Fighting Terror With the Internet
June 27th, 2008The title of this post is a slight variation of today’s New York Times op-ed, written by Daniel Kimmage. The article outlines the increasingly revolutionary method of using digital communication tools (blogs, Web 2.0 networking, videos, podcasts, et al) to outpace the capacity for our governments to censor us. More than that, though, it’s putting terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda and Hezbollah in their right place – their propaganda is hardly as effective as it once used to be when internet usage was minimal. Now the world can see who does and who doesn’t represent our majority, as Arabs and Muslims.
While the article focuses on YouTube, in my opinion it’s hardly the most powerful way to reach the right eyes and audience, especially considering the fact that YouTube is blocked in several countries and most people aren’t tech savvy enough to access it through other means. Blogging platforms like Blogspot and WordPress were and continue to be far more helpful in terms of user outreach and getting people to start expressing themselves easily and freely in societies that doesn’t give us any other option.
Here’s an important excerpt for you to read and really think about:
When it comes to user-generated content and interactivity, Al Qaeda is now behind the curve. And the United States can help to keep it there by encouraging the growth of freer, more empowered online communities, especially in the Arab-Islamic world.
For me, it’s not so much that the United States is keeping it there. We are working for the sake of our future and not exactly for that of America’s. Because it’s not really up the USA to make that decision (eliminating regional extremism/terrorism.) The decision of having a civil society is ours. It’s up to us to be involved in “freer, more empowered online communities,” which is exactly what Mideast Youth does.
This is the perfect way to fight the widespread censorship and extremism that we have been suffering from for many decades – but most importantly we really realized that it’s time for us to do this together, as a diverse team, and we are now one of the most diverse teams working independently together in the region without having to be ashamed of our identities, whether Israeli or Kurdish or Arab or Iranian, we’re here to serve our communities and fight for their rights regardless of their nationalities and beliefs. And I think we’re scaring our governments shitless with this powerful idea! And nothing makes me more proud than to say that we are really proving to the world that this is possible. And soon organizations like Al Qaeda will have no place in our part of the world.
Right now, this generation has a new weapon: Positivity, hope, and what I consider to be one of the most effective and powerful tools in the world – the internet. No one can stop us from using this to communicate our thoughts, ideas, and to express ourselves more openly, both locally and internationally. Our governments and hackers keep trying, and they may succeed temporarily, but in the long run we’ll never let them get there. New media technologies are quickly helping us get access to the right tools and our governments are having quite a tough time catching up with our work.
The most damaging disruptions to the nexus, however, will come from millions of ordinary users in the communities that Al Qaeda aims for with its propaganda. We should do everything we can to empower them.
The youth in the Middle East are empowering themselves, one day at a time, without having to think about America. Because it is hardly Al Qaeda that worries us most. We have bigger problems. We have minorities being oppressed and killed, we have intolerable societal censorship, we have a high number of journalists who paid for their honesty with their blood. And this is besides of all the wars and devastating crimes against humanity that are taking place all around us. I think everyone should wake up to that, and to start thinking beyond Al Qaeda, and beyond our governments, who remain to be unhelpful for us. There are more powerful terrorists in town, and more methods to fight them than YouTube. The whole world wide web is our tool. And while terrorists in the region come in big numbers, student activists come in much larger numbers, and we will eventually win this fight.
And that is not a dream; it is a promise.
Loading ...
Loading...
Nice article Esra;a
There was Yogi in India, who could stop trains just staring at them.
As long as the fight is between us and for example censorship/dictatorship, Internet may be a helpful tool in our hands, for it plays the role of an impartial tool, thus balancing/limiting dictators’ power in favor of our cause.
however, what if we try to fight imperialism or americanization? can it still play a neutral role? I highly doubt it.
I still believe so.
A lot of authors here express their opposition against Americanization. Part of the reason why we require people to write their country’s name next to their author account is also to show others that we are proud of our identities, and don’t wish to change that. This is also why the biggest section on the site is dedicated to “Culture,” because we believe strongly in our traditions and historical values/beliefs. We try not to confuse change with Americanization. I think this is part of what I disliked about the New York Times article, it didn’t focus on what the Middle Easterners want, but what the Americans want in the Middle East, which is a challenging part of the “Americanization” process. Then again the author is American, so we shouldn’t expect him to put our interests ahead of America’s.
