First thing that happened was the FFA issued a statement against AAM and sent this statement to all the advertisers on the show. Basically the statement was about how the show showcases Muslims in too much of a normal light. They wanted to see more Muslims on the show following jihad, sharia, and basically blowing things up. Because that is the only version of Muslims that they know from having interviewed various Muslims around Florida (I hope you read the sarcasm there). Ironically, one of the companies (Lowe’s) decided to listen and pull their ads. I say ironically because these blowing up Muslims would have needed that company to supply the components to blow up things.
In their press release, Lowe's acknowledged that it received messages from a "broad spectrum of customers" and that is why they decided to pull their ads. So basically Lowe's also felt that AAM needed scenes of Muslims going into Lowe's to buy supplies to blow things up.
So now there are sides saying that everyone needs to boycott Lowe's, while the other side thinks that Lowe's should be free to advertise on whatever show they want. I think Lowe’s should look into shows that highlight true American values, such as Sister Wives, Toddlers and Tiaras, 20 Kids and Counting, and of course my all time favorite, Hording: Buried Alive.
So here lies my dilemma with trying to figure out what it is that America wants from its Muslim society: After 9/11 there were lots of questions asked about 'Where are the moderate Muslims?!?' Now here is a television program showing America where the moderate Muslims are existing (Dearborn), living very boring lives (adjusting to motherhood, marriage, job transitions), and not blowing things up. But now we have a group that is asking 'Where are the radical Muslims?!?'
In the words of Seth Meyers "Really...?"
P.S. If you click on FFA or Lowe's in my first paragraph, it will take you to the petition from Sign On. Yes, this was intentional.
4 comments:
To me it sounds like yet another round of "how dare you interrupt my hateful stereotypes with facts!"
I'm not a Muslim, but I grew up in one of the areas of the country with a substantial number of Muslims. Muslims, therefore, seemed no stranger to this Catholic kid than, say, Lutherans, or Orthodox, or any of the many other groups you find in the southwest suburbs of Chicago. And, as is inevitable when people intermingle as people, not as stereotypes, one of my siblings married a Palestinian. Never in my wildest imagination could I picture Muslims as anything but the kind of people who came to family gatherings and who might live next door...
And then came 9/11, and I think this country has gone insane.
Muslims have become more (and much less) than they really are: they have become the locus of American rage against perceived national decline (never mind that scapegoating only hastens real decline).
"All American Muslim" ruins this. How can you successfully hate The Other when The Other you're hating is one of us? That FFA would complain about the lack of terrorists (never mind that, in the Muslim community, there *is* a paucity of terrorists) isn't surprising: Muslim as The Other has a special place in their back-to-the-Middle-Ages Evangelical heart. That Lowes would go along with such an outrageous campaign is a lot more shocking to me.
Oh well: time to give my business back to the local lumberyard, where it should have stayed in the first place.
Well-written piece. I literally cannot believe the amount of bigoted hate being spewed forth on Lowe's Facebook page. I knew Islamophobia was a problem here; I never realized it was so widespread.
It's almost amusing (and more than a little sickening) to watch as the haters gleefully yell out their support for Lowe's and their right to spend their ad dollars as they wish. Talk to them long enough, though, and it becomes clear that they are really delighted about one thing-- finally having an excuse to publicly bash Muslims.
GRRRRRR !!!!! I heard the commentary last night and I want to scream.. How is it 2011 and this guy is able to go on television and spew his words of hate and ignorance.
It's a sad day.
What an excellent piece. It's amazing how threatened people feel by this show. Wonderful that you pointed out the hypocrisy of asking where the moderates are then silencing them.
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