I am often amazed at
how
little
people
know
about Executive Order 9066
(deemed Japanese Americans
as a threat to national secu-
rity and allowed President
Roosevelt to move them into
camps), if they have any idea
of it at all. Sometimes they’re
even more distraught when I
say that we have locked peo-
ple up in of the many atroci-
ties that the United States
has committed. Yet this is a
history that many Japanese
Americans will never forget.
While my family arrived here
post-Japanese internment, it
still is a scar that lays heav-
ily on my mind and my com-
munity. This is a scar that is
never left alone — it is picked
at, made red and inflamed
every time the United States
bans people from our country
or locks them up for the sake
of “national security.” While
some may say national secu-
rity is a necessity, I say that it
is a way that the government
has been able to excuse atroc-
ities and misuse the bodies of
those they deem dangerous
for capitalist gains.
In the case of Japanese
internment, Japanese Ameri-
can men were only allowed
out of camps if they agreed
to fight in the United States
Army
and
become
canon
fodder for Uncle Sam in
World War II. Their choice
was either to fight for the
country
that
criminalized
them for their racial iden-
tity or remain locked up for
an unforeseeable amount of
time.
Japanese
Americans
were even forced to complete
a “loyalty questionnaire” to
determine their American-
ness and whether they would
be allowed to leave the camps
(or sent to more strict pris-
ons). The term No-No Boys
was used to identify young
interned men who answered
no to the questions “Are
you willing to serve in the
armed forces of the United
States on combat duty wher-
ever ordered?” and “Will you
swear unqualified allegiance
to the United States of Amer-
ica and faithfully defend the
United States from any or all
attack by foreign or domestic
forces, and forswear any form
of allegiance or obedience to
the Japanese emperor, to any
other foreign government,
power
or
organization?”
When I first learned this,
I couldn’t help but wonder
what my answer would have
been. If I would have been
defeated
enough
to
sign
myself away to a country that
despised me, or potentially
lose any sort of freedom in
the future. In some ways this
is the kiss of death promised
in the American Dream. Will
you accept all of the ugliness
of this country and its hatred
for you, for the chance to sur-
vive? For a shot at the indi-
vidualistic, “pull yourself up
by the bootstraps” mentality
that the State seems to wor-
ship?
The legality of people in
the United States has long
been contested as well as
what the State is able to do
with the bodies of its citi-
zens. Now more than ever,
the ghosts of past atroci-
ties seem like greater warn-
ing signs to people of today.
While
Japanese
American
internment may have fallen
into some of the more for-
gotten shadows of American
history, its legacy remains.
This legacy of xenophobia,
fear of the other and fabri-
cated foreignness of anyone
who is not white has been
woven into the fabric of this
country. It is not new and it
never will be, as Ocean Vuong
said “Some people say history
moves in a spiral, not the line
we have come to expect. We
travel through time in a cir-
cular trajectory, our distance
increasing from an epicen-
ter only to return again, one
circle removed.” Detention
camps and the human rights
abuses that happen there are
not outliers or brief failures
in American morality, they
are a continued pattern of the
intentional destruction the
United States deems as other.
And so often, we are taught to
forget that such a thing has
happened before so that the
same violence can be prac-
ticed again.
The Middle East is the global
West’s favorite foreign policy
puzzle. Endless commentators
and journalists alike aim to
fit narratives that the Middle
East is weak, and that imperi-
alist nations such as the Unit-
ed States have a duty to save
the Arab World from itself.
Fueling the political agenda,
numerous
politicians
have
honed in on efforts to “bring
peace” to the Middle East,
with the latest attempt being
President Trump’s treaty. A
treaty that has been lauded
by liberals and conservatives
alike,
between
imperialist
UAE and colonial Israel. This
American
infatuation
with
Middle Eastern politics is not
lost on Arabs like myself and
each take is more nauseat-
ing than the next. Whether
reflecting on 2011 during the
Arab uprisings or focusing on
current politics surrounding
each nation and its relation to
known adversaries like Israel,
I am continuously dismayed
by each twisted belief stated
by the media and political
elite. There is a false assump-
tion that the Middle East can
not govern or save itself and is
solely dependent on Western
interference for its survival-
interventions that have argu-
ably caused the majority of
the issues in the Middle East.
It’s the white savior complex
on steroids, and unfortunately
this mindset and its detrimen-
tal effects have wreaked havoc
in the region while affecting
the mainstream American per-
ception of the Arab World and
its inhabitants. With oriental-
ist roots and an education sys-
tem geared toward the erasure
of settler colonialism both
abroad and in North America,
Western perception of the
Middle East has been manipu-
lated to ensure that the Middle
East never truly has peace.