At Mideast Youth we are aware of the challenge however, and are trying to use videos and other forms of media to try and promote our cultural activities instead of blindly adopting things like “globalization” or “Americanization” which can replace our distinct identities and beliefs. This is also why we are creating more media in Arabic and Farsi as opposed to just using English, which at times can really limit our readership.
Right now the reason why we include Americans in our discussion is because their input is absolutely necessary, especially since there is a war in Iraq and talks of a possible one in Iran. Communicating with them is necessary, but I don’t think it’s Americanization (and I’m not implying that you’re saying that but some people think that it is, so I am just making that point more clear.)
What do you think about this? Don’t you think we can fight against Americanization by using the internet and localizing our efforts more? At some point that will be necessary, but I want your opinion on whether or not it can be possible.
Of course my opinions on this are very biased, because I’m a huge advocate of the internet and the fact that it can positively change our lives, and I also think it’s a great way to share our cultures and beliefs with one another in an open and respectful manner.
I think that this media, i.e. Internet, is biased in favor of Americanization. Indeed I do not mean that MEY is an example/a part of this process, for it makes a lot of efforts to do a good job, as you mentioned in the above comment. But MEY is not representative of mainstream media.
Howerver, above fact does not mean that Internet has destined us for Americanization. We can make a difference through collecive effort, even through this very media, though it seems a difficult task to accomplish.
all in all, my point is that we have to be very careful in our evaluation of this media. We should not trust it as a neutral mediator.
No medium is neutral, or perfect, but some are much more effective and powerful than others, especially for us. I am particularly hopeful about the internet and its positive influence in the region, even if it has its faults (extremists are using it, too, and unwanted Americanization is also a sign of its negative impact).
I think your idea though is very relevant, if you think about all the biggest corporations and companies that are creating the internet into what it is today, a big deal of it is in America, and this is not because Americans are smarter by default. It means we lack a huge opportunity because our governments and investors don’t understand the potential of this medium, so they don’t pay any attention to aiding web-based activities and initiatives. What people like us are doing with the internet is very underrated here. It’s always just a hobby, and never a profession. In the USA, the opposite is true, so this is why they have a stronger impact.
If people in the region paid more attention to the internet, and tried to make it more neutral, this wouldn’t be such a huge challenge for us.
Esra’a:
“Global Communications: Theories, Stakeholders, and Trends” from Prof. Tom McPhail is a good source in this case. in the 2nd chapter of the book, “Development Research Traditions & Global Communications”, he states:
sorry but I had to add my 2cents to the matter.
I am really surprised to hear such anti-american/anti-west sentiments.
americanization = globalization and that is GREAT news. We must move in closer economically and culturally. Its is going to be messy, YES. Is it going to hurt, YES! Will the process included injustices, YES. Will the outcome affect us all, YES. Will it be better in the end, no doubt, YEEES!
Look at the EU, these countries have for centuries been fighting each other and now? they removed borders, have one currency and in a two or three generation people will not be british or german, they will be european and then their national state is secondary. This is a trend that is affecting the whole world.
Is it messy, YES. Organic growth is always messy!
On another note, who is an american? The sudanese that ran for her life? the Iraqi that wanted a different future? The Lebanese that could not take the civil strife any longer? The palestinian? Please define american.
Further, please stop nagging about the americans, it just lame and so what our parents do all day long!! That kind of talk is the mindset of a loser and honestly I have been reading your posts and you are far from losers. If you disagree with the “americans” (as you call them), then do it BETTER!
Stop whining, ACT! pointing fingers is scapegoating in a different form and it just does not help anyone and its lame! get over it. you want to make a difference? change your direction to action and leave out the nagging commentary.
Keep in mind that the brain drain that the middle east is experiencing, Iran being a great example is do to our government not allowing us to contribute and think and act freely. Well are we not part of the problem? I envy the folks that
left cause imagine we would all leave, then our rulers would not have puppets to order around.
sorry guys but this type of talk I find completely destructive and useless. it just sound like the lingo of victims and as long as we see ourselves in that light we won’t get anything done.
ps in case you would like to discredit my comment based on my “ethnicity” or nationality. please note I am 100% middle eastern from UAE.
Jalal, someone who says that people who are anti-Americanization are “losers” is just taking it too far. Have some respect for people with different opinions.
We are not anti-American. Being against Americanization is NOT the equivalent of being racist against Americans. In fact this is the only group blog in the Middle East that has at least 20 American authors within it, which to me doesn’t look like some anti-American movement. So you are making a very dangerous connection which neither me nor Mohammad are guilty of; accusing someone of racism because of their disagreement in a policy or a process is rather weak.
