Friday, July 13, 2007

To censure or not.

Since one of my greatest hobbies in my spare times nowadays is to read comments left in Alarabiya.net, not only I find these comments amusing, and vulgarly entertaining to give me a good impulse of a good heartache, but it is a great source to learn how low the Arab mind thinks in its epitome zenith to reach the gutter of shallow thinking, racism, derogatory stereotypes, xenophobia and of course sexism. And of course I can not generalize, but these negative elements are fully found in that's site's comments column.

This uncensored phenomenon of leaving distasteful comments wide open to the public, made me really think, why the people in charge are not censuring these uncalled, low-class comments, even in public discussion forums they replace moderators to moderate foul commentary, how come in a "professional" website like Alarabiya.net such thing is not conducted up bar to the acceptable level of civilized discussion.
Thinking I am really right, I was complaining to sis about how lowly some people are, and how disgraceful some Iraqis that leave comments in Alarabiya leaving me utterly ashamed for their tribal, supremacist, racist thinking.

She on the other hand agreed with my moral principles but she said what I am calling for is just against freedom of speech, she continued with her argument, saying those people are representing their environments, and the comments are just excretion of such environments, and by letting such secretions, pus and disgusting crap out there, is but to give it chances to reform, as the filth is not fermenting but exposed to sterilized sun. And she also, added something really personal of how I always used to tell her to confront my parents with what she is thinking and to stop being miss diplomatic and an a$$ kisser, in order for the thesis and the anti-thesis melt into each other and to make something out of it. I could not reply back to that comment, but thinking now, such analogy does not make sense, maybe because I think "I make more sense" :D than my parents when it comes to my freedoms and that I respect people as long as they respect my freedoms.

As for me, I see the comments as poisonous, defamatory for me as an Iraqi, and will only spread hatred in a time where division is thriving and unity is needed.

She added, that people laying their hatred to the wide public to read is also, a good defensive mechanism as it will educate people from other nations of ill intentions felt by other people, so they will be more savvy. This reminds me of this Turkish guy back in university, he quite confidently told me that northern Iraq belongs to Turkey lol

But my argument, this untainted person who have not heard a horrible comment made by his peer from a neighboring country will act naturally when confronted with that neighbor who may harbor such horrible feelings but vanishes as he/she sees the opposite of what he accepted as he/she is tainted. (now this is generally but I am not interested to make it complicate but just to give the idea), so basically it is an action and reaction argument.
But there are also countries that do not need its people to divulge top notch secrets, just yesterday Iran announced that Bahrain is part of Iran, however, if I go to an Iranian discussion forum could I be learning something different, hence the public might is not necessarily similar to the gov.


But I guess it is the Middle East, lets give war a chance, yammy lets people learn by experience, respectable eh!

7 comments:

nadia said...

every comment box i've ever read on any news site anywhere, ever is completely swarmed with hateful garbage. it's just noise, determined to drown sane people out. interesting for maybe five minutes before you realize ingorance is everywhere and totally dull.

Shams said...

hi nadia, thanx for droping by.

it is true, yes, the world is swarmed with hateful comments and insensitive people.

ignorance is like you said, however i even started question if the few intellectuals/thinkers/people with spark are also that, at the top, i feel just like how it is easy , practical to say that, but it is also one has to realize the intelligence of such ignorants (i know a big, huge oxymoron) but how much of a skill these people show to perfect their hate and why? and why didn't years of refrom if adamant, were not able to wipe up such skilled hate-crime doers?...

so my in my opinion, one needs to be beyond the emotion based intelligence that of humanity love to tap into the illogical "logic" of these phucks and why they think that way......

now i myself duno why i am saying that.....bcz when i read your comments months ago i totally agree but i dunno what made me say and feel that way....


tc :)

nadia said...

Hi
Funny I just found my way here again because I've been thinking about this subject lately.

how much of a skill these people show to perfect their hate and why? and why didn't years of refrom if adamant, were not able to wipe up such skilled hate-crime doers?...
I was talking about this with a friend of mine, who just happens to be Israeli, like how much of it is manufactured when you have a loudmouth like Ahmadinejad, Natanyahu, etc etc around.

But I guess also, there's the idea that the marginalization, of not being allowed to say certain things in public, pushes people to say more extreme(and insane) things, but I'm thinking more of the case in North America than MENA there. But there's the idea too, that Arab leaders talk so tough(to put it mildly) about Israel precisely because they are so impotent to deal with her in any normal way.

I've been thinking about that as well with respect to a lot of other things, misogyny, and also quebec racism. I think you lived in canada before, but I don't know if you were around before the Hérouxville and other things were in the news, a lot of it is really disturbing, and I wonder how much worse it is than anywhere else, or if it's just a matter of "us" giving a forum for the crazies to speak(not solely that, but I think that is a huge part of it.)

I don't know, I just tell myself the ideas are only as powerful as you let them be, which of course is much easier to say.

onix said...

I agree mostly when it is about attitudes. However it is different if it is about words.
Likewise i can understand that people sometimes have one fix.
They fight their wives, or have a trauma of uniforms of one sort or another, or they haven't had decent chances in the life.
It is often very hard to judge from one post or comment what is the matter. Also by denying expression to people who are not brought up 'gentile' dilligent, or whatever nice word the poche want to press on their pocheness, we can be sure we maintain social violence, and remain a potential for conflict and catastrophe. Not all people that express badly can't think better, if they can .... you will need them in a proces of progress. That said it's indeed ridiculous that so many think they contribute by cussing.
Ridiculous as their antagonist that think they win any argument by pointing out their opponents are cussing.
After all they might have reason.
thx abu kid for the link through foulmouthed italian. greets

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