Denials: National And Personal

 

denialism1final

We live in a world of denial:  The Burmese deny the Rohingya; they call them Bengali even though they have lived in Burma for centuries — some say as early as the 11th century.  Even the Pope, afraid of the consequences to a small Christian minority, shied away during his visit, confining himself to the all-encompassing phrase, the rights of minorities.

In Israel, right-wing Israelis deny any Palestinian claim on Jerusalem falling back on its governance by the British and Ottomans.  No matter that East Jerusalem (where  the holy sites mostly are) is inhabited by Muslim and Christian Palestinians, they don’t count.  This disenfranchised group is denied permission to build housing for expanding families because successive Israeli governments have sought to alter the demographics.  If they build without a permit, the housing is demolished.  Should anyone need to be reminded, Rachel Corrie lost her life while protesting a house demolition; she was run over by a bulldozer.

Extremist Christians in the U.S. deny evolution despite the data collected over nearly two centuries furnishing undeniable proof of Darwin’s theory.  No, they prefer to believe in a seven-day creation, where light arrived before the stars including our sun, and where we humans frolicked with dinosaurs.

In India, Mr. Modi is advancing a new Hinduism.  He wants to sideline the contributions of Muslim culture on the arts, poetry, architecture.  If one thinks of India, the architectural vision appearing instantly in one’s mind is of the sublime Taj Mahal.  Yet, the Taj Mahal has been taken off the list of government recommended tourist sites — replaced by a couple of temples in Gorakhpur.  Mr. Modi needs a close look in the mirror, his clothing is either Muslim-influenced or European.  The same applied to India’s founder and his eponymous Nehru coat and tight pants (churidars as they are known).

In this country, we have had a parade of sexual predators paying for their unwanted sexual advances towards women whose future career these men often controlled.  In a changed climate, a flurry of resignations, and, of course, denials.  As Al Franken pointed out in his parting words, the predator-in-chief is still ensconced in the White House — some sites have tallied the 19 women accusing him so far.

The modus operandi remains consistent.  Just as Harvey Weinstein preferred the open bathrobe and a blatant request, Mr. Trump appears to favor a sudden octopus like attack of kissing, groping and hand up the skirt — in keeping with his claimed ‘locker room talk’ … ‘I like to grab ’em by the p—y’ that was inadvertently recorded.

The denials continue and Congress continues with the infinitely more important task of tax cuts for the rich.  It’s a party where everyone is enjoying himself — the rich ‘everyone’ that is.  So who wants to spit in the punch.  Yes, Mr. Trump will be with us for a while yet.

Dr Arshad M Khan (http://ofthisandthat.org/index.html) is a former Professor based in the U.S. whose comments over several decades have appeared in a wide-ranging array of print and internet media.  His work has been quoted in the U.S. Congress and published in the Congressional Record.

 

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