I occasionally read a Lee Habeeb column and when I do, I
marvel at his lack of common sense. Well, I just read a column of his, and I
marveled so much, I found it impossible not to respond. The column in question
is titled: “The Islamist War on Women” and subtitled: “What those girls in Ohio suffered happens to
millions of women around the world.” It was published on May 18, 2013 in
National Review Online.
Let me say at the outset why I feel the man has once again
displayed little common sense if any. He began the column by saying something
about the young women in Ohio
who were “trapped by a monster.” He says it is almost impossible to fathom what
they felt, and he asks: “How did they cope? How did they get through each day?”
A few paragraphs later, he draws a parallel between that history and what he
was told may have happened in Egypt .
It is that: “Last week, my wife rushed into my office and showed me an article,” he wrote.
It was a story in the Wall Street Journal; one that I
discussed on May 9, 2013 in a post under the title: “Where A False Title Becomes The Editorial.” As hinted, it is a story of
deliberately fabricated false perceptions. It can be accessed in the archive at
the right side of this page by clicking on the title. Lee Habeeb says that the
Journal piece was brought to his attention by his wife but makes no mention of
my response perhaps because he did not see it or perhaps because I am
blacklisted and he dares not mention my name lest he be crucified as were many
others before him.
Since there is no
reason why I should rehash what I wrote 10 days ago, I shall only respond to
what else Habeeb says in his current column. Before drawing a parallel between
the Ohio
story and the one in the Wall Street Journal, he drew a parallel with another
story. It is that of a friend of his who was “sexually abused as a teenaged girl
[by] a man she knew.” For 15 years, she did not tell anyone, not even him who
was married to her. That was the wife who rushed into his office and showed him
the Journal article.
He discusses the
psychological reasons why his wife did not tell her story to anyone during all
those years, but makes no attempt to find out why she rushed into his office
with that Journal article. Had he tried to understand why she was eager to
bring that story to his attention, he would have understood why he is himself
eager to draw parallels between what happened to the Ohio
girls, what happened to his wife and what is perceived to be happening in Egypt . These
are three different stories. They are different from each other, and different
from the other stories which Habeeb mentions in his article.
He hints that his
wife has healed. I believe she did. I have no doubt she has come a long way but
she is still in the process of providing herself with additional therapy. She
is saying something to herself and she is saying it to her husband. As well, he
is saying it to the world, he is saying the thing did not happen to them only.
He says that this sort of thing happens all the time, happens to all sorts of
people and happens everywhere. He and his wife are not unique; they are not
alone. Yes, this is the right therapy; it will work for you Lee; it will work
for you Valerie. But be careful how far you go with it because the last thing
you want to do is get carried away.
This said, I now ask Lee Habeeb: What is worse? A father who
is strict, even harsh with his children whether in public or in private like it
may happen anywhere in the world? Or a father who would keep his own daughter
in the basement to be his sex slave for several decades like it happened in Europe not long ago? Or a father who would kidnap three
girls and keep them as sex slaves for a decade like it happened in America ?
When, ten days ago, I discussed the piece that came in the
Wall Street Journal, I pointed out the contradictions that stripped the thing
of any sense of seriousness. And guess what, Lee Habeeb says that things did
not connect with him either but then: “It took my wife to connect things I was
incapable of connecting.” She said to him: “These women are prisoners. And on
those rare times they are permitted to leave the house, they wear burqas. And a
burqa is just a prison made out of clothing.”
Well, I know that Valerie Habeeb is doing this to heal
herself but what would happen if she met young women born here in North America who defy their stylish mothers and wear the
burqa? What would happen if they told Valerie: mind your own business Miss
because I like the freedom to wear what I want without you telling me what to
do. Would she get depressed and experience a relapse?
Don't play with fire, people, because you can only hurt
yourselves by getting carried away. If you want to heal yourselves, you do it
on your own, not at the expense of someone else. But if you insist on helping
someone, there is something legitimate and urgent you can do.
The story is to the effect that 26,000 known cases of rape
against women and men took place in the United States military last year.
This is a population that does not exceed 1.5 million. If you apply that same
ratio to the entire population of the country, it would come to 5.37 million
rapes a year or 10 rapes a minute.
Lee Habeeb says he wants to: “Say a prayer for all the women
in the world trapped in cages built on the foundation of depraved cultural
norms and a warped take on Islam.” He can do that if he wants, and if he has
the time. But if his time is limited, I would urge him to forget about the
world and say a prayer for all the women and men trapped in cages built on the
foundation of depraved military norms and a warped take on what constitutes a
chain of command.
Charity begins at home, Lee, and don't you forget that
because it is simple common sense.