Oh, no, Bonnie. Oh, no.
Bonnie Bernstein is the latest talking head to open her mouth and insert her foot, her leg, and perhaps most of her upper torso into her mouth…
On a recent, popular radio show, ESPN’s Bernstein made a right mess of things, saying:”… I remember a while ago I was reading an article in the New York Times about Palestinian suicide bombers and I just remember being struck by the notion that from the point of birth, people in Palestine are taught to think that dying in the name of God is a good thing. They grow up wanting to be suicide bombers. So bringing it back to sports…”
Her apology is way off the mark, too, as she never once apologizes for insinuating that 7 million Palestinians are, in their heart of hearts, all suicide bombers. She doesn’t apologize to Palestinians, Americans of Palestinian descent, at all. In fact, all she does is apologize for comparing sports-crazed parents eager for a child’s fame over education, to Palestinians. Listen to it, yourself, and tell me, where’s the apology for the racial profiling she did in her original stint on Mike and Mike?
“Hi, this is Bonnie Bernstein, and I’d just like to take a minute to apologize for making a connection this morning on Mike and Mike between Palestinians and the adults who influence the thinking of many young NBA prospects. I was a student athlete who was lucky enough to have part of my college expenses paid for by a scholarship, and so I’ve always embraced the importance of higher education.”
Should we profile her and make some snide remark about an airhead or a dumb jock? Shall we stoop to her level and label her incorrectly? Nah. We shouldn’t stoop to her level.
But we need to elect officials who will help change the country’s perception of Arabs, Arab Americans, and ethnic minorities of all kinds, and bring us all under the same umbrella of acceptance and equal rights.
As we head into July, with changes at the AAI’s Midwest office and community events happening each week, things are heating up! Sunday night Amir joined Hassan and Midwest Director Valerie Smith for the closing gala dinner event of the second symposium of the National Association of Yemeni-Americans at the Dearborn Hyatt, at which Valerie spoke about the Yalla Vote campaign. The conference brought together members of various Arab American community organizations as well as visiting Yemeni citizens, including the Yemeni Ambassador to the U.N., to discuss the importance of education in addressing the concerns and realizing the goals of our community.
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