H.L. Mencken is often quoted as saying that a Puritan is someone who has a haunting fear that someone somewhere might be having a good time.
If the famous curmudgeon were alive today, I do not doubt that he would have some choice barbs to direct at Muslim fundamentalists. It seems the puritanical National Union of Malaysian Muslim Students is upset about an upcoming concert to be held in their country by American pop star Gwen Stefani. They demanded that the concert be cancelled, because the mere glimpse of Stefani's bare midriff might throw the entire country into anarchy.
While the concert will go on, apparently Stefani has agreed to alter her wardrobe so as to not offend Islamic sensibilities. Personally, I hope that during the last song in her concert, Stefani will change into this as a "fuck you" gesture to the Malaysian Muslim Students Union.
When are these people going to realize that they live in the tropics and that they were not meant to adopt the dress codes of a 7th century Arabian desert culture?
And how many more Malaysia bashing posts do I have to do before Exercise In Futility is declared an anti-Malaysian hate site?
10 comments:
"It promotes a certain degree of obscenity and will encourage youth to emulate Western lifestyle."
I think it's a wee bit too late to try to prevent that. Considering how western lifestyle can be found anywhere on the planet, even in nations that are predominantly muslim, what's a little bit of skin exposure added to the obsession with western culture that already exists? The "Puritians" have already lost in that regard.
I don't know much about Gwen Stefani but she looks a lot like Madonna and I'd expect her schtick to be cashing in on that, along with the Madonna track record of minimal talent, in your face anti- religion spectacles.
If so, I'm with the Malaysians.
When you look at how the "western lifestyle" is viewed around the world because of radical money grubbing exhibitionists like Madonna, Ice Tea, Snoop Doggy and their Pimpwood progenitors it's hard to see how any reasonable person can blame George Bush or any other leader in this country for the hatred and rejection of any and everything they think this country stands for.
bedrock, are you sure you aren't a muslim? *wink*
Sex has been around a long, long time and men have always liked looking at sexy women since way back in ancient times. It's nothing new, and fundamentalists have trying to suppress it is nothing new, either.
Look back at the WWII USO tours, there were girls in midriffs, pin-up girls like Betty Grable, and pretty blonde singers. It's entertainment, not porn.
I'm far from being a prude dusty.
But Betty Grable was known mainly for her "gams", supported the war and entertained our troops in WW11. Her pinups embellished the noses of many fighters and bombers of Americans who stood behind their country and it's leaders and actually understood what was at stake in that war.
I haven't seen a whole lot of that kind of patriotism or respect for American values out of Pimpwood since...
By the way and for the record, no Grable "bare midriff" back then either.
There's a certain value to leaving a little something to the imagination.
I don't expect today's hedonistic "any and everything goes" generation to begin to understand that though.
I think you, like many elderly people romanticize the olden days, wanting to think things were so much more "wholesome" when in fact, not much has changed except for clothing styles.
People didn't have the technology back in the says of your youth to plaster their "wildness" all over the place like now. You think things have changed, but you will see they really haven't if you stop to think about how things actually were instead of some select memories you choose to swoon over.
As for anti-war protests, etc. The reason you saw so much patriotism back in the days of your youth was because any kind of counter-demonstrations were not broadcast. The media was primitive compared to nowadays. Now war correspondents are working with live cameras right alongside the soldiers.
I was a journalism major on a scholarship for my undergrad, and we studied about the war correspondents back in the old days, and how the reports they brought back were edited so as anything "unpatriotic" was edited out. You never got the full story, bedrock. Only what the censors wanted you to see.
Prostitution, gambling, pornography, torch singers, drinking, carousing around has been around forever. (Even your Mr. Bush did his fair share of partying,,,and his daughter who was supposedly raised with her conservative xian family values attended drunken naked parties at Yale University and was quite a lush.)
Every person thinks the days of their youth were "the best" and when we start getting old, we pine for those days. I am in my 50s now and am often nostalgic for the 70s, my fun friends, fun times and my forever lost youth.
But I see the good of today. I like the way we can keep better tabs on our politicians. I like how we can get up to the minute reports of things that are going on in our world. I think technology is wonderful. I love computer graphics, I love the internet and my computer, and my cell phone, etc. Start looking for the good and you will enjoy whatever life you have left instead of being so angry and disgruntled about everything.
Oh...Betty Grable again.
Bedrock, we're talking about a concert performed in a venue for Malaysian people who are paying to see her. It's not like she is performing on the streets of Kuala Lumpur.