You will find many Americans against Americanization. They too, do not want to shove their beliefs and cultures into someone else’s throat, forcibly through politics, economics, and soon even military force. We are worried that the internet might be a tool that also enforces that, and as people who value their own beliefs and cultures not wanting to replace it with one that is not their own.
I will phrase this more clearly.
We are people who don’t want to replace our culture (music, language, beliefs, values) with the common American or “global” one. Is that so wrong? We love our distinct identities. And we do not want to convert into something that we are not, most importantly we do not want the internet to one day force us into that, which is why we are fighting hard to maintain who we are while using the internet to solely be active and to communicate, but not to convert. Americanization is boring and does not interest us. Being clothed into someone with no real identity but the “global citizen” is far from great. Diversity is powerful, the goal of Mideast Youth is to embrace the different in our cultures, and then to be socially active with it, not to embrace Americanization.
We’re not against people moving into America, frankly you are getting that mixed up with the irrelevant and we’re not saying American = white. We are aware that it’s a huge melting pot (we have only been discussing it here for the past 2 years, I guess it was likely that someone who doesn’t read the blog comes and accuses us of racism just becaused we are against cultural rape and theft.)
The UAE is a great example of this whole globalization process, which is why I am not surprised that you are from there. No offense intended, but I lived in the UAE for close to a year and have witnessed that it’s a place that seems to be quickly replacing its own identity with one that is not its own. According to TIME magazine only 17% of people in the UAE are actual nationals, with everyone else being from abroad, and English is almost becoming the default language spoken. I felt it was really sad to see a place that is letting go of some strong cultural values, to embrace this “globalization” for the sake of money and fame, and I know a lot of UAE nationals who had to move out for having felt the same threat and fears. I was sad to see the UAE turn into such a materialistic, directionless place with money being spent on valueless competition, at the expense of slave labor.
That is scary. Sorry to offend you, but I do NOT want the whole Middle East to turn into what the UAE has become. Frankly I love my identity, language, beliefs, and culture. I do not want this replaced by the “global.” Progress is important. Progress with no direction and without strong local force is not the answer to our economic and social problems. Americanization is dangerous, and I will forever be opposed to it. This is not racist or anti-American. This is out of love of my own identity and historical background not being forcibly taken away from me by the “converted.”
Here’s a sad conclusion that I am not too in favor of. The 17% TIME figure was in the hard copy of TIME’s May magazine, I could not find it online, but remember reading it. It doesn’t seem to be such a secret though because here’s another equally ridiculous figure. Maybe you dig where you live and love its strong Western and static cultural imports, but I don’t really flow that way.
From Dawn.
Welcome to the age of globalization, where you don’t matter anymore.
Good comment Esra’a. let me add few points.
Jalal:
When I speak of Americanization, I do never mean ‘ordinary american citizens trying to enforce their viewpoints’. rather I mean those transnational and multinatioanl companies which are aimed at turning the whole world into a simple, homogeneous consumer community. Check this earlier post of MEY to find out what we exactly mean, in which Nissim Dahan (Israeli/American) says:
makes sense, ha?
or Edwin says:
finally, if UAE is an exemplary winner/forerunner of this marathon, I would rather have no legs at all to participate in the dumb game of “get american, as quick as possible”.
Mohammad and Esra’a, you seem to blame American companies and businesses, not the individuals, for the negatives of your definition of “Americanization.”
This is very silly to me – this is an example of capitalism, not “Americanization.” (Unless you see them as one in the same, and then that’s a whole other discussion…) It’s very simple: companies exist to make money. If McDonald’s wasn’t making money by having a sotre in Lebanon, they would close it. It’s not as if the McDonald’s CEO had a meeting one day and said “Let’s find a way to infiltrate every other society in this world with our culture.” No, McDonald’s doesn’t care about that – they care about making money. If they recognize an untapped market, investing in it is a good business decision. If you don’t want American compaies setting up shop on your country’s soil, don’t buy their products. I guarantee that if no one went to the McDonald’s in Lebanon it would close very quickly.
So, when you speak of American companies and Americanization, don’t blame anyone but the consumer.
That’s a very weak way of putting it. When a country is bombarded with these products, sometimes the consumers have no choice. The blame goes both ways, and I do blame ourselves for allowing our culture to be Americanized beyond belief, and it’s sad that our societies are accepting it so widely and blindly. And I do call the process Americanization, 90% of it is not coming from anywhere else but America.
