets hats - Nasty Nas
tore through a set of hits, from his
classic "Illmatic" all the way up
to his stellar recent release, "Life
Is Good."
As the sun set away and the
Bonnaroo Ferris wheel lit up,
we popped into a tent to see DJ
A-Trak. His trap-electronic beats
shook the ground, prompting Sofie
to ask me, half-joking and half-
serious, "Can this bass be good for
my organs? It feels like everything
is vibrating."
We moved onto Jack Johnson,
filling in last-minute for Mum-
ford & Sons, who had to cancel
due to their bass player's health.
By the time we reached John-
son, my legs might as well have
been bloody stumps. My stom-
ach churned angrily, my thighs
were red with sunburn where my
excessively short tennis shorts
neglected to cover me, and my
phone was nearly out of battery.
We left Johnson and dragged
ourselves reluctantly to R. Kelly,
quietly deciding that we'd leave
after a few songs. But that didn't
happen. What instead trans-
pired at the Which Stage from
11:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. was one of the
most bizarre and incredible per-
formances I had ever witnessed
(Fuse even dedicated an entire
article to it).
Standing about 20 feet from
the stage, I watched as a score
of gospel singers appeared
while the music from "Ignition
(Remix)" started. However, I was
instantly confused, as R. Kelly
was nowhere to be seen. Only
when I looked up did I notice a
cherry picker raised 50 feet in
the air on top of the stage, carry-
ing, you guessed it, R. Kelly. The
crowd went wild, and then the
music stopped. For 45 seconds,
the stage was silent save for the
creaking sound of R. Kelly's crane
moving slowly downward.
hhI'm not sure if Kells planned
this, or if the crane was just mal-
functioning, but it was the first
in a brilliant hit-or-miss night
from him. He sang his party jams
("Fiesta," "Gigolo," "Thoia Tho-
ing") mixed in with his baby-
making slow-burners ("Feelin' On
Yo Booty," "Your Body's Callin"')
with absolutely no rational order.
Still, his vocal range was mind-
blowing, as heard on the intro for
"Bump N' Grind," and his finale
performance of "I Believe I Can
Fly," complete with the return of
the gospel choir and the release
of dozens of plastic doves, was
miraculous. Kells did his share
of ridiculousness, too, like sing-
ing for five minutes about how he
needed a towel to wipe the sweat
off of his face. As Jason Newman
of Fuse summed it up, "The line
between earnestness and absur-
dity has never been blurrier than
at an R. Kelly concert." That's for
sure.
DAY 4
I think my mom has a slight
crush on Macklemore, which is
fine (at least it's not on FlavaFlay),
so I shuffled along with her to see
his and Ryan Lewis's afternoon
set. I must admit, though, that
I'm not a huge fan. Macklemore
live is tons of fun. His songs are
catchy, and he somehow walks
the line between aloof rapper and
touching, recovering drug-user
sentimentalist.
Then came Kendrick Lamar.
I am a huge, huge Kendrick fan,
and he did not disappoint. Stand-
ing on the festival's biggest stage
with just a microphone and a
DJ, Kendrick managed to pump
up the entire crowd by himself.
I forced my mom to join me and
a middle-aged man I met, (who
turned out to be Michael Azer-
rad, the incredible music journal-
ist), in the middle of the Kendrick
pit. There I met Sean, a midget
who I had seen at the Nas show
wearing a tutu and a red, white
and blue bikini top ("I gotta mix it
up," he explained to me.) Not only
did Sean and I dance and jump
like crazy, but he even pulled
out a wine bag from his back-
pack during "Swimming Pools
(Drank)," which he proceeded to
drink from and toss around the
entire crowd.
After a forgettable set by A$AP
Rocky - I admit I was really tired,
but he just yelled the whole time
- we arrived for the last hurrah:
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers.
Seeing that I know next to noth-
ing about Petty, I was not happy
about going, especially consider-
ing it had started to rain. But my
unbreakable mother insisted, and
so we went to watch in a complete
downpour. The first thing Sofie
and I both noticed was how abso-
lutely baked he seemed. I'm not
talking a little bit high. I'm talk-
ing so absolutely blitzed that he
looked like he could barely finish
sentences, and the only reason
he did not mess up his songs was
because he has been playing them
for 30 years. As stoned as he was,
I must admit, he killed it beyond
belief.
At the airport the next day,
Sofie and I high-fived proudly.
Another year in the books. We
had seen 20 bands, consumed a
toxic mixture of pizza, crepes,
Amish doughnuts, ice cream and
lots of lemonade, made friends
with a legendary music journalist
and danced until blisters popped
from our feet. Though I told her
I was happy to leave, which in
part I was, I knew inside that I
was already beginning to have
serious Roo withdrawal. I started
to worry about work, checking
my phone restlessly and find-
ing myself searching desperately
throughout the Nashville airport
for anybody else with the famil-
iar wristband. Oh well. Though
my normal routine inevitably
has to resume - homework will
pile, friends will call, life will go
on - I know that if I'm ever feel-
ing down, all I have to do is think
back to a certain farm in the mid-
dle of Tennessee, where, 361 days
from now, my Bonnaroo family
will be waiting for me.
Though Greenwald began his
writing career as a blogger, he
has since written columns and
essays for both Salon and The
Guardian for several years. Fur-
thermore, he worked as an attor-
ney dealing in civil rights and
liberties for over a decade. He
is the author of three books and
is one of the most sought-after
speakers and writers on national
security and privacy issues. The
Times could have chosen to con-
vey any of this information about
Greenwald, but instead classified
him purely as a "blogger" - a title
that for better or worse implies a
far lower level of prestige than
is appropriate. The use of the
phrase "British news site" comes
nowhere near a proper descrip-
tion for The Guardian. Founded
in 1821, the news outlet has won
many awards for both individual
journalists and the newspaper as
a whole while maintaining a rep-
utation as one of Britain's most
well-regarded newspapers.
As one of the most highly
respected and well-known news-
papers in the world, it's especial-
ly disappointing to see this level
of pettiness from the Times. The
information released by Snowden
has transformed into one of the
most important news stories in
a decade. All journalists should
be interested in uncovering the
truth about exactly what the
NSA has been involved in, as well
as in investigating Snowden's
credibility and uncovering
information concerning surveil-
lance. Instead, the Times moved
toward further fighting between
newspapers. A newspaper's need
to stay on top and report ground-
breaking stories is an under-
standable concern in today's day
and age as they face increasing
pressure from new media. How-
ever, the possibility of gaining
readers from a competitor means
nothing if journalistic integrity
is sacrificed and fellow reporters
are thrown under the bus.
Last week, Rep. Peter King
(R-N.Y.) called for Greenwald's
arrest due to his reporting. Even
before that, the AP reported that
the Department of Justice had
seized call records from a num-
ber of its reporters and editors.
In a time when the government
is often at odds with the stories
that journalists report, newspa-
pers must not make it more dif-
ficult for each other to pursue
truth and hold the government
accountable. If they resort to
such seemingly dirty tactics as
the Times did, they will do noth-
ing more but discredit them-
selves and help those they should
be investigating.
JULY'I
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