On Sunday (12/13/09), the New York Times Book Review offered a brief take on Malalai Joya’s A Woman Among Warlords: The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice. Times reviewer Marc Tracy seemed to like the book OK, with a few notable caveats: Joya’s arguments, we’re told, “have earned the plaudits of people like Noam Chomsky, [and] are sometimes extreme, simplistic and misguided, but they are rarely without a grain of truth.” It’s hard to tell what the “grain of truth” might be, but throwing Chomsky’s name into the mix seems to be a sign to a certain audience that the person being discussed is not to be taken seriously.
Tracy goes on to express frustration at Joya’s “tendency to choose rageful denunciation over calm observation is immensely frustrating.” This is someone who has faced off against the Taliban and various warlords in her home country. Is someone really going to chide her for choosing “rageful denunciation over calm observation”?
I’m sorry Tracy’s “immensely frustrated”.
Maybe he should pop in his DVD of Obama’s Nobel acceptance speech so he can chill out to the mellow strains of war crimes made all warm and fuzzy.
Her interview with NPR a couple months back is here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=114207995. The page includes an excellent piece she wrote for NPR, too.
“Can’t she be a Little Nicer, Though?!?!!!” Marc, you know, being the target of frequent assassinations, having warlords gunning for you and your family, having your name and professional reputation bismirched, being called really ugly names by almost every man in your country, living your life in hiding…… All of these things tend to make a woman a little “cranky”. My God, Marc. You are quite obviously living on some very strange and very sexist planet.
Yeah, but if she doesn’t tone it down, she’ll lose her femininity, and then how will she ever get a man?
Is this about what Noam Chomsky’s name symbolizes to the writer, or what the writer thinks of how the very mention of Noam Chomsky’s name will affect the far right wing who are even familiar with his name. ie. the branding of Noam Chomsky? So what? Why is that important that is should eclipse whatever the point of the book is?