~ Arabs are the new Blacks.
If you haven’t seen the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour yet, then you most definitely must. its probably one of the funniest comedy standup routines you’ll ever see. These guys are really hilarious, they take up the issues of profiling in the U.S and being an American Muslim, and tackle issues like terrorism and prejudice, and life for people of Middle Eastern descent in the United States in the aftermath of 9/11.
This is a funny skit from the show performed by Dean Obeidallah about how “Arabs are the new Blacks”:
You can also find other Clips from the show on youtube Here.
In a time when East and West do not seem to understand each other, top stand-up comics of Middle Eastern descent Ahmed Ahmed, Aron Kader, and Maz Jobrani take it upon themselves to single-handedly bridge the gap with an original comedy tour that has become one of the hottest concert tickets in the country.Special guest Dean Obeidallah , who’s appeared on “Saturday Night Live” “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” and is a founder of the New York Arab-American Comedy Festival, joins the “Axis of Evil” creators for this sold-out, no-holds-barred event that has made headlines everywhere from CNN to Newsweek.Nothing is off-limits. Whether it’s gay terrorists or the difficulty of flying in post 9/11 America, The Axis of Evil Comedy Tour blasts stereotypes with outrageous humor. Visit the official site at http://www.axisofevilcomedy.com
August 26th, 2007 at 10:19 am
I was in class when the planes hit the towers, my teacher was a Jamaican man who always complained about how racist the American police were to him whenever he wen there to visit, and that the Canadians were much better, but still picked on him.
As soon as the speculation started that arabs did it, that was my first thought, now we arabs will know what its like to be black.
It turned out its not just arabs, Americans were attacking anyone with a turban, anyone who looks or sounds middle-eastern. I remember the sikhs were complaining and even hundreds of Israelis getting arrested.
Anyway, once the initial shock died, we became not only the new blacks but the new commies. Public enemy number one. Holywood then caught terrorist fever and action heroes started fighting villains named Akhmed and Omar.
Today, racial profiling is practiced in airports all over the US and Europe. (Racial, meaning pick on the nearest Arabic speaking / arab-looking person).
Comedy is the best way to make people listen to how rediculous it is. What does it have to do with me if a dozen lunatics decided to joyride a plane into a building, just because I was born in the same place or had the same religion. Why didn’t they profile white American christians when David Koresh showed up ?
August 26th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
Maz Jobrani is hilarious! I think comedy might be one of the best ways of bridging the gap between people.
August 26th, 2007 at 12:40 pm
… So I’m trawling my favourite Arab blogs for possible contributors to the e-zine I’m editing, and I have to ask you - do you want to do an essay about these guys for Arab Comment.com? Or, an essay about something else? E-mail me and let me know if that’s’ something you’re even remotely interested in.
Otherwise, I hope you’re doing well. Love your blog (Ok, the last time I commented was a billion years ago, but I still love it).
August 26th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
I hope they make more sense than Hani did! And I hope they are funnier, too!
August 26th, 2007 at 12:50 pm
Hey, what are Westerners caught in the wrong place at the wrong time in Iraq called? The new dead people? Hani, when Arabs start getting their heads cut off in the US for being Arab, come talk to me.
August 26th, 2007 at 1:03 pm
Craig, any westerner that goes into Iraq knows what they’re getting into. Besides this isn’t somehting to be blamed on Arabas but the blame equally goes to Sadam/George W.
Wasn’t really trying to be funny, but what didn’t make sense ?
August 26th, 2007 at 1:43 pm
Natalie: Thank you very much, I will consider it
and Craig, Take it easy buddy, this isn’t about War in Iraq, and they’re not saying there are NO Arab terrorists. sure there are, just as there are American, European, Japanese, German and terrorist from all kinds of ethnicities. This is about profiling ALL Arabs as terrorists especially those who live in the western world. simple as that. unless of course you think that this kind of practice is O.K, then thats a different matter.
August 26th, 2007 at 6:47 pm
yeah ta7sheesh, got the full length standup from moey and I cracked up!
Dean is awesome, but I think Aron is HILARIOUS! haha. Kolhomm el sara7a, Maz is really popular with 2nd degree roles in movies. hehe
August 26th, 2007 at 8:30 pm
Yeah Omar, Of course one has to watch the full performance to really appreciate it. the youtube vids are only samples and they don’t do it justice at all. I got the DVD from my friends over at thepiratebay
August 27th, 2007 at 5:10 am
Hani.
