BALANCE of CULTURE

Baby Burka Fatwa Continues the Perennial Coverup

Although this Saudi cleric's fatwa was suggested on a television interview several months ago, the mainstream public is now reeling about the idea of forcing female babies to wear full burkas as a deterrent from sexual abuse.  

Sheikh Dauod's statement is in full accord with the sensibilities of societies that harbor deep gaps in gender equality--it's the victim who needs to prevent the wrongdoing. But where is any accountability for actual perpetrators? Females are traditionally not required to wear burkas until they reach puberty, so this idea clearly shows an inherently tunnel-visioned bias towards hiding the criminal actions of sick individuals. This reminds me of a popular sentiment in the protests following India's recent horrific gang rape that swept the world. 

Furthermore, even if putting burkas on baby girls does somehow prevent sexual abuse, it does nothing for male children (just ask Cardinal Mahoney and his "holy" cohorts if a piece of cloth would have stopped their heinous actions). 

Wearing burkas may be a cultural choice for many women, but this perennial cover-up of an established global "boys club" is ultimately a scary thing for both genders no matter where you live on the planet. 

Afghan War Rugs

Sometimes more often than abstract pieces of art, I've found that these Afghan war rugs understandably provoke even stronger reactions from observers who already have specific opinions about conflicts in the region.

These historical pieces originate from women in Afghanistan's Baluchi region who shed their traditional preference for weaving benign birds and flowers, opting instead for an indigenous modernism that depicts the violence they endured during the decade of Soviet occupation beginning in 1979. Many of these knotted wool rugs also celebrate the Soviets' eventual exit of Afghanistan in 1989.

Despite the controversial aspects of these pieces (though we've shown these war rugs to a few Afghans who were very delighted), I find them to be fascinating and unapologetic reminders of Afghanistan's tumultuous and oppressive historical experience at the hands of Westerners. I also doubt that the women who created these expected most viewers to be comfortably charmed by these pieces--they are clearly not meant to please everybody. 

Chinese v American Conservatism

With China's highly-anticipated power transition now installed, some skeptics might wonder if the country has somehow fulfilled the "bad guy" role that was referenced several times during our recent presidential debates. Xi Jinping as new general secretary is easily an overall net-win for the Communist Party's conservative bloc, as observers expect him to favor traditional social control in lieu of any short-term progressive political or economic reforms. 

Unsurprisingly, the link between the conservative faction and dominant state-owned enterprises--a growing issue in China--is not terribly divergent from our own big-party politics in the US.

But the powerful conservatives in China seem to have a greater awareness of their socio-political context than America's GOP, expecting that the liberalization of the Chinese system is "inevitable." 

If I had been told 10 years ago that China's conservative faction would have a more open-minded perspective about the changing world than the Republican party, I'm not sure if I would have believed you. But after seeing rural white America react with such vitriol the last few years to its own diverse people and beliefs...I not only believe it--I know it. 

[Top photo: leaders in Beijing agreeing. Bottom photo: white power advocates.] 

President Obama's Mysterious White Lid Explained

Remember when President Obama was on the Daily Show last week? Both he and funny man-host Jon Stewart had their cups of water in front of them but only the President's had a mysterious white lid covering his beverage, prompting people to wonder what it was all about:

The answer lies with the Navy Mess, according to one anonymous Daily Show employee:

I work on the Daily Show and am involved with the placement of the mugs every day. When the Secret Service spoke with me about what we usually do for the show, I asked about the mugs knowing it would be an issue. "Let me introduce you to the Navy Mess," the lead agent said.

So, I met the appropriate person from the Navy Mess. I gave her a brand new mug which she disappeared with. She kept possession of it the whole time and filled it with water herself. She explained to me that when he sees the paper lid (which is embossed with the seal of the President), he knows that it has come from the Navy Mess and is safe.

She offered to remove it before the segment started, but we cleared it with the control room that if it made the President feel safe to have it there, they could live with it.

I thought this was pretty interesting--not surprising, but interesting. The only mildly surprising thing here is how President Obama and his staff didn't feel completely "at home" in the studio of a television program that is overtly on their team. It actually made me relieved that the left-wing nature of the Daily Show didn't prevent the usual precautions when it comes to the President's physical well-being and security. Because anything less than that would be completely naive, no matter how supportive the program was. You just never know at this point!

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USS Wayne E. Meyer in San Pedro, CA

Some images from this past weekend at LA Navy Days 2012 with family. We heard that last year's event was a bit chaotic but this year was super mellow and fun (perfect weather, too). (Some sad news surfaced the very next day regarding film director Tony Scott, which was the last thing on our minds during the walk-through.) We had fun talking to the sailors on the missile destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108), who told us their sea sickness stories, showed us their living/eating quarters (couldn't take pics there), and demonstrated the impressive technology on the ship.

SUP for Olympics 2016

After an exciting weekend of Olympics festivities plus a ton of stand up paddling (where we met some new seal buddies!), the big question is when will SUP join the Olympics? I personally doubt it's a matter of 'if,' considering the challenging dynamics of the sport as well as its wide accessibility in all bodies of water. Should be only a matter of time!

Women Olympians Busy Making Headlines Before Opening

Women athletes from different parts of the globe are garnering plenty of media attention during this year's Olympics. Some are calling 2012 the "year of the woman," partially because for the first time in history, both the US and Russian teams are majority-female. In addition, Saudi Arabia has sent its very first female pair of competitors to London (one who will compete in judo without a hajib!), while Malaysia actually has a female shooter who will compete while nine months pregnant!

A rather unfortunate development ticked off the North Korean women's soccer team--right before their match against Colombia, event organizers mistakenly displayed the North Korean players' introductions alongside the South Korean flag! The ladies from Pyongyang ended up beating Colombia 2-0--perhaps fueled by the embarrassing indiscretion. 

While we're on the subject of embarrassing, this week Greece had to kick off triple jumper Voula Papachristou from the country's Olympic squad due to her racist African jokes published on Twitter. She has since apologized, but only after getting more defensive on the social network first. Hopefully she'll realize that her personal entertaining skills do not have much of a place in her role as representing Greece on the world stage!

Lastly, for now anyway, the US beach volleyball team will continue to wear their bikinis during games despite new rules that finally allow women to wear frumpy tees and shorts while playing. To them, like many Southern Californians, swimwear is simply more comfortable and not a big deal.

It's been a rough week in the States, and a rough economic few years for everyone internationally as well. Compounded with the presidential election coming up in a few months, US citizens have been busy reevaluating our social, political, medical, and educational systems. The Olympics will be a brief respite from all of this--plus a fun way to reconnect with our neighbors around the globe and see how they present their own athletes and cultures. And with the increasing inclusion of more women Olympians (um, finally?!), the worldwide celebration seems to be evolving into the relevant affair that it should be. 

Happy 4th of July!

My favorite holiday of the year! Enjoy the explosions. 

Public Art: Waikiki Fireworks

I'm pretty convinced that no public art exists that brings random people together in the public sphere the way fireworks do.

Above are some personal images from the weekly Friday summer fireworks show in Waikiki. The fireworks show on New Year's Eve are even crazier but it's amazing how many people (both locals and tourists) gather to celebrate a normal Friday night.

No surprise that people all over the globe have been playing with fireworks for eons! 

Memorial Day Lantern Floating Ceremony

Hawai'i celebrates Memorial Day every year with a lantern floating ceremony at Ala Moana Beach in Honolulu. These wooden lanterns, made by local volunteers, are reused every year. Such a beautiful reminder of what an amazing country we live in. 

 

More gorgeous photos here!