Page 12
Book Review
Street Roots • May 19-25, 2017
The best defense
Iranian-American author Negid Farsad uses
comedy to tackle social justice issues
BY MIKE WOLD
mostly because of references to lady parts
and sexual activity. The purpose of the tour
was more to let people understand that
t may be possible to change the world
Muslims are as varied as Christians in their
one joke at a time. At least, that’s the
activities and political beliefs. She writes
thrust of the new book by Iranian-
American comic Negin Farsad. Half comic affectionately of holding a sign in a square in
Salt Lake City, “Hug a Muslim,” and finding
autobiography, half serious examination of
that Mormons actually like to hug.
the ways that stereotypes play out, the
In 2014, she initiated a comic counter
narrative follows Negin from her childhood
campaign sparked by anti-Muslim ads on the
in Palm Springs, where she had to sort out
New York Metropolitan Transportation
what it meant to be ethnically different.
Authority (MTA). After taking the M TA to
“Here’s the thing: I used to feel black ...
court to get a ruling that posters promoting
there’s the kind of blackness that’s defined
positive images of Muslims did not violate a
by its opposition to whiteness.”
new “no politics” rule, the posters went up
Farsad was actually one of two Iranian-
with slogans like “Muslims! They invented
American kids in a school that was
coffee, the toothbrush, and algebra ... Oh
otherwise white and Latino. So she tried to
wait, sorry about the algebra. That’s a year
identify with Mexicans, too, without much
of class you’ll never get back” and “Beware
success. It wasn’t until she was in college
The Muslims are Coming! And they shall
that “it struck me. I wasn’t black, or
strike with hugs so fierce, you’ll end up
Mexican or Asian or Russian. I was an
calling your grandmother and telling her you
Iranian-American Muslim female ... To large
love her.”
swaths of the American public, that means I
Farsad details some of the personal
was a possibly dangerous brown person who
experiences that led her to politically active
potentially sympathized with A1 Qaeda ...
comedy. One of the earliest was being cast
People needed to know that secular, fun
in a play where a boy had to choose between
Muslims who smell nice are the norm ...
And I had to let people know it with the only her and a blond white girl, and all the boys
in the middle school audience were calling
tool I had: comedy.”
her ugly and telling the boy to pick the
Farsad is not a stereotype. Besides being
blond girl. Luckily, the script dictated
a stand-up comic, she holds two master’s
otherwise. Similarly, in an Ivy League
degrees, in public policy and African-
college, she found that being brown
American studies from Cornell University.
definitely was not the way to make it in the
She’s also not a Polyanna or someone who
dating scene.
lives in a bubble — one of her social justice
Some people tell Farsad she should just
comedy projects was a tour of red states in
identify as “American” rather than “Iranian-
the South and West titled “The Muslims Are
American.” The problem, she says, is that
Coming.” She was sometimes confronted
she grew up in a non-American culture for
with picketers who believed that her
her first 18 years, and it’s part of who she is
purpose was to convert people to Islam.
— you can’t understand her without
But, as she put it, you wouldn’t actually
understanding that side of her experience.
learn much about Islam from her comic
That isn’t to say she prefers Iranian culture
routine, which would likely be offensive to
to American cultures; there are parts of her
Muslim and Christian fundamentalists alike,
C O N T R IB U T IN G C O L U M N IS T
I
SISTERS
OFTHE
o n a n
» U n U .o r g
Dine
Barter
133 NW Sixth
Share
503.222.5694
IL L U S T R A T IO N B Y J O N W IL L IA M S , R E A L C H A N G E
parents’ culture she loves and parts she
hates.
Farsad makes some cogent political
points. “It is hands-down the strangest form
of white privilege for mass murderers who
are white not to get the ‘terrorist’ label...
We’re so committed to maintaining white
privilege that even murderers have a better
go of it. So if you or anyone you know uses
the word terrorism, then let’s just dole that
out equally.”
But she doesn’t agree with the idea that
people of color shouldn’t have to be the
ones to teach white people about anti
racism. “Do people ask where you’re from?
That’s great! Let ’em know ... they should
know where you’re from, because in that
moment you are the PR for your ethnic
group.” What she doesn’t like is having to do
“terror-splaining.” “I go on a T V show and I
At Health Share, we
believe good health is
more than what happens
inside your doctor’s office.
Good health starts in your
community and includes
staying active, eating
healthy food and getting
regular check-ups.
Share your healthy habits
with family and friends. We
can all have better health
when we share it together.
Better health
together.
www.healthshareoregon.org
was asked if I could terror-splain why the
Charlie Hebdo cartoons had motivated the
attack ... I don’t know any terrorists, I’m
likely to know more about the history of
capri pants.”
Addressed both to whites and people of
color, this book will make both groups
laugh. The only weakness is that Farsad
doesn’t seem to have much grasp of class
realities; they just don’t seem to be a part of
her experience. So social justice comedy
gets to be a matter of talking about diversity
and social privilege within a middle-class
milieu.
Still, there aren’t that many social justice
comics around as it is, and we’re lucky
Farsad is one of them.
Reprinting courtesy of Street Roots' sister
paper, Real Change News, Seattle