Part of an essay for my Arab Gender class:
Professor Asad AbuKhalil begins the teach-in with a provocative question that sends the auditorium into mostly silence, mingled with a few indignant murmurs: If Americans says that they identify with the Egyptians protestors, why then do they not protest like them on our American streets?
The self-titled “angry Arab” continues his criticism by exclaiming that the passiveness of the American people toward the Egyptian Revolution extends to the American government. Their mostly ambiguous stance is in actually quiet support for the dictator, Hosni Mubarak, and that such support is both political and race based. He continues that the Obama administration is in compliance with the regime, they want the dictatorship to continue as long as it can for the United State’s own personal gain. This claim sends the older white male next to me to scoff, and become restless in his school desk. Does Professor AbuKhalil speak the truth? Is our government in allegiance with this tyrant? Does our government seek to benefit in some way from keeping Mubarak? These were all questions I have never considered before attending the teach-in.
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The essay is for extra credit. I'm really glad I attended the event. Was surrounded by many cultural/political erudites. A great undergrad experience. Over 300 people attended. One of the professors was actually in Tahrir Square two weeks ago. Some of the fake protestors started physically beating her after she had came out of a building she was doing an interview in but some policemen were able to grab her and hide her in one of their tanks. Amazing.
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