Yesterday, feminist Allison McCarthy posted a poem in Shaima's honor (I saw the poem at BlazingCatFur). The poem is horrendous on multiple levels. As poetry, it is almost childish. The facts (even according to initial media reports) are inaccurate. And McCarthy is still convinced that Shaima was murdered by Islamophobes.
Here's McCarthy's bio:
Allison McCarthy is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in publications such as Bitch, Ms. (blog), AlterNet, Girlistic, Global Comment, ColorsNW, The Baltimore Review, Ariel Gore's Literary Kitchen, and Hoax, as well as in the anthologies Robot Hearts: Twisted and True Tales of Seeking Love in the Digital Age (Pinchback Press) and Dear Sister: Letters to Survivors of Sexual Violence (forthcoming). Her guest column forGOOD magazine was selected as an Editor's Favorite for 2011. She is currently a graduate student in the Master of Professional Writing program at Chatham University and lives in Maryland.
And here's the poem:
In Memory of Shaima Alawadi
Shaima Alawadi
thirty-two years old,
housewife in El Cajon
a California mother of five
found by her teenage daughter
beaten unconscious
drowned in blood
with a note:
“Go back to your own country. You’re a terrorist.”
They left a note on your house the week before
You dismissed it as a childish prank
You did not call the police
Could you even have imagined
a world of kicked-in doors and
tire-iron swipes to your precious head?
Her death is an act of terrorism
Violence against women of color is an act of terrorism
Violence at the hands of white supremacy is an act of terrorism
Shaima,
your name means good-natured
I imagine you walking in California sunshine
holding your babies
laughing with your daughter
Your killers took nothing from your home
except what could not be replaced
There are no answers for Fatima
as she clutches tissue
sunglasses hiding her tears
speechless at her mother’s innocence
no comfort, no justice
She calls the killers
animals without a God
(Source)
10 comments:
This whole story saddens and disgusts me.
A young woman and mother was brutally murdered. The only reason these "Feminist" and others seem to be interested in it is because of the made up claim of Islamaphobia. They have no interest in the facts about the case. Only the non sensical claim that a note was found next to the body claiming "Go home Terrorist", is enough to prove it is a case of Evil Islamaphobes gone wild.
To make matters worse. They try to attach themselves to another tragedy. Where a foolish man stalked a inocent young black man provoking an altercation the led to his murder. A young man who was only walking down the street talking to his girlfriend packing a bag of skiddles and a can of ice tea.
On top of that the American people are portrayed in the Arab press and around the world as a bunch of monsters. Who just murder woman becasue they where a head scarf. Or that Muslim in the US are treated like Christians in Islamic Countries.
It sickens me that the only people who seem to want justice for this woman are the very same people who have been falsly accused of playing a role in her Murder.
Only the Islamaphobes seem to want justice for this woman.
Only the Islamaphobes are the ones willing to face the truth about this murder.
Only the Islamaphobes Demand Justice for Muslim woman.
Yes, the literary world is all aflutter with the unique and rare insights of Allison, a woman of estimable talents who I am sure will take every opportunity to practice her keen intellect on any subject she clearly knows nothing about. Truly astounding! Amazing! A prodigy! Bravo Allison! It is always so moving to eulogize the dead, and much easier than protecting the living.
This chick is totatly clueless. She didnt know the facts about this case. Look at a response she gave to someone pointing out the FACTS.
Allison McCarthy · 1 day ago
BlueCollarTodd, Fatima wasn't asleep upstairs -- she came home and found her mother unconscious on the floor.
WRONG
Your assertion that the note is a forgery is problematic, at best.
WRONG AGAIN
Did you watch the video above?
OH a VIDEO
The state of her marriage and her daughter's arranged marriage (where on Earth did you hear these stories?
I wonder if this chick has ever heard of GOOGLE.
Do you have legitimate links to anywhere other than your own blog?)
Lets see CBS news, CNN, FOX News, ABC, NBC, as well as Local News Papers and the wire service have all reported on this.
hardly mean that Shaima deserved to die
WOW no one deserves to be murdered but just because she was murdered doesnt mean it was done by Islamaphobes gone wild
And of course in true femi-nazi fashion she has to have her boobs hanging out for all to see.
Obviously there are much greater issues here, but as a woman I can't help but wonder, why on earth this "poet" did not immediately shred that horrendous picture of herself let alone use it as her byline pic? That right there shows her judgment abilities.. or lack there of.
An aesthetic observation: This picture may warrant a PG13 warning due to the full-fledged display of cleavage.
Are we entirely sure this isn't a pseudonym for Reza Aslan?
Yes, it is that bad and divorced from reality. It's pretty sad when someone thinks hitting enter where it feels good adds some type of depth to their writing.
Well I commented on the site with the poem. This chick is totatly clueless.
"Radical Moderate · 7 hours ago
I’m trying to understand how someone could write a poem about this horrible murder and not know the facts of the case? Have you ever heard of Google?
You wrote…
BlueCollarTodd, Fatima wasn't asleep upstairs -- she came home and found her mother unconscious on the floor."
I don’t know where you got this information from but the official court documents as well as every news organization that has reported on this case have all said she was upstairs either sleeping or had just woken up when the murder happened.
You also wrote…
“Your assertion that the note is a forgery is problematic, at best.”
No your and other peoples assertion that some crazed hate filled Islamaphobic killer left a note is absurd.
You also wrote…
“The state of her marriage and her daughter's arranged marriage (where on Earth did you hear these stories? Do you have legitimate links to anywhere other than your own blog?)”
Really have you ever heard of GOOGLE NEWS. I have read it on CBS, ABC, FOX, and the local news in Cali as well as the wire service.
You then wrote…
“ hardly mean that Shaima deserved to die”
Putting aside the fact that everyone deserves to die and everyone will die I assume you meant deserved to be MURDERED. I agree she did not deserve to be murdered. However just because she was Murdered hardly means she was murdered by as you put it “Violence at the hands of white supremacy is an act of terrorism”
Well my momma raised me right, and she always told me to at least say something good about a person or a person’s work.
So the only thing I can say is that you have really nice cleavage, It is much better than your poem.
Thanks for sharing
NOTE I WAS BEING NICE
The killers are "Animals without a God"?
Allison McCarthy that is not quite correct. They have a god. They call him Allah.
Please remove my image. You are in violation of Blogger's copyright and Fair Use.
Richard, Shaima's daughter used the expression "animals without a God" to describe the killers in a video interview following her mother's death.
And anyone who needs to attack my image -- including my breasts -- in order to critique my writing is a shallow, sexist asshole who isn't worth the bandwidth needed to print your pathetic (and did I mention entirely unoriginal? There's a 118+ thread on the other blog that says everything you've said about my beautiful body) commentary.
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