The Muslim Student radicals are offended and angry that other people might enjoy her performance.
Gwen Stefani and Madonna don't particularly like each other either. Madonna dissed Stefani in an interview as being like a high school cheerleader, so Stefani did a song in response to it.
Personally, Gwen Stefani is not my type in the looks department. But she doesn't mock religion in her songs that I am aware of. The band she is with, called No Doubt, plays a kind of music called ska, which consists of catchy pop tunes with a slight reggae influence.
There is a certain amount of hypocrisy to Muslim complaints about our cultural exports when they live in societies that treat women as second class citizens. Honor killings, forced clitorectomies, harrassing women in the streets if they are not properly veiled, kicking up a fuss when a Pakistani female tourism minister is photographed hugging her male European skydiving instructor. These people need to get a friggin grip!
we're talking about a concert performed in a venue for Malaysian people who are paying to see her. It's not like she is performing on the streets of Kuala Lumpur.
tommy, good point.
What i think is. Actually,if u have too much freedom.Many vandalism or raping will happen in Malaysia. Perhaps this is why Malaysian restricted the dress code for the concert because the Malaysian, a developed country not only considered the country developing in technology but also considered the attitude or the goodness of its citizen. U maybe not know how pain it is being the prey of bad behaviour or socialisation of people.How will u feel when u ve been rapped by someone?If it is not raped,ok..but also how you feel when someone make a baby out of you and just leave u with your baby(sex party)? You know....if u talk about dress code...if i wear a hijab and did not show my panties or underwear or bra or not show my sexiness...do you really want to rape me?according to my analysis, i think crime in America is much worse than crime in islamic country..Maybe chris medinna is an american but he is very good fellow..but note this..There are millions chris medina in the islamic country..im sorry if i have dishanourable to you..but i am Malaysian..and i dont like people dishonour my country..Let us live which our lives because you didn't see the goodness in our action..And remember this,in Malaysia,we never dishonour other religion. This is Malaysian. You maybe have your western lifestyle but please leave us with our eastern lifestyle ok..And i just search the google for Malaysia suck because i want to see why people do hate this country..
can you please go back to the post where u dishonour my counntry on concert in Malaysia.
No, religious fundamentalists in Malaysia dishonored their country, not me.
Actually,if u have too much freedom.Many vandalism or raping will happen in Malaysia.
What does Gwen Stefani's wardrobe have to do with rape? What happened in this situation is that intolerant religious fundamentalists interfered with a music concert which none of them ever intended to themselves attend. Gwen Stefani should not have to accomomodate people who do not pay to see her in concert.
if i wear a hijab and did not show my panties or underwear or bra or not show my sexiness...do you really want to rape me?
Rape is about power, not sex. Some rapists might even get a bigger kick out of raping a girl wearing a hijab than one dressed in more revealing attire, precisely because you expect that modest clothing will protect you.
If you had read more of my blog, you would have seen that I defend the right of Muslim women to wear niqabs and that European governments should not ban such attire. But I equally condemn laws or societal dictates that impose the wearing of hijabs, niqabs or whatever.
It serves to justify acts of rape against women who do not wear conservative attire because "she had it coming." It's not the clothes that should matter, but the way men should be educated to think about women. No woman is obligated to provide sex to a man, regardless of the kind of clothing she wears.
And remember this,in Malaysia,we never dishonour other religion.
Oh, really? Then why won't Malaysia allow Lina Joy to legally change her status to Christian? When Muslim majority countries like Malaysia allow its citizens to convert away from Islam and allow proselytization of other religions, then you can lecture me about who is dishonoring religion. Here in the United States, you get to decide what religion you want to me and the government never gets involved.
i just search the google for Malaysia suck because i want to see why people do hate this country..
I don't hate Malaysia. To clarify things for you, here is what I wrote in another post:
To my Malaysian readers who might have stumbled upon this blog by googling "Malaysia Sucks", please note that I am not saying Malaysia sucks in its entirety. I have no doubt that Malaysia is a beautiful country filled with wonderful people. My criticism of Malaysia in these posts is limited to a narrow focus on issues of religious pluralism and womens' rights. As a Muslim majority country with a not insubstantial minority of Chinese and Indian non-Muslims, Malaysia serves as an important barometer for how well a Muslim majority country can protect and promote democracy and pluralism. I want Malaysia to be a successful country, and my barbs are aimed at those persons and forces in the country that seek to turn it away from the path of a tolerant and prosperous nation.
Post a Comment