I can see why as an American you’d get defensive, but not everyone wants their cultures to get raped by another. Americans are not culturally and morally superior to us, so I don’t know why their cultures and values are being embraced without much questioning. The UAE is a tear-inducing case of this.
For what it’s worth I agree with what Esra and Mohammad are saying. I hate the idea of globalization or Americanisation or whatever people want to call it, but it’s a big problem and unfortunately by now I think it’s beyond our physical control. Soon we will all be dressing, eating, thinking, and talking like Americans! I can’t call it Westernisation because Europeans are not as strongly involved with this process. There are big European, mostly French and German, companies here and there but they are not spreading as much as the American ones. American products and companies are everywhere, no one wants to compete with them. This is problematic for us. There needs to be some sort of movement that keeps this negative influence out.
10 years ago this was a nightmare, now we have to suffer the reality. This has to do with America having the strongest media exports. On my cable I have about 2 French channels, 1 Spanish, 1 Korean and like 2000 American ones, aside from the 3 locals, so go figure. Radio, papers and school are the same.
I say we guys try to talk about our cultures as often as possible and try to embrace different cultures like America, because no one is against it or saying that it is bad. But we have to stop them from pushing their limits. If I want to see America I will travel there, I don’t want to live in it and have my local culture be but a distant memory…
Be careful. Being cultured is a good thing, and globalisation or whatever has its economic benefits, but there are more important things in this world than making money and I just wish people realised it.
Jessica:
Indeed, you raise an important point. I personally do not buy ideas of some conspiracy theorists who claim that such secret meetings do exist in McDonald headquarters, etc. I prefer to judge based on hard evidences. Indeed if there were such meetings, we could invite McDonald’s senior managers to International Court of Justice.
So, what is the problem?
One or two hundred years ago, making money was associated with innovation. In that period of time, having innovative ideas would be more than enough to make money and profit. Today, however, making more money is associated with many unethical issues: eliminating cultural diversity, ignoring world-wide concerns regarding climate changes, stabilizing the market in expense of the poor suffering quite a bit more (do you remember throwing tons of wheat into the sea?), abusing modern technologies (genetics for example… is GenPets a real story or a fiction?), etc.
Esra’a says:
Hollywood is a brilliant example in this case. No other public/private company may compete with it, and it is trying to spread American Dream even more. It’s very hard for we, as easterners, to defend ourselves in this game.
I have not been to the Middle East, so I cannot tell how much “Americanization” is happening there. But I can say that we also have it here in Switzerland. A large part of it is more “Anglization” though: adoption of english slogans and terms in many domains, and throughout marketing in particular (although research showed that most people do not understand them). Hollywood movies are very popular (where not …) and I believe they have a huge influence. But still, we are not Americans at all, and I think that fears that soon everyone on the planet will be like “Americans” (since when were Americans all the same anyway?) are highly exagerrated. There are still major cultural differences between America and Europe, and also within Europe, despite intense exchange.
Don’t forget that
a) this form of cultural export has always existed (e.g. Arabs exporting their culture to North Africa, Iran, Pakistan, Southeast Asia, …)
b) for the case of American cultural export: it is happening everywhere, so if you want to deal with it there are a lot of people to learn from, just take any country which is not the U.S. …
c) simply trying to “resist” won’t help. You have to know how you want to shape your world, and take an active part in it.
What if there were more cultural exchange between the Middle East and, let’s say, South America?
It’s good to have you back Dominik.
Other than Murad’s exaggerations I think our fears are entirely legitimate. I know that Switzerland is a LOT less Americanized (or Anglized) than any of the Gulf states, which is a good thing. It pales in comparison. I understand why Murad is scared, even if “we would all be Americans one day” is taking it too far, but the rate that this is all happening in is seriously alarming. It’s unlike anywhere else in the world considering our very small populations here, and our leaders’ vision, which seems to be to get Americanized as fast as possible as Mohammad implied.
You need to come here yourself, and then compare our countries to what they were 10 years ago. People come here and ask us to “dig out” our cultural aspects of society, because it’s never ‘in your face.’ This shouldn’t happen. Like I said I’m not against progress. Oman is a perfect example of progress gone GOOD. They have a policy where buildings have to have a modernly cultural look to it – according to the government preserving culture is not an option it’s a requirement, because they are absolutely horrified by what they are seeing in places like the UAE too. And with this, the country is really unique, and it helps that they have the freest economy in the region (UAE is currently a step behind them.)
