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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 26, 2012)
September26.2012_____________ Minority & Small Business Week________________ Page23 ________.______O pinion A Hateful Piece of Propaganda Anti-Islam film abuses free speech BY VlCANGELO B ulluck H avoc c o n tin u e s th r o u g h o u t the M iddle East and N orthern A f rica ignited by the d ebasing stereo ty p e s an d g ro te s q u e p o rtra y a ls depicted in the film , Innocence o f Islam. The am ateurish film has m ush room ed into a m aelstrom o f disquiet throughout the M uslim W orld. N ot since the release o f B irth o f a N ation has a film becom e so in flam m atory. In 1915 the N A A C P led peaceful protests denouncing the film that was causing riots and lynch ings across our nation. B loggers and Sunday m orning new s co m m en tato rs debate and a r gue about w h eth er the Innocence o f Islam film m ak ers sh o u ld b e held accountable fo r the eru p tio n o f v io lence caused by the film . A fter all they have the right to free speech. W hile w e d efen d free speech there is a resp o n sib ility that co m es w ith that right. In 1915 the N A A C P sought injunctions against the d is tribution o f T he B irth o f a N ation calling it a threat to public safety. So today the N A A C P can n o t rem ain silent. W e m ust condem n this h ate ful destructive piece o f propaganda. T he tragic loss o f life rem inds us not only o f the volatility o f closely held thoughts and beliefs but also about the p o w er o f film to influence and ignite them . H istory has show n us repeatedly that m edia - and m ost p ow erfully - visual m edia, has a direct effect on culture and hum an behavior. W hen Birth o f N ation portrayed the K K K as heroes defending w hite virtue, it increased the m em bership o f the K K K and p erpetuated n eg a tive stereotypes o f A frican A m eri can that w ould last generations. L a m entably, som e o f these stereotypes still resonate today. T hus, the N A A C P ’s continuing endeavors to affect the portrayals o f m inorities in film and television have never been m ore critical, given that m edia giants now beam p o w er ful im ages throughout the w orld, shaping o u r beliefs, opinions and d ecisio n s. W hat the people o f the M iddle East, N orth A frica and around the w orld need to understand is that m ost A m ericans are insulted by this film and that m inorities in A m erica co n tin u e to advocate for fair rep re sentation in the m edia. So, we urge the people and the leaders o f the M uslim w orld to p ro test in peace and jo in us in a co n structive dialogue about the pow er o f the m edia in shaping the w orld in w hich we all aspire to live — a w orld o f in clu sio n , u n d erstan d in g and tolerance. T hose living under repressive regim es m ust understand that free d o m o f s p e e c h is o n e o f o u r d em o cracy ’s founding principles. C onversely, w e as a free people m ust understand the p o w er o f that speech and that w e have the right and the responsibility to condem n those w ho w ould abuse it. So, w e urge those in the e n ter tainm ent and com m unication indus tries to reflect on the p ow er o f the im ages that are created in o ur m ass m edia on a daily basis. Im ages that w ere once carried in film canisters and driven o v er roads from theater to th eater are now transported on the w orldw ide w eb by the click o f a b u tto n . In this age o f new m edia, le t’s hope the m essaging w e have been seeing online through Facebook and Y ouT ube from co n cern ed A m eri cans o f every race, religion and g e n d er will be view ed and heard by the rest o f the w orld so that they know that we as a nation advocate and appeal fo r the birth o f tolerance. Vicangelo Bulluck is executive director o f the Hollywood bureau o f the NAACP. How Many Lives Would Have Been Saved A nation unwilling to curb guns that kill lots of people M arian W right E delman W hen new s broke o f the m urders at the Sikh T em ple o f W isconsin, people o f all faiths and backgrounds and the first responders w ho cam e to the scene to help w ere horrified by the am bush on m en and w om en as they prepared for w orship ser vices. by L eaders across the country quickly d e nounced the hate crim e and the FBI im m ed i ately began investigating the attack as a possible case o f dom estic terrorism . B ut as easy as it w as for all o f us to be ou trag ed by another senseless attack and heartb ro k en by the co n g reg atio n ’s stories, it w as difficult to be surprised by how it took place again in a nation unw illing to curb guns designed ju s t to kill lots o f people in the hands o f law less ih'|Jlirtknii> <f)hserlier people. W ould this have happened w ithout a sem i au to m atic g un and high-capacity clip s o f b u llets? T he shootings at the Sikh T em p le o f W isconsin last m onth cam e only two w eeks after Jam es H olm es killed 12 people and injured 58 others at a m ovie th eater in A urora, C olo., in one o f the w orst m ass shootings in A m erican history. W ould this have happened w ithout an A R -15 assault rifle, a R em ington 870 12- gau g e shot gun, and a sem i-autom atic h a n d gun w ith h ig h -cap acity clips o f bullets? E very tim e an o th er m ass shooting h a p pens in the U nited States, the debate over gun control co m es fleetingly to the fo re front— until political fear paralyzes courage and action. Inevitably, som e p eople repeat the arg u m ent that the solution to preventing m ass shootings is not b etter gun control law s— even control o f assault w eapons w hich have no p lace in nonm ilitary hands— but getting even m ore A m ericans arm ed. Established 1970 T he ap p aren t fantasy result w ould be som ething straight out o f H ollyw ood w here every single tim e a bad person stands up with a gun a good person w ith their ow n gun w ould quickly rise up out o f the crow d, shoot the bad person, and save the day. But argum ents like this ignore both co m m on sense and scientific evidence about the connection betw een the ready availability o f guns— including assault w eapons and guns w ith large am m unition capacity— and the epidem ic o f gun violence in A m erica. D aniel W . W ebster, professor and co directo r o f the C en ter fo r G un Policy and R esearch at Johns H opkins School o f Public H ealth and a panelist at the C h ild ren ’s D e fense F u n d ’s recent conference, w rote after the A urora shootings: “ W e should not brush aside discu ssio n s o f gun policy as too politi cally difficult to expect m eaningful change, o r ‘the price fo r our freed o m s.’ Instead, we should reflect on w hy the U.S. has a m urder rate that is nearly seven tim es hig h er than the average m u rd er rate in other high-incom e countries and a nearly 20 tim es higher m urder rate w ith guns. W e b s te r w en t o n to say th a t stu d ie s he h as c o n d u c te d in d ic a te th a t s tric te r re g u la tio n s o f g u n sa le s, w h e th e r by re ta il d e a le rs o r by p riv a te se lle rs , are a s s o c i a ted w ith fe w e r g u n s d iv e rte d to c rim in a ls. M o re o v e r, he a rg u e s th a t n a tio n a l s u r v ey s sh o w th a t a la rg e m a jo rity o f c itiz e n s fa v o r th e se re fo rm s to o u r g u n la w s, in c lu d in g m o st g u n o w n e rs. It is w ay past tim e for co m m o n -sen se gun law reform in A m erica. M any o f the victim s o f m ass shootings have been strangers— som e tim es ch ild ren — w ho w ere personally u n know n to the shooters but w ere sim ply in “the w rong place at the w rong tim e,” even if the “w rong place” turned out to be going to class, attending a w orship service on a S u n day m orning, o r going to the local m ovie th eater on a su m m er evening. In o th e r w ords, they co u ld have been any one o f us. W hat w ill it take fo r us to do som ething about it? 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