'Muslim Rage': So Much Easier Than Thinking [View all]

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http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/09/25-6


Gawker responds to Newsweek's proposition of "Muslim rage" with this photo of a "wrathful Jordanian girl." (Gawker)

I know you’re not stupid, but the mainstream media seems to think you are.

Why else would Newsweek’s front page feature a picture of an angry man wearing a turban and run the headline, “Muslim Rage”? Why else would TV anchor Joe Scarborough insist, “They hate us because of their religion, they hate us because of their culture”? And why else would thousands of features and op-eds paint a monolithic “Middle East” and a monolithic “Muslims”—“others” who all think and act one way?

A lot is missing from media representations of the global protests that recently captivated the world. And what’s missing should be at the heart of our national discussion of foreign policy.

But rather than engage with complexities, the media, the US presidential campaigns and the candidates have all pushed their own agendas—from higher cable ratings to continued military presence in the Middle East—in ways that distort our perceptions of one another as real human beings.