Comments | ontd_political: A Call for Complexity

calybe in ontd_political

A Call for Complexity

Dec 23, 2012 13:29

We must ask complex questions and be willing to handle equally complicated answers.

As sad and horrific as it is, when the media exploits the tragic shooting of a child to rally support for an overly simplified political position, you know something is wrong. Reality is always more complex-and loathing the Taliban is fast becoming idiomatic ( Read more... )

pakistan, islam, education, taliban, new york times

Comments 38

(The comment has been removed)

eldvno December 23 2012, 07:58:49 UTC

Right? It is leaving a bad taste in my mouth, like when I wake up and I realize I didn't brush my teeth the night before.

dhamphir December 23 2012, 12:11:48 UTC

Unfortunately, as soon as I see who the OP is I automatically cringe and get that feeling you're talking about regardless of the article. I've got so many LJ notes on the OP I've run out of room. *sigh*

tiddlywinks103 December 23 2012, 20:52:53 UTC

Yeah, I'm not getting what the endgame here is. Like my reading comp is majorly failing me on this whole thing.

Thread 5

alexvdl December 23 2012, 06:41:58 UTC

"As sad and horrific as it is, when the media exploits the tragic shooting of a child to rally support for an overly simplified political position, you know something is wrong."

Yup.

jenny_jenkins December 23 2012, 06:56:41 UTC

The American media has falsely convinced its viewers that Malala was shot because she wanted to go to school.I suspect the headlines gave a false impression, as they always do. The headline of any piece usually simplifies the content of the article ( ... )

jenny_jenkins December 23 2012, 07:04:09 UTC

Nearly forgot. I liked this:

The state has abdicated its responsibility and has in fact worked in the interest of selected groups that provide support to the Taliban movement.

And her point about the CIA can be expanded upon because the ISI was instrumental in the creation of the Taliban. A number of secret services were involved, but that's an important point that explains this "institutional support" she speaks of.

romp December 23 2012, 08:35:36 UTC

+1

I didn't parse it as well as you but some of her complaint is simply the nature of news stories. And she's right that war is simplified to Taliban = bad when others have responsibility as well.

Considering I first read about the Taliban in Ms. when they weren't even making mainstream news for their actions against women and girls, I've always had a hard time believing all people needed was to know they were "bad."

tabaqui December 23 2012, 15:50:57 UTC

It would have been unsettling to Western ideas about the passivity of Muslim women.

Uh - i have zero ideas about Muslim women being *passive*. Constrained by peer pressure, culture, and in some cases a brutal and heavy-handed society/faction of society, yes. But passive? No. I've never thought that.

Thread 13

silver_apples December 23 2012, 15:25:02 UTC

Okay, so...what are the complexities? What other reasons were there for Malala Yousafzai being shot? What are the good points of the Taliban? Media coverage is simplistic and supports the preconceived notions and political opinions of the readers and writers and editors. But complaining about that without providing alternate views and support for the more complex views, without providing evidence that the simplistic and morally absolute coverage is incorrect, is as effective as armchair quarterbacking.

jenny_jenkins December 23 2012, 16:15:56 UTC

My original comment was longer (above) originally. I wanted to express what you just said but couldn't find the words.

Don't tell us what not to do, tell us what to do. These articles are negative in effect rather than positive. No solutions.

And I'd love to hear something from the writer explaining why I should spare a thought for those poor mens. Will no one think of the Taliban!

calybe December 24 2012, 01:33:58 UTC

It's not the complexities as to why Malala was shot that needs to be addressed, nor as to how to excuse the Taliban - but the broader issue of why education is affected.

The author does state that the media should also cover the fact that:
-FATA lacks constitutional cover and, therefore, suffers
-the role the government/NGOs have been playing in regards to the poor education standard

She is not saying the Taliban is not to be blamed, but more that by simply fixating on the Taliban it does not help the situation at hand because the issue is more complex. The government itself requires reform, and that needs to be called out as well.

silver_apples December 24 2012, 02:15:17 UTC

It's not the complexities as to why Malala was shot that needs to be addressed

But she objects to the media using the shooting "to rally support for an overly simplified political position".

She is not saying the Taliban is not to be blamed

But she does say "the bad Taliban, painted in broad strokes as an irremediably barbaric, authoritarian, misogynist, monolithic entity", which to me sounds like an opening statement to argue against those traits. The objection seems to be in the way the Taliban is portrayed, not in the way only the Taliban is blamed.

As others pointed out, this article is 3 pieces in one. My objections are to the lack of support and follow-up for her arguments. Her points are valid, but there's too many topics and not enough details, and it undermines her arguments.

Thread 5

jenny_jenkins December 23 2012, 17:02:02 UTC

I've had time to sleep (think) on it ( ... )

calybe December 24 2012, 01:19:14 UTC

If it's alright, I'll reply to both your comments to this thread as I feel you raised some interesting points.

Although the articles you have read might have expanded on the other factors, but I have also come across articles (such as http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-taliban-under-thread-from-women-and-young-girls/), and I am sure that the author of the posted articles has as well, where it is painted as a very simplistic 'Taliban hate education'.

I agree that the phrase 'Anne Frank type agent' is of poor taste.

The reason that author argues that the topic has become over-simplified is because that it only paints the Taliban responsible, when there are other players involved. By right, not only the Taliban should be held responsible, but the Pakistani government and army as well. That is why she raises the point that the fixation on the Taliban solely. Even Malala has written about this issue 'Our parents ( ... )

jenny_jenkins December 24 2012, 01:30:01 UTC

THIS IS ALL TRUE

As I said elsewhere - I hate everything about it!

:)

calybe December 24 2012, 01:20:00 UTC

(had to cut my comment in two parts because it's too long)

Akram Javed paints a better picture of why the story has been simplified:
This is something of a simplified picture, and in Pakistan, as elsewhere, things are more complicated. The point is that the basic problems of political economy and cultural politics, and the ways in which these are rooted in gender oppression, cannot be laid at the doorstep of the Taliban or religion. The Taliban themselves are partly a product of Pakistan’s highly unequal and patriarchal rural society, a product of Pakistan’s generalised underdevelopment ( ... )

Thread 9