Cribs: Arab American

I'm of Arab origin, 100% Iraqi...scratch that, I'm about 1/4 Turkish three generations back which probably has something to do with the whole Ottoman influence in the Middle East years ago (gotta love history). I was born in the United States (Georgiaaa............Georgiaaaaa), raised in the T Dot, and moved over to the big L'Y (pronounced L, E....L dot is just lame) during my first year of university here at UWO.

I never really had too many Arab friends growing up outside of family, but when I got to UWO I became consumed with developing my Arab-ness. I was president of the Western Arab Students Association during my second year and dedicated everyday of that academic year to developing the club in anyway possible. Fundraisers, culture shows, parties, social issues, political issues, you name it! I loved every moment of it and although it was INCREDIBLYYYY FRUSTRATING at times, it was a key moment in my life as I began to identify myself with a culture that was truthfully quite foreign to me. Hence, the frustration :P

So for those of you who feel like Arabs are on a completely different spectrum, I thought I'd share this vid with you! Being in MIT and of Arab descent it's hard not to notice the media's slant on middle eastern culture being serious, non-conformist and oppressive in nature. Sometimes humor is the best way to get insight into foreign concepts and cultures (Russell Peters anybody????). Black Americans have poked fun at themselves for years. Whether or not it has had direct significance, I think the ability of Black Americans to satirize and parody their everyday lives has been essential to their liberative movement. Whether it was the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, The Jeffersons, or the Cosby show, the implications of these mainstream sitcoms can not be under-valued in their efforts in helping to educate the massess about the racial struggles of the black community. So with that........check it out.