Racism against Arabs hurting dialogue

I am writing in response to the racist rhetoric that has followed in the wake of the Palestine Solidarity Movement Conference. I am referring, among other things, to the flagrantly bigoted and abusive remark of speaker Brigitte Gabriel calling all Arabs “barbarians” at what was ostensibly a non- political concert “against terror.” This comment was especially disturbing to me as a member of the Arab Students Organization; a group that endorsed the concert under the unfortunate assumption that it would be a condemnation of terror, and not, as it was, a condemnation of Arabs in general. Gabriel’s statement dehumanizes Arabs, thus making their suffering irrelevant; a point that was further emphasized by the concert’s failure to mention of any instances of anti-Arab terrorism, such as the torture of Iraqis by US soldiers.

Unfortunately the verbal battering of Arabs and PSM attendees does not end there. The Monday comic strip “Campus Beat” equated PSM attendees to suicide bombers implying that Duke’s ultimate goal was to “keep them away from the bus system.” This comment seems aimed at discrediting any valuable discourse spurred by PSM, and perpetuates general stereotypes of all pro-Palestinians as terrorists. Gabriel and the writers of the Campus Beat have done this campus a disservice with their racist generalizations. Rather than participating in productive campus dialogue, they have attempted to divide it further.

These remarks are insulting not only to Arabs, but also to all the students who put real effort into promoting constructive dialogue and attempting to erase racist discourse.

Inge Osman

Pratt ‘05