When Peter King Calls You “Rad,” It Isn‘t A Compliment

By

Briscoe Pugh

for According to me...By B

Recently, Rep. Peter T. King (R-NY) called for and held hearings on the “radicalization of American Muslims” in his capacity as chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. Rep. King’s viewpoints on the Muslim community in America became quite clear in the days leading up to the hearings.

The hearings themselves were based on assertions Rep. King has held for some time that,

-Muslim-Americans by-and-large have not been cooperative with authorities in preventative measures against terror attacks on American soil

-“85%” of Muslim mosques in America are presided over by radical clerics

-Most Muslims are encouraged in their mosques to ignore extremism.

All of the above comes on the heels of earlier commentary Rep. King made asserting that “there are too many mosques in this country.”

The fetishization of the popularized imagery of the "radical" or "extremist" has taken its place next to, yet opposite from the popular, imagery of the so-called "patriot". I am of the opinion that radicalization by its definition as a process enjoys no religious specificity. The extreme nature of any radical stream of thought is something which anyone is vulnerable to in my opinion. I believe that it is the pressure of extreme circumstances which can give rise to perspectives and agendas which might be labeled as "radical."

My opinion:

I believe it is unjust to marry radicalization or extremism to a singular dogma or to exclude any one dogma from any perceived, potential influence of extreme or radical thought.

When cherry picking in this fashion, I believe we serve to unjustly demonize certain groupings, while unduly glorifying others in comparison. I am GLAD Rep. King had these hearings.

Yes. I’m glad.

I’m glad because sometimes in moves like his (which are little more than him grinding that particularly large ax he has to grind with Islam) we are forced into certain conversations we might not normally have.

In having those hearings...and talking about them, we all may just be forced to examine on a tangible level just what actually causes radicalization. We might even have the hard truth revealed that unlike the popularized perceptions people like Rep. King love to cite and reinforce by their references to them, Islam is NOT a “violent religion”. You might be forced to examine Islam from the perspective of the larger prophetic Abrahamic tradition from which it springs.

This is part of a religious conversation I may visit again soon.

I digress.

In my reading of the (Merriam Webster) dictionary definition of the term “radical,” I discovered something.

One of the definitions listed is, “advocating extreme measures to retain or restore a political state of affairs”...

At the end of that particular definition, the parenthesized example given happens to be written as “the radical right”.

You’ll have to pardon me. I giggled to myself just a little when I read it and I think you might too.

My message here is simple.

It is a difficult thing to detect radicalization as those in certain authority tend to want to define it.

If you know a Muslim family and see the men are growing longer beards lately or speaking and/or learning Arabic (for non-Arab Muslims), gathering more publicly amongst those of the same faith and dressing in more culturally specific, Arab inspired and designed clothing, would this be a matter of concern or even fear for you?

Does this same alarm exist where one sees Hasidic families more visibly expressing their faith and culture?

What of Christian expressions of faith and how much of it has become politicized?

Each of the “Big 3” religious expressions can be interpreted to inspire and justify extreme (even murderous) behavior. Whenever one embraces a religious doctrine wherein prophets of which have called for murder and even themselves killed, and doesn’t qualify their reading of the doctrine with historical, social or political context, extreme behaviors from some amongst its faithful is inevitable.

The embrace of ANY religious faith is by its very definition “radical”. It demands an elemental change in one’s worldview and interactions as well as one’s motivations.

Other factors that people such as Rep. King do not examine which also lead to the “radicalization” he so fears have absolutely NOTHING to do with one’s religious beliefs.

Now, we happen to see with our own eyes the indignation and uproar in America if the masses are denied even mistakenly certain creature comforts.

(“WHAT??? Excuse me...but I ordered a LARGE latte and this is clearly a MEDIUM...”)

What if...

In an already poverty stricken country, a little boy who barely has enough to eat sees family members killed, kidnapped and/or brutalized at the hands of a despotic government and wealthy dictator whom has been armed, funded and endorsed by this thing he has known as “America”...then...

This same child grows older and sees armament and military might used against his own people by his own people at the behest of this same dictator...supplied by “America”...