Craig, any westerner that goes into Iraq knows what they’re getting into. Besides this isn’t somehting to be blamed on Arabas but the blame equally goes to Sadam/George W.
That’s the part that doesn’t make sense, right there. You don’t blame Arabs for what they do to westerners, but you blame westerners for what they do to Arabs. In fact, you went so far as to say “What does it have to do with me”. Well, what does profiling or discrimination against Arabs have to with Americans? It’s just some crazy people. Nothing to do with me.
Why do you expect Americans to put pressure on American society, but you don’t feel any responsibility to put pressure on Arab society? Public opinion in the Arab middle east was running pretty strongly pro-Al Qaida as I recall, right after 9/11. Support for terrorism is dropping now, but how much of that has to do with you, Hani? What did you do to condemn Arab terrorism? You seem to hold yourself blameless. And yet at the same time, you expect Americans to give you the benefit of the doubt, and you seem to be blaming all of us for a few incidents of racism.
August 27th, 2007 at 6:56 am
Ta7ssheeesh man!
sme3et 3anhoom before bas i couldnt find anything about them!
Thankz ;>
August 27th, 2007 at 8:42 am
Arabs are the new blacks Part 2…
After Bakkouz posted about the DVD released by the Arabs guys in USA. Something really came up to my…
August 27th, 2007 at 11:07 am
However when did I “blame all of you” ? I said Sadam/George W., the two men primarily responsible for the war.
Sadam because he invaded kuwait, and George W. because he invaded Iraq with the following excuses:
1. To eliminate the WMDs
2. Fight Terrorism
3. Liberate Iraq and bring them democracy.
Well he failed on all counts, there were no WMDs. If anything terrorism increased after the Invasion, and Iraq was plunged into a civil war, and right now US troops are applying the same tactics Saddam used whenever any Iraqis rebeled on him.
What did you do to pressure your government to stop racial profiling ? Who says public opinion was heavily pro al-qaida ?
Craig, your question about responsibility is at the heart of the matter.
Arabs are never responsible for their governments actions because they didn’t elect them. Americans elected their government, so they carry the responsibility by extension.
August 27th, 2007 at 11:34 am
Hani,
However when did I “blame all of you” ? I said Sadam/George W., the two men primarily responsible for the war.
What about the part where you talked about where you made these comments:
It turned out its not just arabs, Americans were attacking anyone with a turban, anyone who looks or sounds middle-eastern. I remember the sikhs were complaining and even hundreds of Israelis getting arrested.
Anyway, once the initial shock died, we became not only the new blacks but the new commies. Public enemy number one. Holywood then caught terrorist fever and action heroes started fighting villains named Akhmed and Omar.
You weren’t talking about foreign policy or government agencies there, were you? You were just talking about stereotypical Americans. Right?
Well he failed on all counts, there were no WMDs. If anything terrorism increased after the Invasion, and Iraq was plunged into a civil war, and right now US troops are applying the same tactics Saddam used whenever any Iraqis rebeled on him.
I wasn’t a proponent of the war in Iraq. I personally thought we should have invaded Iran. I never thought Iraq belonged on the “Axis of Evil”. Nor did North Korea. If I had my way, the Axis of Evil would have been Iran, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
But I still disagree with you. I don’t think terrorism has increased. Support for terrorism has dropped off quite sharply in the Arab ME. It’s still much too high, but it’s not a majority of Arabs who support terrorism now. It used to be so.
What did you do to pressure your government to stop racial profiling ?
Nothing. I don’t object to profiling. Law enforcement has been using profiling since before I was born. Which is before they invented a word for it. They used to just call it “looking suspicious”. When I was a teenager, white guys with long hair and dressed a certain way were profiled for being probable drug users. I couldn’t even guess how many times I got pulled over, or stopped on the street and “interviewed” in the late 1970s and early 1980s. I didn’t like it much, but you know what? The cops had that profile right.
Now, if you asked me what I do to protest against racial discrimination, I’d give you a different answer. I’ve gotten in fistfights with bigots before, and I rarely let a racist comment or any other kind of overt racism go unchallenged, when I see a white person (like me) engaging in it. I don’t really care if you believe that or not, it’s my answer to the question you didn’t ask.
I don’t consider profiling to be racist. People who match certain profiles DO engage in certain behaviors much more often than others. It would be abject stupidity to claim otherwise.