In almost every impression,
the Middle East is painted
with a broad brush. Absolute-
ly stupefying to have to state,
it’s critical that I clarify that
though nations in the Middle
East are meshed together geo-
graphically, this does not mean
that each country faces the
same issues. The Gulf region —
an area encompassing nations
like UAE, Qatar and Saudi Ara-
bia — has in no way suffered
similarly to other countries in
the Arab world, as they, along-
side the West, continue to
exploit the rest of the Middle
East for monetary and politi-
cal gain. Nations like Syria,
Palestine, Iraq, Egypt, Yemen,
and Lebanon — though all
impoverished — face varying
crises, whether they be civil
wars, famines, occupation or
American-backed corrupt gov-
ernments. Another affronting
assumption is that the Arab
general public agrees with the
governments of their coun-
tries, an idea that is blatantly
false. The Middle East does
not have a single democracy,
and the general public does not
have a fair say in their politics.
Using Israel as an example yet
again, it is often claimed that
citizens of Saudia Arabia, the
UAE and Bahrain are in agree-
ment with their governments
who recognize the Zionist
state. Such claims have been
proven false as studies sug-
gest the majority of civilians
are angered by their countries’
support of a nation they deem
colonial. The Middle East,
like every other region has
nuance, but due to the failures
of Western education systems
and targeted political destruc-
tion, it is painted as having the
same issues, when in actuality,
issues strongly differ depend-
ing on the country.
In regard to our educa-
tion system, the way the West
frames issues in the Middle
East is alarming. Time and
time
again,
marginalized
groups have rightfully com-
plained that the American
education system, including
higher education, has a domi-
nant
Eurocentric
narrative.
We often hear about issues
like slavery, colonialism, impe-
rialism and other forms of
explotiation through the lens
of Western perspectives. The
system, rarely, if ever, men-
tions the Middle East or its
history, and if it does, it only
discusses its failures. Rarely
discussed when analyzing the
roots of a troubled Middle
East are the flawed borders
in the Arab world created by a
drunk Churchill and his allies,
or Britain’s role in cultivat-
ing Israeli settler colonialism.
With a purposeful framework,
our history classes and politi-
cal agendas have presented a
seemingly frail Middle East;
one that can only ever appear
anti-Semitic,
fraught
with
Islamic terrorism, war torn
and unable to solve its own
problems.
Courses at the University
of Michigan are surely not
immune from this horrific
framing. As a student studying
political science, I have heard
awfully misguided opinions
on the Middle East — opinions
that lack a true understanding
of the region. For instance, I
have heard horrifying notions
that the Iraq War was valid, a
war that decimated a region
and slaughtered the lives of
hundreds of thousands. I have
had to listen to long lectures
about 9/11 and that the attack
justifies the Afghanistan war
— a war that the U.S. is los-
ing and has led to the callous
murders of civilians and alien-
ation of a region. Mentioned
in a variety of contexts, 9/11 is
also spoken of in courses unre-
lated to politics and history as
classes, like my basic French
course, continue to emphasize
narratives that victimize the
West as the West continues to
oppress the Middle East. Even
though 9/11 was a tragic attack,
multiple tales of terrorism
were spun that solely depict-
ed harm to white populations
while conveniently leaving out
that most victims of “radical
Islamic” terrorism are Mus-
lims and Middle Easterners
themselves. I have listened to
the justification of American
forces in the Middle East and
the nullification of Palestine
and sentiments that Palestine
is a terrorist state and Israel
is the only “democracy in the
Middle
East,”
purposefully
excluding Israeli Occupation
of Palestinian lands. Every
single issue that relates to the
Arab world gets its one-sided
analysis, often leaving those
affected daily by these topics
lost and aching to respond.
What
makes
a
vicious
cycle even worse is the pro-
hibitions that keep me from
using my voice or speaking
from experience, so to defend
these ignorant narratives in
the classroom, for if I do, I
am overwhelmed by scrutiny
from my peers. If I condemn
American imperialism in the
Middle East or emphasize the
corrupted
justifications
for
the Iraq and Afghanistan War,
will it seem as if I am vindic-
tive, my anger fueled by uni-
versal feelings of dread within
the region? When I state that
I believe Zionism is a threat
to Arab sovereignty and the
Palestinian people, will they
assume I state that solely
because I am Arab or because
I have come to this reasoning
through solid evidence? Every-
one but fellow Arabs and I are
able to speak without seeming
as though we are predisposed.