So of course resisting helps! The Omani government is a successful example of cultural resistance against Americanization, I applaud them. There is economic growth, there is plenty of progress, education is improving, and I’m not saying it’s perfect (far from it, slave labor and censorship exists there too, but is not as bad as the UAE), so it’s a good model to go after.
We are not just talking about the usage of English which is hardly our biggest problem (we consider this an advantage, we need it to communicate, and communication is a beautiful thing, we are pro-diversity as well), but we are talking about the total loss of cultural importance. The UAE is perhaps the scariest and most depressing example of any Arab country losing its identity and we don’t want to be victims next.
So again it’s possible to resist, and I think the Omani government is providing a great example on how we can do that. When I’m older and more financially stable enough to fund other projects, there are projects here that help us preserve culture (believe it or not we are not the only ones scared, there are some powerful people who feel the same way and they are working on it by starting more museums about language, cultural heretiage, religion, etc). Even in the UAE they have been too criticized and now they are trying to work on it, however unsuccessfully, because they have already lost the look and feel of the culture and they would need to work hard to bring it back. And with only just 20% of the country or so as actual nationals, you can tell, it’s a country where people can care less about the UAE culture and preserving it.. in this world it’s all about making money, no one cares about other people’s history and identity. And I guess the question is, why should they? Most people I spoke with don’t care. I guess Mohammad, Murad and I just don’t want to see that happen in our own countries.
You know we wanted to create an Arab-Japanese social networking site to encourage this kind of cultural exchange (because when people think of cultural exchange these days they just want it with America, which kind of bothers me because the world is huge and just because America is the most visible, it doesn’t make it the best in terms of cultural exchange). Unfortunately however no one wanted to fund it, so we were unable to go any further with the idea.
Your mention of establishment of museums,and similiar institutions is important. More publishing of books, however, in your region is essential, as well.
If most books weren’t censored, perhaps that would be a possibility for us. Censorship and the oppression of minorities is what’s killing our culture. Even in museums, you don’t find much stuff on the historical minorities, or things that are considered offensive by the political and religious elites. It’s quite sad and discouraging.
according to an Iranian blogger, the most valuable Nude Collections of world belongs to Nasser-al-Din Shah (Qajar dynasty) (1848-1896) which he made of his favorite mistresses in his own Harem. He ordered that the collection be destroyed once he died, but when he was shot dead all his belongings were gathered and kept in a safe house inside Golestan palace-museum and sealed. This collection still exists there! there is a possibility that some tradition-minded people go there and set it on fire. you know, photography had been an expensive hubby in that period of time, and such collections are invaluable…
Mohammed- that is very interesting.
Esra’a- I was thinking: It has been noted that China has made some inroads toward democracy, but only after the messiness of capitalism has taken hold, particularly in the south. Is that so? Maybe because free enterprise zones(that involve more than just the elite) has allowed average citizens to have more say.
Esra’a, I would never ever claim that American culture is superior to the cultures of the Middle East. And I’m not acting in defense of McDonalds – I could care less whether people eat there. I don’t associate McDonald’s as being American “culture,” either, because that’s frankly a bit demeaning. American culture is a lot more than fast food.
I simply think that in order to defend against what you call Americanization, you need to properly address the cause in order to target and defeat it. Claiming that McDonalds is trying to rape other cultures is not going to get you anywwhere – rather, the consumers need to be targeted and educated on other, better options. The consumer does have power here, and by eliminating the consumer base, companies like McDonald’s will respond.
Mohammad, agreed that many companies practice things that are unethical. There are laws to govern this, but companies (the oil refining companies like Shell and BP come to mind) will certainly exploit workers in those countries where the laws are either a lot softer, non existent, or ignored/not enforced. Sweat shops are an example – when Americans started protesting the conditions in sweatshops that made Nikes and the other brands we love so much, the companies did respond and reform, because they want to keep the consumer as a customer. I’m not saying everything is perfect now, but the consumer movement did promote change. As Homer1 noted, that’s the beauty of capitalism – they consumer does have the power and the choice.
