Ayshah's Journey Exposed

When I read this article about an Iraqi American father who mows down his daughter because she had become ‘too Westernized’ I thought what are the first things that leap into most people’s mind when they hear or read about this?  The question that hit me was this one: What, pray tell, are “traditional Iraqi” values? Believe it or not, the early coveragefrom the Arizona Republicalso tap-danced around that subject.

As you can see, the Arizona police departments report does not raise the question on everyone’s mind of whether this incident is linked to Islam. Surely someone most people believe the father must be Muslim or suspect he is part of the local Sunni or Shiite community? And what about the other victim. Note the ages. What is going on here? Might this have been an attempt at an “honor killing”? 

Just like the blog I posted on 10/14/2009 01:04 pm, A girl gone wayward, for most American Muslims, the problem is whenever this type of crime involves a Muslim it can serve to elevate the fears of people who may already harbor misconceptions about Islam.  Most people, Muslims included feel as though this act is reprehensible and wrong.

I do not practice the religion but I do understand that the Qur’an specifically states that there is no compulsion in religion, meaning that people cannot be compelled or coerced into being Muslim or adhering to a certain set of rules. My point is this has nothing to do with Islam.  It is just another irrational person who happens to be Muslim.  

Chatatya lataa… Ayshah

We all saw the alleged “balloon boy” and heard about how the sheriff was inundated with tons of rescue suggestions. We also know that after Balloon Boy said he thought the whole ordeal was for “the show” Sheriff Jim Alderden decided that it was time to press charges http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091019/ap_on_re_us/us_balloon_boy .  “We were looking at Class 3 misdemeanor, which hardly seems serious enough given the circumstances,” Alderden said. “We are talking to the district attorney, federal officials to see if perhaps there aren’t additional federal charges that are appropriate in this circumstance, Alderden said.”

Although,  Alderden didn’t call Thursday’s hours-long drama a hoax in his blog he wrote about the incident http://www.larimersheriff.org/BullsEye/, he expressed disappointment that he couldn’t level more serious charges in the incident, which sent police and the military scrambling to save young Falcon Heene as millions of television viewers watched.

Now, has anyone asked whether it was appropriate to consider 6 year olds capacities to encode, store, and retrieve information?   Come on; is a 6 year old able to understand the questions posed to them in a formal setting 100% of the time?  Any logical person would believe that my questions are valid. After watching the interview http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeYe6VD5A3Q&feature=related and then seeing how sick the boy was during the questioning conducted http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGgRhPI6_Ts&feature=related by Meredith Louise Vieira during the Today Show it shows that the question exceeded the language capacities of this 6 year old child.  Many 6 year olds for example, show that they are unable to comprehend many aspects of sentence structure that are commonly used in everyday language.

CNN and the media world, was on the scene frightening millions into thinking this poor boy was stuck in the balloon.  Did it ever occur to all the reporters to do research before scaring the souls out of everyone?  How creditable is the media anymore?  Is competition too scarce to verify a story is true?

Lots of questions this week but whether or not the incident was a hoax or not (innocent until proven guilty), is it appropriate for the authorities to blog about the incident?  How much analysis paralysis can convince us that 6 year olds words are sacred?  Are CNN and the rest of the media just as desperate as we are for rumor? 

It’s all about hype it seems.

Chatatya lataa… Ayshah

Before the whole split, I really thought this show was boring.  The split was needed otherwise it would’ve probably been cancelled soon enough.  Big deal they have 8 kids, which was their choice but probably more of Kate’s.

These two people are probably the most selfish people I have ever seen.  I have never liked Kate and have always thought she was rude, pushy and wretched to some degree.  Jon was this quiet guy who obviously went along with whatever Kate told him to do.  She obviously knew he wasn’t that smart, that’s why she could bully him around like she had.  Problem is she was not smart enough to know how to treat her husband.  He now says he was abused here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EqotoUGHSM but he let himself be abused for so long, like anybody who gets pushed too far, he became fed up.  Kate does not realize how egotistical she is.  Just look at the merchandise TLC is selling online http://store.discovery.com/?v=tlc_custom-gear_jon-kate-plus-8_kate-is-gr8 promoting that Kate Is GR8… I think Kate Is an Extremist.  She loves the celebrity and will milk this opportunity for as long as she can. 

