In Defense of Laura Bush Wearing a Muslim Head Scarf

Posted by Mark Radulich on 10.31.2007

Conservatives are really good at picking the wrong fight and making themselves look like caricatures in the process. This time their target is Laura Bush and they are attacking her for having class and dignity instead of being racist and insensitive...nice work conservatives.

For more on this issue tune to PC Live AT A SPEICAL TIME 10:00 PM THIS THURSDAY 11/1/07 only on the PC Live radio show.

As a mandated reporter and someone that works in a traditionally liberal profession, not only am I mortified but I spend an inordinate amount of time having to defend conservative ideology or the Republican Party from what I feel is often unwarranted attacks. For example, what might happen is that one of my peers will blurt out that because I identify myself as a conservative I want to live in a world with oceans full of oil, treeless forests and garbage from sea to dirty sea. One of my friends told me that in her 101 class she learned that the difference between Democrats and Republicans is that Democrats are for poor people and Republicans are for the rich.

Now I can talk about how political science is a tad more complex than that or bring up Green Conservative Newt Gingrich until I'm blue in the face but it won't matter a bit if the vast majority of conservatives run to the nearest microphone and promptly announce their support the exact criticism I am defending them against. I can quote word for word from "A Contract with the Earth" but if Sean Hannity then runs out and says that real conservatives drive HUMMERS and energy independence relies solely on ANWAR then all I can do is sit there with egg on my face.

And the issue here is that often conservatives make an issue where there really is none. For example, "On Wednesday, her second day in Saudi Arabia, Mrs. Bush met with breast cancer survivors in the western seaport of Jiddah. As a token of appreciation, they presented her with a long black scarf — the kind Saudi women use to cover their hair in public — with pink ribbons symbolizing the disease attached to both ends.



They then helped her wrap it around her head, even though visiting female dignitaries are exempt from Saudi Arabia's strict Islamic dress codes for women.




"No campaigns, ads or programs would have had the kind of impact that Laura Bush's trip has given to breast cancer awareness in the kingdom," said Samia al-Amoudi, a gynecologist who was diagnosed with the disease in 2006." (More)

And for the record, she actually conducted the meeting without being covered and only put it on for a photo and as a gesture of good will toward her hosts.



Now one would think that the story here should be that there are so many woman suffering from breast cancer due to the ultra-conservative culture of Saudi Arabia and that Mrs. Bush's trip might lead to a thawing of sorts of said obstacles to getting the Saudi women the treatment that they need…and if you thought that you'd be wrong.

Instead we have the media douche bag of the week, Mr. Michael Goldfarb of the Weekly Standard saying the following, "The first lady represents the American people, she is not a private citizen, and she certainly isn't acting as a private citizen in her tour of the Middle East. That she would oblige her hosts by wearing a shmata on her head is a tacit endorsement of Islam's subjugation of women. Do I expect a visitor to a synagogue to wear a yarmulke? Yes, though I wouldn't force them, and a yarmulke isn't a sign of subordination to another group of people, but to God. And also, radical Jews didn't attack this country, radical Saudi Muslims did. This isn't merely a question of being a polite guest.

And what will happen if Hillary wins the White House in 2008? Will she be expected to don the burqa on her trips to Saudi? One would hope not. Sitting presidents don't take fashion commands from foreign dignitaries, and neither should first ladies. Where are the feminists when we actually need them?"

This is exactly the reason why I find it hard to defend those on the ideological same side as me. This is also why I left the Green Party after 9/11. I don't want to continually be associated with nutcases who don't seem to understand context or the complexities of the world. In this case, conservatives who agree with Goldfarb are no better than the Truthers in that despite all rational discourse, you are blinded by said ideology. The 9/11 attackers do not warrant spitting in the face of the other billion Muslims residing throughout the world, many of which don't harbor violent ill will against the US.

There is room for debate in this country over whether or not anyone in the world should be made to wear a covering. However, not every single moment of the day needs to be concerned with this question and certainly this said questions is not always the highest priority of the day. I'm sure the women suffering from breast cancer in Saudi Arabia are more interested in gains in the area of cancer survival, than they are in gaining the choice to dress as they desire.

That is essentially my biggest problem with criticism of Laura Bush over this episode. Any rational adult knows darn well that social change in Saudi Arabia is going to come slowly in fits and starts. It's a matter of priority and comfort level not to mention fairly contentious politics between the ruling class and the religious leadership. Bush is not endorsing maltreatment of women by wearing a GIFT she received that is symbolic of the current culture. She is in fact trying to push the Saudi culture closer to modernity by forcing it to deal with a prevalent medical issue in their community.

What exactly did Goldfarb and the rest of you douche bag bloggers expect her to do with the thing? Did you really think she would take the scarf off and throw it on floor yelling, "Patooey!" She's the First Lady for goodness sakes! Even if she were a militant feminist lesbian, she would still have do conduct herself with class and dignity, which means you don't insult your hosts by giving back a gift or not wearing. If you've ever been offered food from either a black or Hispanic family you know what I'm talking about.

It's hard to defend the charge of insensitivity or racism about conservatives when they make arguments that are in fact insensitive or racist. Goldfarb clearly has issues with all Muslims, which appears to be the impetus of his charge against Bush. The reality is that Laura Bush acted in accordance with what is expected of a dignitary and judgments about the culture would not have been appropriate at that time.

This is yet another example of conservative pundits shooting the movement directly in the foot.

And here is Mrs. Bush in her own words.



For more on this issue tune to PC Live AT A SPEICAL TIME 10:00 PM THIS THURSDAY 11/1/07 only on the PC Live radio show.