Mohammad, regarding your comparison about Hollywood, let me ask why you think the concept of “the American Dream” is so prevelant and successful in selling movies? I think it is because people really want to have open, free socieites where they can express their opinions and have a chance at social mobility or other success. I can easily see how movies portraying that ideal would be extremely popular in countries where those freedoms don’t exist – it’s a form of escapism for the viewer. Any why, then, is this such a bad thing? I think when it gets confused is when people think that they are somehow living the “American Dream” -and therefore obtaining such freedoms, or a part of that – by buying McDonalds, or Nikes, or whatever. The consumer is blindly eating up the product without any thought to what that product might really be representing or doing. Again, that’s why I blame the consumer – not the company (unless the company is acting illegally or unethically, as previously stated).
Hi Jessica,
I don’t understand where you are getting these claims from. Where and when, in my comment, did I ever make this statement:
We are talking about film, music, ideologies. Massive imports of ideas only from America as opposed to other parts of the world. Where did I bring up fast food?
McDonald’s was the example I had used in my original comment, since a previous commentor had used the McDonald’s in Lebanon as an example of Americanization. You in turn said that Americanization was “raping other cultures” so I was trying to pair an example of a business with that comparison. Someone – or something – has to be responsible of the “massive imports of ideas from America.”
I’m not sure why you’re getting so defensive. I live here and this is merely how I witness things in my country, and in the region as a whole – I see Americanization as a form of rape. The McDonald’s comparison is totally inaccurate, especially considering the fact that I didn’t even bring it up. Come scroll through our television channels here, go to the movies, open the radio, 95% of these are all American, so it is kind of suffocating our societies. And we’re not blaming Americans for this. We are blaming our societies who are blindly embracing what’s not theirs, while forgetting what IS theirs and never practicing it.
I stand by my opinion that Americanization really is a form of cultural rape. It’s replacing the local with what’s American – instead of just giving us another “foreign” option. It’s becoming our majority. And I’m not blaming America for this, I already said (very clearly, and on several occasions now) that this can be resisted. I even gave the example of Oman. So enough about McDonald’s already, this is about real culture – everything from the mainstream media to music to politics.
Jessica:
McDonald is the symbol of a ‘rampant’ process aimed at, say, eliminating cultural diversity. How does this process work? Simple: a nation has a superior technology and takes advantage of it so as to spread its culture and values. In this case, McDonald produces a high quality food with a relatively lower price, thus other countries fail to sustain their own traditional recipes. Note that world is somehow at the first stages of the process.
Hollywood is another example of this process.
Hollywood products sell because they are of a higher quality (better actors, better directors, better equipment, etc). Ordinary people rarely buy the movie for its message. What I often hear in (underground) CD/DVD markets in Iran is something close to this: “newest movies of Angelina Julie.” Consumer buys Angelina Julie, and meanwhile is unconsciously forced to buy American culture along with it.
You claim that this is the fault of consumer. You are true, but just to a certain extent. Let me refer you again to “Global Communications: Theories, Stakeholders, and Trends” from Prof. Tom McPhail:
Jessica you might want to watch the Conan O’Brian show as well, recently in one show (the one with Eddy Izzard), Conan said this:
“I went to Bahrain and Western culture was everywhere. I thought to myself, this could be Cleveland.”
This is a direct quote, by the way.
So instead of getting defensive, you can explore the dangers of this Americanization. It really is all over the place and it’s replacing our local culture with what’s American. And you know, we might use it because we have to, but that doesn’t mean that we like it.
Funny, Westerners try so hard to prevent non-Western culture from impacting their lives, but…
Esra’a, Mohammad, I’m not objecting to the fact that your cultures are being inundated with ‘western’ ideas/objects/media/ect (that’s obvious), my objection is to your balme placement and subsequently a proposal to solve it. I still maintain that this has to begin and end with the consumer and the consumer’s choices.
Mohammad, I read the McPhail quote – but to me all that proves is that this a product of capitalism. I understand that capitalism is very hard to fight against, the “little man” vs. the “big man,” but it still gives the consumer power. Again, your example of not buying a movie for the movie’s message but rather for the actors/actresses in the movie still shows a deliberate consumer choice: a preferance for Angelina Jolie over other actresses or over a movie’s message. The consumer does have a choice to 1) not buy the movie at all, or b) purchase a movie with a different message and/or different actors.
Esra’a, you certainly have every right to voice your views about what you see in your country – we are both stating our ideas and viewpoints from our respective positions in our respective countries. But you are right that I am getting defensive over your use of the word rape. I think it’s very insensitive to those who actually have been sexually assaulted, and I don’t think that it’s a fair comparison to a culture disappearing because, as I’ve stated many times, the consumer has a choice in that matter. Rape victims do NOT have a choice.