I have a hard time with apologies. Well once when I was 10 and playing tennis with my uncle Chaz on the beach I apologies each time I dropped the ball which meant every time it came my way that he told me if I said sorry one more time he would bop me over the head with the racket. Obviously he served the ball I dropped it, said sorry, he bopped my head, we went and got ice cream.
Ok ok enough cute stories. I was reading this article in The Economist September 2012 issue called Morsi's Moment. The subtitle: Egypt's leader should define the Muslim mainstream and speak out against extremists. The main sentence that struck me was: "First, it has made many Westerners, especially Americans, wonder why they and their government should seek to play a constructive role in those parts of the world where people apparently harbor such visceral feelings of hatred towards them."
This article goes one to talk about extremist and Egypt two things I know nothing about first hand. As a volunteer in Morocco I have come across this topic of what are you doing in a place where no one wants you. I have gotten quite a bit of harassment in my site due to the movie made by an American and comic made by a French person insulting the profit Muhammad. I have not gotten a chance to see either of them (nor do I really want to) but when the first time you hear about it is because some guys are chasing you and throwing rocks at you calling you what would basically translate to stupid pile of French s***. You figure out someone did something insulting.
The article come really close to asking for an apology about the harassment that people get, but then goes on to discus "Western respect for free speech" as to why there are no apologies for the comic or movie. In my opinion the requests are being made to the wrong people. I don't what the government to apologize for the fact that I am scared to leave my house they asked me and 120 other people to come. I want the dudes who throw things at me to understand that I have nothing to do with this. The same way I don't lump the people in my town as extremists they should understand that I have nothing to do with the comic or the movie.
It has come to a point where I am scared and concerned about where I am living. When it was explained to me that I have done my days work when someone says "You can't be an American your to nice" or "What your not Muslim but your not a horrible person" I have done my days work I became hesitant and still am. Reading this article made me realize how important that is. The concept of us not playing a role or being around makes me fear that we are going to put an even greater distance between us. I may not be the person for the job, and we may need to rethink the way we interact with each other. The concept of just not talking because we disagree is for a lack of better words stupid. We all need to go get some ice cream and figure this out. The extremist may reside in these countries but not everyone there thinks that way. Not everyone in the town I live in throws rocks at me, some of them teach me script and make me couscous.
Why when we are scared or angry do we lump people together? Why do we ask for apologies? How does that help find a solution? Where is the ice cream?
