And as an addition to the previous post, here is an example of typical pseudo-progressive hypocrisy. A blogger rants and raves against the horrible, evil, ultra-conservative media and then says the following (emphasis mine):
Terrorism, on the other hand, especially any that we can tie to Islam, has a built-in narrative of “The Other” onto which we can all immediately latch. This was most obvious when the identities of the two bombers were released on Friday and the mainstream media took to calling them “ethnic Chechens,” focusing mainly on their ties to that particularly restless part of Russia and very little on the 10 years they spent living in the US in the post-9/11 era.
Wow, that is so dismissive and insulting that I had to reread the statement three times to make sure I wasn’t imagining it. According to this logic, the US was “that particularly restless part of England,” Mexico was “that particularly restless part of Spain,” and Palestine is “that particularly restless part of Israel.”
Even the most aggressive among the Russian nationalists do not claim that Chechnya is a part of Russia. Chechnya is part of the Russian Federation and it used to be part of the Russian Empire. If you don’t see the difference, consider whether you see a difference between England and the British Empire.
And the reason why Chechnya is so “particularly restless” (which is a very infantilizing way to speak of a country, by the way) is that for over 300 years it has been brutalized by the colonial aggressor. As recently as the 1940s, the entire population of the country was displaced and deported. Countless people were murdered in the process. As a result, the pesky Chechens became kinda restless.
Clarissa's Blog 
http://www.shakesville.com/2013/04/why-isnt-there-more-media-coverage-of.html#comment-876982396
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I love it when Americans justify being dismissive of and insulting to other countries. Their fake progressivism slips right off.
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And then people ask what I have against Shakesville. It’s a bunch of self-aggrandizing, self-important idiots who know squeal stupidly about oppression yet have no problem with being oppressive to others.
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I hope she was kidding us, but it seems she’s serious.
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I wasn’t even hoping for a recognition that the quoted passage is very badly written.
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Whoever wrote that load of rubbish lacks logic period! I don’t care what political orientation they are, but at least be able to explain your position without resorting to vague rhetoric. I also don’t like “progressives” that spend a lot of their time focusing on FOX News or “conservatives” that spend a lot of their time focusing on MSNBC. Journalism in that sense is dying.
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“Journalism in that sense is dying.”
– Absolutely. Both channels bore me equally and I would never consider either of them to be a source of actual news.
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I can already picture a half-baked response to your criticisms: “Oh, who cares about accuracy and sensitivity to reality, when there are rhetorical flourishes meant to show off my obvious intellectual superiority to make?”
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It’s even worse than that. I was given a short lecture on the correct usage of the English language. 🙂
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Oy Vey.
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Ah Chechnya, one person’s freedom fighter, another’s terrorist.
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http://www.shakesville.com/2013/04/daily-dose-of-cute_26.html
CATS and DOGS! WOW! 😉
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It would be interesting to study the compatibility of PIV?
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not here sorry
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Don’t ascribe to hypocrisy what is probably just the result of stupidity.
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That’s what I thought first, but after reading the McEwan’s reply, this is hypocrisy at his best.
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Probably both!
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Yeah
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I am hoping against all hope that “restless” was a shortened form of “in a state of political unrest” or something of that nature. “Restless” is an adjective we use for kindergarteners and cholicky babies.
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That’s precisely what I’m saying. Thank you for understanding.
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Off topic: http://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/ultimas_noticias/2013/04/130426_ultnot_putin_impedira_adopciones_gay_ap.shtml
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Homophobia is on the rise in Russia. 😦
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I think the confusion (or more likely indifference) about the finer shades of Russian political organization isn’t that big a deal. How many Americans really need to know the difference between “Russia” and “the Russian federation”.
“Restless” is indeed an inappropriate adjective.
And Russia may have brutalized the Chechens (the Russian empire/state has never been a good neighbor to….. anyone) but the Chechens have played (and continue to play) their part too.
They have a traditionally violent clan based culture (often found in peoples living in inhospitable mountain areas, like Afghanistan or Albania) that does not mix well with outsiders or larger political integration (but which is mostly not sustainable on its own).
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Of course, it is perfectly fine to know nothing about Chechnya. However, if you write a long post blasting others for being ignorant about Chechnya, you become responsible for providing a more nuanced account.
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Diclaimer, I couldn’t stand to read the whole thing (too painful, how did you manage?)
Anyway I would agree that an article that was trying to pass for a serious analysis of the Bomb brothers (or Chechens and/or Chechnya) should make the particular political status and as many awful historical details as possible clear. But this doesn’t seem to pretend to be about Chechnya and the phrase in question was a drive-by reference on the way to some other banal/wrong point.
And, like it or not, “restless” is accepted journalese word to describe areas where there is political conflict. Yes, it is stupid and infantalizing but it wasn’t rolled out just for this … thing (don’t want to actually call it an essay).
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