KABOBfest: The Minority Position on Bill Clinton’s ADC Address

Because the EAAZI blog often addresses theoretical aspects of identity, Will at KABOBfest does a service by pointing out that misleading discussion of identity can obscure genuine material issues as Bill Clinton did when he depicted the struggle over Palestine as a sort of psychological conflict that will be solved once Arabs learn to be proud of being Arab without hating Jews -- even when Jewish Zionists are running over Arabs and other non-Jews with Caterpillar tractors, dropping bombs on them, blasting them with missiles, or simply shooting them.

The Minority Position on Bill Clinton’s ADC Address
By Will

One of the most notable features of this year’s American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee’s annual convention in Washington, DC was the appearance of ex-President Bill Clinton. This was a major development for the Arab-American community. It reflected ADC’s re-energization as well the Obama administration’s openness towards consulting a wider variety of stakeholders, probably. Symbolically, it stands for a sign of legitimation that a former president speak to the group.

Even if I detested his policies towards Arabs, I can understand the need for political engagement by our institutions.

I was too curious to see what he would speak about, especially in the hope he would deliver some message from the administration or suggest something that offers substantive support for our foreign policy positions. But now, we are not THAT strong, yet.

He arrived with a grotesque fanfare, with Arab-Americans jumping from their seats to grab pictures of him and to shake his hands like we are trained Pavlovian fans. Instead of giving him the cool reception he deserves as the butcher of Iraq, via sanctions, and the proposer of the anti-terrorism legislation that paved the way for the PATRIOT Act.

His speech was the subject of much debate afterward. I felt it was barely relevant, elementary, and yet implicitly condescending. Others suggested we could not expect anything better or more, and even asked why should he cater to his audience?

Most refused to read between the lines of his speech. Many were compelled by the soft ambiguity of his talk to take away some positive message. I could not help but read the speech at a deeper level. So what I saw was an implicitly insulting lecture, one that boosted a dangerous misperception of Arab-American political issues.

[To read the entire article, click here.]

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