I am writing in response to the editorial cartoon on the opinion page of the April 4 edition of the (University) Chronicle. It was not only offensive to SCSU students of Middle Eastern descent, but insensitive in its treatment of the Palestine/Israel conflict as well.
The depiction of Arafat is stereotypical in all aspects, and one has to wonder if an actual picture was even used as a reference (as it looks nothing like him.) The long beard, flowing robe, and turban, are examples of using stock imagery to re-enforce a stereotypical view of Arabs and Muslims. This is incredibly counter-productive to all parties involved, and only helps to fan the flames of anti-Arab/Muslim sentiments on the SCSU campus.
The Palestine/Israel conflict is extremely multi-faceted and complex, and cannot be oversimplified like this. The cartoon re-enforces the idea that the entire conflict is Arafat's fault, rather than examining the culpability of all involved parties. Additionally, the (University) Chronicle seems to be taking the stance that Arafat is a liar as well, as evidenced by the crossed fingers held behind his back. This completely overlooks the deceit and destruction that is being committed by Israel on a daily basis (U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan has publicly stated that he blames Israel for gross human rights violations, and has called for an investigation into the matter). The United States has been roundly criticized for continuously taking a one-sided stance on the issue and ignoring the rest of the story, and this does nothing to prove the criticism wrong. Unless you take the time to examine all sides of the issue, you are only going to cause more harm than good.
Chris B�rk
Junior
Linguistics
