tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284661635188679438.post2431139894435915748..comments2023-10-28T09:18:36.494-04:00Comments on Method to the Madness: Paging Derek WalcottSaratuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15444322081856808447noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284661635188679438.post-44952639374038621192010-10-31T19:55:47.177-04:002010-10-31T19:55:47.177-04:00Hari reminds me of Sean Penn and Bono - one in med...Hari reminds me of Sean Penn and Bono - one in media, one in film and one in music - all suffering from the self-righteous white man syndrome. Still I do like his commentary on Brit politics and he has done some investigate reports on the DRC which I appreciate.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284661635188679438.post-799072816258161402010-10-31T17:42:43.991-04:002010-10-31T17:42:43.991-04:00So big Hari fan, huh?
I mostly read Hari when he&...So big Hari fan, huh?<br /><br />I mostly read Hari when he's excerpted on Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish<br />blog. I can't say I've read as much from Hari, but you voice a lot of<br />the same criticisms that I had of an early piece of his on Israeli<br />views on the Gaza strip (or something) from a year ago. I don't much<br />like Naipaul, but I am indeed curious about what he has to say. It's<br />an interesting subject, which I'd like to see tackled in the modern<br />day.<br /><br />As a general matter, I find the question of what Westerners can or<br />can't talk about exhausting. In the process of arguing for the right<br />to criticize African traditional beliefs/say the N word/ ask why black<br />people have Aids more/etc, what mostly happens is that these people<br />show that they don't know what they're talking about. Reading the news<br />about albinos and rapes gives you the neither the background nor the<br />insight to say anything more useful than inanities the media is<br />already awash with anyway.Saratuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15444322081856808447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284661635188679438.post-2573570127695682352010-10-31T17:30:26.972-04:002010-10-31T17:30:26.972-04:00So big Hari fan, huh?
I mostly read Hari when he&...So big Hari fan, huh?<br /><br />I mostly read Hari when he's excerpted on Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish<br />blog. I can't say I've read as much from Hari, but you voice a lot of<br />the same criticisms that I had of an early piece of his on Israeli<br />views on the Gaza strip (or something) from a year ago. I don't much<br />like Naipaul, but I am indeed curious about what he has to say. It's<br />an interesting subject, which I'd like to see tackled in the modern<br />day.<br /><br />As a general matter, I find the question of what Westerners can or<br />can't talk about exhausting. In the process of arguing for the right<br />to criticize African traditional beliefs/say the N word/ ask why black<br />people have Aids more/etc, what mostly happens is that these people<br />show that they don't know what they're talking about. Reading the news<br />about albinos and rapes gives you the neither the background nor the<br />insight to say anything more useful than inanities the media is<br />already awash with anyway.Saratuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15444322081856808447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284661635188679438.post-15064480478811560362010-10-31T10:03:35.126-04:002010-10-31T10:03:35.126-04:00Johann Hari gets on my nerves. I first noticed him...Johann Hari gets on my nerves. I first noticed him from his article "Dare We Stand Up for Muslim Women." Lots of patronizing stuff in there. He wrote this annoying "expose" on Dubai and basically essentialized the city and the UAE into its major faults, acting as if Westerners wouldn't know the "real Dubai" without his journalism. Then I caught a piece of his later on marital kidnappings in Ethiopia. I know nothing about Ethiopia, but after having read his article, I would feel as if I knew EVERYTHING about marriage in poor, barbaric Ethiopia, and it was only in the comment section that I read that this marital kidnapping thing is a practice in a particular place in Southern Ethiopia and that once again, Hari has essentialized an entire country. Anyway, it seems Hari has a strong desire to expose the barbarianism of Other in the guise of concern and alliance. In the end he simply reinforces his own Western superiority. My favorite part of this Africa article was when Hari compared witchcraft in Africa to Israeli atrocities. That was a good one. Of course in the comments of his article, some people used his "we can't criticize Africa" nonsense as an excuse to slam Islam. In this Islamophobic atmosphere, of course that was an underlying pre-text of his complaints on censoring critique of Other. Some people in the comments did point out that there are Western peoples have belief systems similar to traditional African beliefs. Anyway, V.S. Naipaul is a racist and a long time Muslim hater, but I may check out his book out of interest to see what he says, if not just to work my critical thinking skills. Ironically, stories about the atrocities are pretty much one of two or three main issues that we in the West EVER read or learn about Africa (like albino killings and HIV infant rapes, etc), so Hari promoting this stuff is just one more drop in the bucket.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com