Then...by the time he matures into manhood, planes fly overhead...explosions kill everyone he knows and all news reports say that “America” has bombed “strategic targets” yet no mention is made of the neighborhood where he sifts through the detritus that used to be his family, friends, neighbors...life...?

What would you think if you were that boy?

What would you feel if you were that boy?

Would your anger be justified?

Would you have an issue with this entity called America that seems for all you have seen to wield the power of death with impunity?

I ask these questions for a very specific reason.

What in ANY of the aforementioned process I just cited (which is typical for what is happening all over the so-called “Third World” right now) is specific to a particular religious doctrine?

This young man is exactly the one an extremist organization would prey upon...and it is THEN that religion becomes distorted into a tool to manipulate angry, young people to kill.

It is this young man and those like him...products of strife in their environments and victims of long dismissive American foreign policy who are prepared for extremism and radicalization by an unwitting Western populace whom (out of fear via fear mongers, like Rep. King) supports by popular vote a legacy of xenophobia married to military might.

Now, let me be PERFECTLY CLEAR...

I categorically do NOT support murderous acts perpetrated for ANY reason...whether sanctioned by extremist religious movements...or governments.

Let’s be intellectually honest however, in what it is we brand wholesale as “radical” or “extreme” and what role religion REALISTICALLY plays in the process of radicalization.

Peace and progress, my people.

The Cross-Over

By George Geeo Johnson

The cross- over appeal in hip- hop cannot be denied, because of this some say it is a greater unifier of different populations. Once upon a time created for the black youth on the street the reach has become worldwide. When I look at the audience now I see the majority of its consumers are non–black youths. Must I say to you now the corporations have snatched away the pure nature of hip-hop from the streets and took it all the way to wall-street?

The people who would tell you that the messages are filled with sex violence and drugs have no idea what this form of music could and should be. The music started off to challenge the system to be better to help the development of the youth. The fact that this genre of music contributes to 25% of record sales in the world alone creates power. The overall culture has been grabbed by the masses the sneakers the baggy clothes and the language have evolved into something no one expected.

Once upon a time in the suburbs you heard heavy metal and light rock from the non blacks now you hear what is now called hard core hip hop beating from CD players. My question to the artist and the corporations is this “How does this music originally for the poor youth who does not have a father growing up in the ghetto, who’s only source of what is going on outside of their neighborhood is the music he hears benefit him at all?” The music doesn’t even have appropriate female representation does this sound like hip-hop one female rapper getting all the attention? This I tell you people is the corporations of America capitalizing and who cares about the fallout.

When the music was in its early form the topics ranged from teen pregnancy to stop the violence to competitive rivalries over the origin of the art, black pride and education of the mind were things that were embraced. Once the art form was commercialized the message changed to fit the consumer. Now you hear party all the time, get high all night, and who needs an education you can sell drugs forever - look at me. Now the problem with this for the disenfranchised youth is they cannot separate the fantasy from the reality. The mother is a work or on drugs herself no father in the picture so no one is around to explain that this is not the way from him or her to go.

As a culture music influences our behavior and the black youth follow the culture which is the directions of the street. The teachers are the hip-hop artist and the students are the listeners of the music. The students who don’t live in the conditions spoken of can separate the truth from the false because they can turn of the music but the child who walks outside and sees what he hears daily this becomes their reality most of the time. There is an old saying if you knew better you would do better.

The majority of artist right or wrong give a message of self destruction and a rebellious lifestyle as way to get back at the system. This only leads to a life of crime and trips to state and federal institutions all this transcends beyond the music and affects the communities some people live in.

In conclusion one of the more positive aspects of this explosion in hip-hop is that some of the corporations who for so long ignored the marketing of the hip-hop generation now must hire be so they can profit from it. Look at McDonalds just to name one in that respect they have given back to the youth they are creating managers and higher up in there corporations. But when thousands of our youth are dying and being incarcerated for violent crimes before they can even have a chance to find out the importance of a human life. The corporations that profit have the ability to control what is sold to make it cool or not or to kill or to be a drug dealer or misogynistic or so damn homophobic; but will they ever?