Who says public opinion was heavily pro al-qaida ?Arabs are never responsible for their governments actions because they didn’t elect them. Americans elected their government, so they carry the responsibility by extension.
But we aren’t talking about Governments. We are talking about societies. And the people who form public opinion are the individual members of those societies.
US Government is pretty responsive to public opinion. Arab governments are not. If Arab governments DID respond to public opinion, would things be better, or worse? I think we can look at Iraq, where there is basically no government, and see what Arab public opinion is. Do you disagree?
August 27th, 2007 at 11:59 am
The comment about the sikhs refered refered to a timeframe immediately after 9-11, the news stories depicting such incidents are well documented and very much in the mainstream.
“”You weren’t talking about foreign policy or government agencies there, were you? You were just talking about stereotypical Americans. Right?”"
No, I was talking about the US media, and Holywood. The policies (including racial profiling, the patriot law, etc..) enacted in fact not only made many Arab Americans feel harassed, but also compromised the rights of Americans as a whole.
Its interesting you should mention Iran and Saudi Arabi, because I remember making the same point when I discussed this issue with my father subsequent to 9-11. Based on the fact that there were no Iraqis among the hijackers, and no Iraqi Gov. involvement, but many Saudis, also the fact that Bin Ladin himself is a Saudi. Iran was much more of a credible threat from a WMD perspective. Having said that I wasn’t for invading any of those countries.
Nevertheless I distinctly remember a survey in a major newspaper where three quarter of Americans actually believed Sadam had some involvement in 9-11. This was played by the Bush administration.
Regarding profiling, you’re making the point that it can be reasonable, that depends how it is applied. You could find hundreds of horror stories on the net and in the news about it.
do you really think questions like:
- Have you ever been to a middle eastern country ?
- Have you ever read the Quran ?
are going to be answered suspiciously by a terrorist ?
No, terrorists would answer such questions calmly, they’d have planned what to say in advance. This is just feeding the security companies, wasting taxpayer’s money (not mine) and harassing the public.
Regarding Iraqi public opinion, the point is, Iraq is far worse of now than it was before the invasion (based at the very least on the number of deaths). It remains to be seen whether this will change, but the outlook is very dim.
August 27th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
“”US Government is pretty responsive to public opinion. Arab governments are not.”"
Their responsiveness is directly related to the fact that their political careers are dependant on public support.
“”If Arab governments DID respond to public opinion, would things be better, or worse?”"
Better for whom ?
Basically you’re asking if democracy works. In theory, if the government listens to the majority of its people, then it will better satisfy the majority of their needs. In reality, the majority of people don’t care enough to research the issues, and have an informed opinion, and those that do will always be a minority. That’s why media freedom and democracy must go hand in hand.
August 27th, 2007 at 8:25 pm
“Hey, what are Westerners caught in the wrong place at the wrong time in Iraq called? The new dead people? Hani, when Arabs start getting their heads cut off in the US for being Arab, come talk to me.”
See how stupid he is? He is comparing Arab-American civilian/citizens in the U.S. to mercenaries and soldiers that CHOSE to go to Iraq.
Please Programmed Crackhead answer me with an emoticon, Bakkouz has a nice array for you to choose from because I will only be reading emoticon responses from none of your other nonsense.
Thankssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!
August 27th, 2007 at 10:29 pm
“Catholic” thing,
See how stupid he is? He is comparing Arab-American civilian/citizens in the U.S. to mercenaries and soldiers that CHOSE to go to Iraq.
So all the construction workers, aid workers, NGO employees, etc are “mercenaries”? You do realzie no westerner can leave the green zone without military escort, without being kidnapped and probably killed on videotape, do you not? And Americans are not teh only people who’ve been victimized.
And are you saying Arabs are forced to come to teh United States? Is that what happened to you? Somebody put a gun to your grandparent’s head and made them come to America? And you are not permitted to leave?
Hani, you see why the profiling laws are necessary? This creature is an American. And she’d kill us all if she could. Every last one of us.
August 27th, 2007 at 10:46 pm
Hani,
The comment about the sikhs refered refered to a timeframe immediately after 9-11, the news stories depicting such incidents are well documented and very much in the mainstream.
Doesn’t change the fact that you blamed all Americans for what a few racists did. Does it?
No, terrorists would answer such questions calmly, they’d have planned what to say in advance. This is just feeding the security companies, wasting taxpayer’s money (not mine) and harassing the public.
