Hello, My Name Is Hussein . . .
I read this great piece in the Sunday NY Times about how a group of Obama supporters are changing their middle names to that of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama: Hussein. Jeff Hussein Strabone started the movement on his blog where he stated:
I don’t know about you but I am sick of Republicans pronouncing Barack Obama’s name like it was some sort of cuss word. It is a national embarassment that American political discourse stretches so far to the extremes of xenophobia and puerility that a candidate’s name can become an object of propaganda. I’m not worried about the influence of such people. Like Bill and Hillary Clinton, the Republicans will learn that Obama is a bright, shining piece of rubber, and they are the glue. It just disappoints me to no end to hear it on the news day in and day out. . . . It’s not just people named Hussein who are being insulted by the racist xenophobes among us. It’s everyone who respects human dignity and who values things like courtesy and etiquette. There’s a tradition on the left of identifying with the targets of injustice by saying, I am [those people you hate].
This is just another example of the racism and religious insensitivity that exists in the U.S. - how soon people forget that this country was founded by people fleeing religious persecution. The country is at a crossroads and the decision we make in November will have repercussions for years to come. This is not the time to be ambivalent. I am Gabriella Hussein Davi-Khorasanee. Who are you?
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Tags: barack hussein obama, hello my name is hussein, jeff hussein strabone, NY Times
July 1st, 2008 at 8:57 am
just by putting hussein in your name you become a terrorist. I heard it in a Fox News special last thursday.
Fact: Obama wants to turn all our penguins gay.
Fact: Obama eats tabouli, which is basically terrorist lettuce.
Fact: Obama killed the dinosaurs.
July 1st, 2008 at 9:21 am
It is so infuriating for me as well to hear about people being so narrow-minded and using Barack Obama’s name and skin color against him. In a country that refers to itself as a democracy and is a breeding ground for various cultures and traditions, you would think people would learn to be more accepting of others. We’re already in 2008 and we have yet to see a president who is not caucasian, not male, and/or not from a wealthy background. Barack Obama gives us hope for our country’s future, and for that I applaud him. Americans, as a whole, need to respect each other and those who try so hard to make a difference in our lives.
Go Obama!!