- Oct 9, 1999
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An interesting and nuanced article about a Muslim immigrant and the guy who tried to kill him, and the surprising aftermath.
Well worth your time to read, imho.
Well worth your time to read, imho.
Ten days after 9/11, self-professed Texas loud, Texas proud Mark Stroman walked into a Dallas mini-mart, pulled out a gun and asked the brown man working behind the counter where he was from.
Bhuiyan, Stroman. Extremes along the continuum of American identity, each an example with much to tell us about who we are. The one, an immigrant who, by dint of pluck and abilities, comes to embody some of the best of our nation’s values, as well as a trace of that unseemly, self-*promoting daemon so central to the American self. The other, born and raised in Texas, defined by the narrow creed of his love for motorcycles and guns and naked women, reveals the costs of a nation beholden to ruthless competition and relentless individualism, a society that winnows out the less capable, the more damaged, and where festering rage seeks a violent discharge. Which of these men is the “true American” of the title? That there is no simple answer to that question is Giridharadas’s finest accomplishment.
What I understood from it is that Americans love a winner and has no time for losers and both guys in the shooting probably believed in that creed. The down and out guy took out his frustration ('violent discharge') on the newcomer on route to the American dream. The immigrant who got shot then got dumped on his ass because he wasn't sufficiently insured and now lives as a damaged and less capable member of society.That last paragraph is extremely incendiary.
Competition and individualism have nothing to do with the hate in that persons heart and the inability to differentiate between Muslims and terrorists.
Individualism would have somebody not identify with a group, and not identify others by groups. That texan probably thinks like a big government conservative, far from an individual who prefers individual freedom over collective goals. Big wars and big spending require large amounts of collective resources, all of which are collected involuntarily.
Competition, I have no idea why that is put in there. Because liberal?
Maybe the author is using those terms because they have been co-opted by conservatives and their meanings have been abandoned? I dunno. I'm at a loss.
Texas loves NYC - when it's tradegy can be used as an excuse to murder someone.
Also, even after the victim was dumped out of the hospital, he still found it in himself to forgive and work to prevent his attacker from being executed.
Which, I hope he frankly fails.
Well worth your time to read, imho.
To be fair if your mom told you that you were only born because she was $50 short for an abortion and you had the equivalent upbringing I doubt you'd necessarily be a beacon of sanguine opinions.That last paragraph is extremely incendiary.
Competition and individualism have nothing to do with the hate in that persons heart and the inability to differentiate between Muslims and terrorists.
Individualism would have somebody not identify with a group, and not identify others by groups. That texan probably thinks like a big government conservative, far from an individual who prefers individual freedom over collective goals. Big wars and big spending require large amounts of collective resources, all of which are collected involuntarily.
Competition, I have no idea why that is put in there. Because liberal?
Maybe the author is using those terms because they have been co-opted by conservatives and their meanings have been abandoned? I dunno. I'm at a loss.
He's already fucked in the head apparently. He pulled out his own eye and ate it.
At this point not sure if saving him is taking him off of death row or euthanasia.
Just as Bhuiyan finds in his faith a transformative and inspirational power, Stroman’s confrontation with inevitable death effects a similar change. Moved by Bhuiyan’s work on his behalf, tormented by his years on death row — days so lacking in human contact, a fellow prisoner went insane, pulled his own eye out and ate it