5/18/10

Dear Ms. Schlussel...

This is my response to a very aggravating blog post by Debbie Schlussel:

http://www.debbieschlussel.com/22052/fact-check-meet-the-real-1st-arab-american-miss-usa-christians-dont-count/.

Since I kept getting an error message when I tried to post my response on her site, I thought I'd just share it here.

Your thoughts are always appreciated.

Dear Ms. Schlussel,

Thank you for your ever factual report outing the ties between Miss USA Rima Fakih and Islamist fundamentalist groups in the US and abroad. I appreciate your fact-finding mission that clearly outlines the ties between Ms. Fakih, her family and Hezbollah.

It was great to see the dated bank deposits from Hezbollah into Ms. Fakih’s account. How eye opening to see the memo on one of the checks: “Rima, the trigger button goes on the inside of your bikini.” If that wasn’t convincing enough, the picture of the Fakih Michigan family reunion with everyone smiling brightly, raising their trigger finger and wearing their Team Hezbollah shirts obviously proves your point.

Oh wait, you did not provide anything resembling proof to support your intelligent rant.

What would you suggest that we do with the Arab-Americans in the US? Do you like the hyphenated American? I added it just for you. Are we to deny citizenship rights to the more than 80 percent of Arab Americans who are U.S. citizens? Deny the estimated three and a half million Americans who trace their heritage to the Arab world the right to:

a. Celebrate Thanksgiving
b. Spend time with family and friends at the beach during Memorial day weekend
c. Watch 4th of July fireworks
d. Stand up and be counted as part of the American landscape

Or are we to deny them those rights only if they dare to:

a. Embrace rather than denounce their heritage
b. Proclaim themselves Islamic instead of Christian
c. Have an opinion other than yours

I made the mistake of having common sense which, of course, feeds my annoying habit of asking for proof when I read statements such as this one made by you: “…her family is chock full of top Hezbollah terrorists and she supports the group (not to mention that her Miss USA bid was financed by an Palestinian terrorist and immigration fraud perpetrator)…”

I am very open to holding a conversation and welcome the chance to review your myriad of proof that you weren’t able to provide in this post.

Yours,

A Curious CHRISTian Haitian-American


*Source: http://aai.3cdn.net/9298c231f3a79e30c6_g7m6bx9hs.pdf ♦ http://www.aaiusa.org/arab-americans/22/demographics

Random TV Interracial and Intercultural Friendships We Love

After 18 years of participating in and leading the band on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Kevin Eubanks announced last month that his last day with the show is May 28th. We here at EIRIC are saddened to see one of our all time favorite TV friendships come to an end - at least on television. In honor of this friendship, we'd like to share some of our other favorite TV friendships that we've appreciated over the years. These are mostly friendships from TV shows that are no longer airing new episodes. We'll be doing a few other editions with friendships from current shows.

As always, we welcome your feedback.

Enjoy!!!

Show: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Friends: Jay Leno and Kevin Eubanks
Ethnicity and/or Race: White AND Black


Source: www.ew.com


Show: Full House
Friends: Stephanie Tanner and Harry Takayama
Ethnicity and/or Race: White AND Asian
5 episodes, 1988-1989
- Nerd for a Day (1989)
- Pal Joey (1989)
- Middle Age Crazy (1989)
- Jingle Hell (1988)
- D.J.'s Very First Horse (1988)



Source: IMDB


Show: Rob and Big
Friends: Rob Dyrdek and Christopher "Big Black" Boykin
Ethnicity and/or Race: White AND Black
Reality buddy comedy aired on MTV featuring professional street skater Rob Dyrdek and his best friend and bodyguard, Christopher "Big Black" Boykin.


Show: The Nanny
Friends: Fran Fine and Niles
Ethnicity and/or Race: White Jewish American AND White English
She was the nanny. He was the butler. Together they were Ethel and Lucy with a little twist.



Image source: Mean Street Kids

Show: Scrubs
Friends: Carla Espinosa Turk and Elliot Reid
Ethnicity and/or Race: Latina And White
Hated each other at first because Carla thought Elliot was a stuck up princess. They eventually became best friends.

Show: Designing Women
Friends: Anthony, Susan, Julia, Charlene and Mary Jo
Ethnicity and/or Race: Black And White
After surviving his unfortunate incarceration, Anthony Bouvier took a job as a delivery man for the Sugarbaker Design company.
Probably our favorite group of interracial friends - especially the friendship between Anthony, Susan and Susan's pig. We'll follow up with a special series dedicated to them.


Show: Full House
Friends: Teddy and Michelle
Ethnicity and/or Race: Black AND White
12 episodes, 1991-1995
1. Double Trouble (17 September 1991)
2. The Legend of Ranger Joe (22 October 1991)
3. The Volunteer (29 October 1991)
4. Happy Birthday, Babies: Part 2 (12 November 1991)
5. Bachelor of the Month (26 November 1991)
6. The Devil Made Me Do It (18 February 1992)
7. Girls Will Be Boys (28 April 1992)
8. Be Your Own Best Friend (5 April 1994)
9. A House Divided (17 May 1994)
10. To Joey, with Love (25 October 1994)
11. Super Bowl Fun Day (25 January 1995)
12. Dateless in San Francisco (14 February 1995)

Source: IMDB and www.fanpop.com

Show: Ally McBeal
Friends: Ally and Renee
Ethnicity and/or Race: White AND Black
Roommates. Co-workers. Original BFFs.


Show: Scrubs
Friends: J.D. and Turk
Ethnicity and/or Race: White AND Black
Probably our absolute favorite interracial male friendship.


Show: Any Day Now
Friends: Rene and Mary Elizabeth (M.E.)
Ethnicity and/or Race: Black AND White
Mary Elizabeth, an outgoing white girl, and Rene, a shy black girl, become close friends as they grow up in 1960's Alabama. Their friendship comes to an end, however, when Mary Elizabeth (M.E.) gets pregnant and Rene doesn't support her decision to keep the child and marry her boyfriend.
Thirty years later, the pair resume their old friendship, they reminisce on old times and the events that occurred after splitting up.


*Source: Lifetime

Show: Ghostwriter
Friends: Mixed Cast
Ethnicity and/or Race: Asian, Black, Hispanic AND White
The show is about a very special team that goes around solving mysteries in New York with the help of a very secretive friend: Ghostwriter! Ghostwriter cannot hear, talk, smell, or feel. He can only read and write. He only sees words. No one else can see him but the Ghostwriter team!

We're pretty sure that we're the only geeks who followed this PBS show religiously while it was on. We'd love to hear from you if you have heard of this show. We kinda feel like losers here :).


*Source: Retrojunk