Just a few quick words to get this off my chest…a lot has been made in the States (particularly among Republicans) that Barack Obama’s middle name is Hussein. I have to say that in the name department, the guy got the short end of the stick from start to finish. Even his wife, when she first heard of him, said “Barack Obama? Who names their child Barack Obama?!” I also should add that lesser men would cower away with a name like that and stay out of the limelight and considering the man’s brilliance, we’d be worse off for it. So I give him kudos for embracing the name and going with it. Lately Sarah Palin (who shouldn’t throw stones about questionable religious practices) has been using his name in rallies, leading to supports yelling disgusting and stomach-turning chants I won’t repeat on this website. There are republicans blogs out there who simply refer to him as “B. Hussein” to further demonize him and feed the fear mongering.

The man isn’t Muslim – his grandfather was. He saw his father all but a handful of times in his whole life and never met his paternal grandfather. He was raised by a white woman from Kansas and her white, Christian parents in Hawaii. It is believed that religion is passed through the mother anyways, so it’s really a moot point. But the fact that I have to explain that or rationalize it is what REALLY gets me. Because…who CARES if he’s Muslim? There are radicals in every religion; radicals are dangerous, no matter their beliefs. To think that every Muslim is someone who wants to bomb the US and terrorize freedom-loving citizens is so blatantly stupid and ignorant, I don’t even have the words to describe my disdain. To say that because someone is Muslim makes them a terrorist is like saying that all Germans want another Holocaust. It’s cultural naivete at it’s best. And it makes me angry and frustrated, but above all that, it makes me sad.

And that, right there, is the reason that so many people outside the US (even when they’re Americans) look at them with shock and disgust.

That is all. For now…