In the same way that criminals who are stopped and interviewed for matching a profile don’t tell the truth when questioned.
The idea is to observe the subject and try to determine whether further investigation is warranted.
No, it doesn’t always work. It depends how smooth the person being interviewed is. But it works some of the time, and that’s better than nothing.
Also, I humbly submit the objective is not to keep “terrorists” out of the country. The objective is to keep people who support terrorism, or who are POTENTIAL terrorists, out of teh country. If they have reason to believe somebody is an actual terrorist, they arrest the person.
Regarding Iraqi public opinion, the point is, Iraq is far worse of now than it was before the invasion (based at the very least on the number of deaths). It remains to be seen whether this will change, but the outlook is very dim.
Their responsiveness is directly related to the fact that their political careers are dependant on public support.
Yes. Does that alter the point I was making? Even non-elected officials are subject to those who are elected, and lower-level employees are subject to the them. A large government bureaucracy isn’t immediately responsive to changes in public opinion, but it is responsive over time.
Craig: “”If Arab governments DID respond to public opinion, would things be better, or worse?””
Hani: Better for whom ?
Why don’t you tell me? Do you think if the masses in the Arab middle east had their way, things would be better for anybody?
Basically you’re asking if democracy works. In theory, if the government listens to the majority of its people, then it will better satisfy the majority of their needs. In reality, the majority of people don’t care enough to research the issues, and have an informed opinion, and those that do will always be a minority. That’s why media freedom and democracy must go hand in hand.
I haven’t really found that better educated people with more “expertise” have more valid opinions than anybody else. Juan Coal? Noam Chomsky? Robert Fisk? These people do little other than try to mislead the public. Which brings up another point.
In a representative democracy, the people don’t vote on issues directly. They vote on people who represent them. People who presumable ARE well informed. And most people vote for the person they trust the most.
August 27th, 2007 at 11:00 pm
Craig:
thanx!
August 27th, 2007 at 11:09 pm
I loved the show; I’ve watched the DVD like so many times, I’ve lost count.
My favourites are Aron Kader and Maz Jobrani, although the others rock too.
Dean Obeidallah and Ahmed Ahmed have got another DVD out called the “Arab-American Comedy Tour” with a female comedian called Maysoon Zayid. I haven’t gotten a hold of it yet, but hope I get to see it soon.
August 28th, 2007 at 12:00 am
Democracy isn’t about making things better for everybody, it is about making things better for the majority of voters. In the middle east this would result in a lot of theocracies. I don’t want to live in a theocracy, so I can’t speak for everyone else, but for the time being I’m much happier under a monarchy.
If the point of the profiling is to keep all potential terrorists out, arent’ you forgeting about the potential terrorists inside your borders ? Also immediately after 9-11, some Americans were calling for putting all arabs in concentration camps pending deportation. Where does it end ?
What next, genetic profiling ? Let’s find the violence gene, and abort the infected fetuses before they are even born ?
How many victims of terrorism have their been in the US in the past 10 years ?
How many victims of drunk drivers ? Should we deport the alcoholics too ?
How many victims of Serial killers ? More deportees.
How many school shootings ? Ah, who needs children, they’re potential shooters
How many KKK members ?
……
Are the resources spent on so called counter-terrorism justified based on past and preventable deaths ?
I don’t think so, there are far worse kllers.
August 28th, 2007 at 12:54 am
Forgot to say, I haven’t heard of Juan Coal, and I’ve only seen Robert Fisk do an interview once, but I’ve read and listened to Chomsky for hours and hours (about everything from Israel, East Timor, 911, US foreign policy, corporate dishonesty), and never have I disliked what he said. Its enough to have a jew any jew think of israel as the agressor, let alone someone this intelligent, and well known.
August 28th, 2007 at 3:19 am
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September 4th, 2007 at 8:44 am
Bakkouz, the one I got is around 300mb, is it the same one you have?
September 4th, 2007 at 8:46 am
I personally loved the Aaron Kader part speaking of his relatives in Amman cussing in english because god only understands arabic, DUDE THAT WAS LIKE A BOMB!
September 4th, 2007 at 10:50 am
Moey, the one i have is a 700 mb one, full DVD Rip.
September 12th, 2007 at 12:43 am
I know this post is old but I just wanted to say that I saw these guys live in chicago! They’re funny but have you ever heard of the allah made me funny tour….waaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy funnier