Comments for Shake The Dust http://shakethedust.org Sat, 07 May 2011 01:32:03 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Comment on Black, White, Gray, and Every Color In-Between by Adam Sjoberg http://shakethedust.org/black-white-gray-and-every-color-in-between/#comment-5 Adam Sjoberg Sat, 07 May 2011 01:32:03 +0000 http://shakethedust.org/?p=121#comment-5 A quick note that might be helpful in reading the above: I sincerely believe that if a people group is peaceably protesting a corrupt government – that is good news, good news that should make the front page of the NY times. However, the situation in Yemen is more nuanced then that – and I was offset by the lead-in on this front page article written from Lebanon and not from Sana’a itself: “Yemen, one of the Middle East’s most impoverished countries and a haven for Al Qaeda militants…” I’ll reference my friend Ross here. When I asked “How come if Yemen is such a haven for terrorism, there aren’t more terrorist incidents here?” He said, “Makes you question if Yemen is really a haven for terrorism.” In a brief scan of “acts of terrorism” statistics from 2010, you’ll find Yemen shows up as much (well, as little) as countries like Greece and the US. Though important to note – Yemen does house Al Qaeda operations and other religious extremists, it is also good to put this in perspective– how many senseless murders happen a year in the US? And how many are done in the name of some cause (i.e. murdering an abortion doctor). We need to adjust the lenses in which we view the Arab world, and the ways in which we choose to define “terrorism.” adamsjoberg January 27, 2011 (Edit) A quick note that might be helpful in reading the above: I sincerely believe that if a people group is peaceably protesting a corrupt government – that is good news, good news that should make the front page of the NY times. However, the situation in Yemen is more nuanced then that – and I was offset by the lead-in on this front page article written from Lebanon and not from Sana’a itself: “Yemen, one of the Middle East’s most impoverished countries and a haven for Al Qaeda militants…”

I’ll reference my friend Ross here. When I asked “How come if Yemen is such a haven for terrorism, there aren’t more terrorist incidents here?” He said, “Makes you question if Yemen is really a haven for terrorism.”

In a brief scan of “acts of terrorism” statistics from 2010, you’ll find Yemen shows up as much (well, as little) as countries like Greece and the US.

Though important to note – Yemen does house Al Qaeda operations and other religious extremists, it is also good to put this in perspective– how many senseless murders happen a year in the US? And how many are done in the name of some cause (i.e. murdering an abortion doctor). We need to adjust the lenses in which we view the Arab world, and the ways in which we choose to define “terrorism.”
adamsjoberg
January 27, 2011 (Edit)

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