After the 9-11th attacks, the main question was
« why Islamic extremists tried to kill Americans ».
Everyone made up their own mind. However, among the different media, there were
two tendencies : the right-wing media and the left-wing media. They
suggested that the fact that America is « mighty and good »
was the roots of terrorists hate. Other, suggested it is the success of
American democracy and capitalism that is the real source of hatred.
Richard Brookisher wrote :
« New-york City is also perceived as the hub
of one of those subsystems, the roaring dynamo of wealth. Anyone in the world
who look at his lot and is unhappy, looks at us, country and city, and sees an
alternative. If he has an aspiring frame of mind, he may try to come here or
imitate us. If he has an aggrieved frame of mind, he will hold us responsible.
If he has the resources of a hostile nation, or its functional equivalent, he
will try to kill us... the world's losers hate us because we are powerful, rich
and good. When those who acted on that hatred have been repaid, seven times
seven, we will rebuild the World Trade Towers, with one more story, just to rub
it in»29(*).
Thomas Friedman, another journalist wrote :
« There is resentment at America's stature as the
world's richest nation, its sole superpower, its predominant
culture. »30(*)
Robert Kaplan, stated on air :
« It is the success of American democracy and
capitalism that is the real source of hatred »31(*)
Some right-wing media openly stated their distrust for the
Muslims. Those media might be pointed as one of the causes of the attacks
against Muslims in the USA.
Karine Rollins wrote :
« Islamic culture is intrinsically anti-West,
innately full of hatred : « there is no evidence that Muslims
living in America are necessary all great Patriots »32(*)
The Boston Herald even stated that
the Muslims were evil, above all it regards all Muslims as terrorists :
« Terrorism is not a deviation but actually the
norm for Islamic culture »32(*)
However, left-wing media such as the
West-wing is above this kind of simplistic analysis.
This television series that represents American liberal values and democratic
culture won several enemies.
First, the
« West-wing » made a difference between
Muslims and terrorism. The extremists has nothing to do with millions of Muslim
men and women faith. The Muslims are quite « normal »
people, the only difference with other peoples, is that, they come out of a
culture that reinforces their hostility, distrust and hatred of the West and of
America in particular.
Then, this television series declared American was not totally
innocent in what happened on 9-11th . It stressed on America
intervention in the Middle East as the cause of the extremist wrath.
At last, this media, even took side in a way for the
« terrorist movements ». A number of left-wing writers
compared the Taliban with the Nazis and the people of Afghanistan are the jews
in the concentration camps. The
« West-wing » declared the analogy absurd,
because the Taliban were not racists. Racial equality was a basic tenet of
their outlook. Moreover, they were not bent on world domination.
Noam Chomsky33(*) sided the « West-wing » point of
view. He regarded the excuses about Middle East jealousy as convenient for the
USA :
« The perpretrators acted out of hatred for the
values cherished in the West as freedom, tolerance, prosperity, religious
pluralism and universal suffrage »34(*)
Chomsky went further when he said, the real terrorist was the
USA, he even declared the world regards them as a leading terrorist state. To
illustrate his sayings, he took for example the USA's condemnation by the World
Court (1980) for «unlawful use of force » or
« international terrorism ».
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