Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Globalization bleeds into Training Movies
Many people are going to be digusted by this type of video that shows Al queda training children as soldiers. Article on Video. Something that I couldn't help noticing about the video was that the boys were all running around in nice jerseys and training pants with what logo on them Addiads and Nike both American companies. It is intresting that these organizations say that they are motivated by the desire to resist the influences of western culture show the boys in so blatantly american clothes which no doubt are popular. Is it a good recruitment method to give recruits nice american clothes to join the war against america ?
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6 comments:
Maybe they are trying to help the children learn to blend in with American culture, so that when they come over they do not make the perfume mistake again...
I think that much like all other previous "evil" organizations, such as Nazi's or Soviets, there is requisite to have some sort of hypocrisy in ideology, that is what makes it ineffective in the long run. The organization begins to crumble as these iniquities come to light, the trouble from the American perspective is to have the endurance to out last the organization. I think Iran is a good example of the evolution happening. After the overthrow of the Shaw it was a complete theocracy where advancement dropped back nearly 40yrs, but now almost 20yrs later it has begun to be westernized again, most changes having faded with time, the problem with Iran is that instead of evolving back into a Democracy it has moved towards dictatorship. I think that Al Qaeda will eventually fade, and perhaps this is the beginning of the transition from a radical religious group to a strictly anti west group, anti-west being easier to combat than radical Islamism would be.
I agree. One thing I noticed on my mission in Europe, is that many people may not like America, but they'll insult it while drinking a Coca-Cola and listening to American music. Ironic.
I think the leaders of al Qaeda and other anti-western entities want the benefits of western society without what they perceive as the disadvantages. In other words, they want TV's, nice cars, nice clothes etc but only Islamic TV channels, cars with Islamic radio stations and nice clothes they approve of. That's why they use cell phones to coordinate attacks on America and other places. It is hypocritical in a way, but I don't think they mind new technologies or better possessions that the West offers to give them, they just want to control what is said or done with those new "toys."
While terrorist are fighting against globalization it seems like they are helping it. I've said this before in another blog, but by being an aloof enemy that attacks many different states causes those states to work more efficiently together. An example is India and France making agreements and giving each other information about terrorist groups. So for a terrorist group to be against globalization isn't very logical. It seems like they are helping globalization by 1. using our "toys" and 2. keeping states connected together as they fight against terrorists.
I don't disagree that there is a degree of hypocrisy in this situation, however, I think we would all be missing the point if we think all of the terrorists hate America because of our clothing brands. Many of these terrorists groups hate American foreign policy and hegemony over their countries. They don't inherently hate everything American. Additionally, many of these groups aren't opposed to using American made technologies to implement their terrorist activities. After all, they just want to win.
I completely agree with Ashleigh. Additionally, I do not think that the boys or their Al-Queda recruiters necessarily feel that they are wearing American attires. Back home when I go to eat at McDonald's, play baseball, drink coca-cola, or shop at a Nike store,I do not consciously think of it as American. After all it is the locals who produce it, even if it is an American franchise.
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