Saudi Ministry of Education to showcase innovations at 2025 Geneva International Exhibition    7,523 violators of residency, labor, and border security laws deported in a week    Video contradicts Israeli army account of deadly March 23 strike on Gaza paramedics    Saudi Arabia spends over $241 million to implement de-mining projects in 3 countries    Italy's Meloni government approves controversial security decree expanding police protections and penalties    Egypt submits new Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange proposal: Report    'Everything is possible' — Ronaldo focused on titles, not 1,000-goal milestone after Riyadh Derby win    Saudi, US military leaders discuss enhanced defense cooperation in Riyadh    King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language launches program with Indiana University    Ronaldo brace powers Al Nassr past Al Hilal in Riyadh derby thriller    Ed Sheeran weaves Persian music into new song, Azizam    Al-Jadaan: Crown Prince's directives confirm government's ability to bring back balance to real estate market    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Foreign investors are allowed to engage in real estate business outside Makkah and Madinah Commercial speculation should not be the purpose of real estate transaction    Aubameyang fires Al Qadsiah into King's Cup final with stoppage-time winner over Al Raed    Musk's X is suing India, as Tesla and Starlink plan entry    Tesla sales plunge after backlash against Elon Musk    Danilo Pereira fires Al Ittihad into King's Cup final with dramatic stoppage-time double    Screen time in bed linked to insomnia, study finds    Mexico bans junk food in schools to fight childhood obesity epidemic    Sweet sales surge ahead of Eid as Saudi chocolate imports top 123 million kg in 2024    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    King Salman prays for peace and stability for Palestinians in Ramadan message King reaffirms Saudi Arabia's commitment to serving the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



The sad reality and hypocrisy of American violence
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 23 - 12 - 2012


Ray Hanania
Last week, a young man named Adam Lanza went to a local elementary school armed with automatic weapons and killed 20 little children and six of their school teachers, one of whom was his own mother, and then committed suicide.
A few weeks back, another American suicide killer, Jacob Tyler Roberts, murdered two people in Oregon before taking his own life. And, in September of this year, another American suicide killer, Andrew Engeldinger, murdered five co-workers at a Minneapolis business and then took his own life.
These American suicide killers are not a new phenomenon and are not as rare as Americans would like people in the Middle East to believe. There are more victims of gun violence in the United States each year than in the Middle East, which Americans love to portray as the world's capital of suicide murder.
American suicide killings and mass murders occur so often that by one count, there have been more than 61 similar acts of carnage since two high school students dressed up in long black coats like action heroes in a popular but violent video game called “Doom” in April 1999 and murdered 13 people at their high school in Columbine, Colorado before committing suicide.
In some cases, the American suicide killers were described as being mentally ill, although not all were. One might argue that anyone who murders innocent people for any reason from personal rage to politics or even religion, is mentally ill. But unfortunately, Americans don't rationalize the murders committed by Arabs and Muslims the same way they rationalize and deliberate about murder by suicide killers who are American.
For example, one could argue that Osama Bin Laden was mentally ill, someone who was so disturbed that he believed that killing nearly 3,000 innocent people on Sept. 11, 2001 in New York, 10,000 miles from where he hid in a barren cave in Afghanistan was a religious act of faith.
Bin Laden might be an extreme example. Yet the mainstream American news media which is intentionally biased always describes acts of violence by Arabs and Muslims as “terrorism.” They never call shootings by American suicide killers acts of terrorism.
Americans will argue that Arabs and Muslims commit acts of violence in the name of their religion, usually blaming Islam. But I would counter that it is just as logical to conclude that these recent acts of mass murder are committed by American suicide killers who may not share a religious zealotry, but they do share a corrupted form of cultural zealotry.
The recurring and record-setting violence by Americans is both terrorism and driven by people with a mission founded in their culture. Americans embrace violence not only in their daily lives, but in their everyday culture. It is in their movies, books, games, television shows, children's games and in their news media.
In fact, the American mainstream news media is an industry that is built on selling violence. “If it bleeds is leads” is a mantra of the American news media. American motorists always slow down to check out the victims of traffic accidents on US highways. In fact, American highways are clogged with traffic jams so often because of this cultural phenomenon that they have a name for it: “gapers block.”
Americans scream about the violence of other countries, labeling Arabs and Muslims as the worst offenders, but it is all politics. In reality, more people are killed by handguns and weapons on the streets of America than are killed in all of the Arab countries combined, including during the frequent mini and regional wars.
Americans love guns. They embedded the “right” to own guns into their Constitution. In fact, it was the second most important amendment to the US Constitution, and is called “the Second Amendment.” The First Amendment is the American right to freely accuse others of wrongdoing while remaining silent about their own lack of moral compass, ethical fortitude and hypocrisy. It's called “free speech” but in America, it's not free to everyone, only to those people who reflect the image and beliefs of the “majority” culture.
It must feel strange for Arabs and Muslims in the Middle East to witness all these American suicide killings and massacres, and listen as Americans brush them off as the result of some aberration. At the same time, Americans point to similar acts of murder in the Arab and Muslim worlds and, with judgmental certainty, conclude that the violence is “cultural” and “inherent” in the lifestyle of the Arab people and in the Islamic religion.
Violence is a sad reality of human nature. But worse is the way in which some cultures excuse their own violent acts while condemning the violence of others.
— Ray Hanania is an award winning columnist. He can be reached at www.TheMediaOasis.com


Clic here to read the story from its source.