It is impossible to truly sepa-
rate myself from my identity,
nor do I want my identity as an
Arab American Muslim to be
disjointed from who I am. But
unfortunately, these classes
are consumed by people who
would rather assume I am
motivated by biases, because
they refuse to accept this mar-
ginalization as colonial strat-
egy. Frankly, I am partially
biased. It is impossible not to
be when I have seen friends
deported, cried with them
over deaths overseas and felt
deep pangs of fear whenever
an attack occurs in the Middle
East, fearing for my family
and my friends’ families safe-
ty. Despite being emotionally
fueled, these biases are backed
by substantial data, and I,
alongside allies, have history
and human rights as founda-
tions for our beliefs. As I, and
others like me, are labeled
“biased” while everyone else
is allowed a valid opinion, any
possibility of peace in the Mid-
dle East dims as the Western
voice is elevated.
All of these factors breed the
current toxic landscape of the
Middle East. Intervention by
political forces have exacer-
bated severe flaws in the Arab
region and are the origins of
the destruction that the U.S.
and the West claim they yearn
to pacify. The American politi-
cal system supports Israeli
annexation, makes financial
gains from Saudi’s war with
Yemen, and has continued to
exacerbate wars in the region
to appease the military indus-
trial complex. It certainly did
not have to be that way. With
only Westerners having the
ability to comment on Middle
Eastern
politics,
American
intervention in the region and
a twisted education system
geared to demean Arab His-
tory and prop up imperialism,
there is a mainstream belief
that the West is the only one
that can save the Middle East.
In actuality, the notion of a
white savior complex has been
ironically bred out of white
destruction of the region. How
can the Middle East depend on
Western touch for the revival
of a heart the West stabbed
to decimate? If the West truly
wanted peace in the Middle
East, they would leave the
Arab world alone to fight for
their own liberation. But they
don’t, and that’s why the Mid-
dle East will never truly have
peace with Western interven-
tion — not because Arabs do
not want it, but because the
West itself has an active stake
in depriving it.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Michigan In Color
6 — Wednesday, October 21, 2020
VICTORIA MINKA
MiC Columnist
EMAN NAGA
MiC Columnist
puzzle by sudokusnydictation.com
By Mike Peluso
(c)2020 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
10/21/20
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
10/21/20
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
Release Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2020
ACROSS
1 “... where the sun
/ Came peeping
in at __”: Thomas
Hood
5 Willie Mays, twice
8 Bowler’s test
13 Carpet calculation
14 China setting
15 Soccer star Rossi
16 *Old bowling alley
employee
18 Cry of dismay
19 Country singer
Womack
20 Even things
22 Part of ESL: Abbr.
23 *Pass prevention
strategy
28 Editor’s change
of heart
30 “I agree!”
31 It’s north of Afr.
32 Not very exciting
35 Seasickness
symptom
38 Cautionary
workplace axiom
... or a hint to
the starts of
the answers to
starred clues
40 Elk
42 Pre-discount
prices
43 Not well
44 Dollop
46 Pacino’s voice, at
times
50 *Bad homes for
critics?
55 Golf standard
56 Deal with
57 Capitol feature
59 Like four Sandy
Koufax games
61 *One-on-one golf
competition
64 It’s good in Chile
65 Agree with
66 Shoppe modifier
67 Shakespearean
forest
68 2000s TV
forensic
technician, to
pals
69 Fly high
DOWN
1 Breakfast
condiment
sources
2 Get one’s
bearings
3 Go back on a
promise
4 Org. in the
biodrama
“Hidden Figures”
5 WY winter hrs.
6 Compete
7 Pre-Rose Bowl
tradition
8 Many an “SNL”
skit
9 Two-time U.S.
Open winner
Stewart
10 Illicit rendezvous
site
11 La Corse, par
exemple
12 Play (with)
14 53 for I, e.g.
17 Split __: New
Zealand band
21 Court sport
24 Astro’s finish?
25 Harris of country
26 Take to court
27 Stat for Justin
Verlander
29 Spicy cuisine
33 Time and again,
to Yeats
34 Driver’s license
datum
36 Poetic verb
37 Cold War letters
38 Made waves?
39 Slight fabrications
40 Freak (out)
41 Every bit
45 Rose ominously
47 Swing era
Harlem hot spot
48 Tea since 1892
49 Supplication
51 River to the
English Channel
52 Resolute about
53 Danish shoe
brand
54 NFL defensive end
Ndamukong __
58 Med. plan
options
59 Home to Kings:
Abbr.
60 “__ Gang”
62 Versatile card
63 “Much
appreciated,” in
texts
SUDOKU
7
2
5
8
1
9
6
7
8
5
4
3
2
1
3
3
8
6
9
7
2
2
3
5
6
3
6
2
4
4
2
7
6
5
9
“60 characters.
Bare your soul.
Get featured in the Daily!”
WHISPER
Introducing the
“I’m just tired
of this
pandemic
stuff”
“I think I’mad-
dicted to tech-
noblade :/”
WHISPER
‘Peace’ in the Middle East
History is circular;
A reflection on Japanese Internment