Now Jon’s recent conduct has only made way for Kate to look like she is better than she is.  Go out and showing the world how he does not give a rip about anyone was stupid.  He should be ashamed of himself for taking money out of their joint account.  Now he’s getting sued by TLC?  http://www.accesshollywood.com/tlc-network-says-it-is-suing-jon-gosselin_article_24298 I guess we should not be surprised because he never seemed that smart.  Talk about a boomerang!

In the meantime, TLC is making gobs of money off of ratings and publicity, everyone (including myself) is giving their 2 cents, and no one has addressed the core issues.  The kids do not know what a normal childhood is like because they have been on camera since they were born.  Jon and Kate let children; the show, publicity, and everything else disconnect them but are not smart enough to at least try to reconnect.  TLC could have even produced another season of intensive therapy and couples retreats.  They could even have therapy with the kids too.  Just think about how much money that would bring in.

It all circles back around to money so next time Jon & Kate, be smarter and negotiate by episode and net much more than $1M a year.

Chatatya lataa… Ayshah

I was saw this little girl mentioned on CNN (http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/14/florida.muslim.convert/index.html ) and it intrigued me.  I understand where she is coming from because as a Muslim child born in Vietnam the combination of cultures after coming to the United States can really be difficult.  And just like my mother, who still has a heavy Vietnamese accent and Muslim views, her parents are probably so clueless about what she thinks or how she feels. 

Parents from India, Vietnam, or any other customary country cannot bring their children into this world and expect that they will not have independent views if they move them into the Western world.  Even after being in the United Stated for over 30 years, my mother has not accepted that I am American.  In fact, she will say, “you think too much like an American.” Or, “you sound like an American.”  Not until I had my own child did I feel empowered to speak up and have an opinion of my own to tell her.  I now know that she’ll never understand so I just respect her views and ask that she respects mine.

That being said, I do believe this little girl is being extremely dramatic.  Whether her parents threatened to throw the computer at her or not, I believe she is creating a greater scene than what happened.  I was not their but if her parents are anything like my mother was, they did not mean to scare their daughter.  How they have dealt with her was obviously because they did not feel like they had control.

My mother went through a very similar situation when we were teenagers.  Without calling out any names, this person made up so many lies without any regard for anyone else.  My mother’s parenting was questioned and it literally tore our family apart.  I never understood why someone would make things up about their own mother.  At that point, my trust of a family member was scared and my trust toward everyone died. 

Today, I believe the person that did this to our family was in her beginning stages of narcissism.  What I came to find after years and years of redeveloping a relationship with this person is that the demonstrations set during their teenage years was just a preview to the person they will have become.

Bottom line, the family needs therapy but the little girl needs a mental evaluation done on her.  They say that noticeable symptoms begin during the teenage years for people with mental illness. 

I hope the whole family gets help and I hope she realizes that what she says or does in life can affect people.  Most of all, her.

Chatatya lataa… Ayshah

So he has been going on the air every night poking fun of himself and just last night he mentions how he now has to try to repair his relationship with Regina Lasko, his wife. 

He is literally, breaking out in sweats and shitting all over himself on live television.  He doesn’t even know how to act or what to say anymore.  He knows he’s in the dog house but he has not thought about the cat that he has run up into the tree and is hiding.

I understand firsthand about removing the weapons that people may use against you, but how about the respect and acknowledgement of a woman who is humiliate on a public level and did not ask for the publicity.

I know firsthand about being guilty by association and so does everyone who has ever been involved with me.  Sometimes, we suffer from who we decide to be involved with. We all create our own experience but just because he is taking responsibility, doesn’t mean his wife has to suffer from it.

Is anybody really sorry about the deed?  Or are we sorry about getting caught?

Maybe a simple apology and statement about getting on with things is best for all.  After all, if we can look forward, we are not anchored by our past.

If you want to apologize and work it out, great.  No one wants to see or think about a person suffering over a late night joke.

Remember, you did ‘it’ for a reason,

What was missing? 

Why not focus on that?

 David, get your unit out of your ego and think about your wife instead of yourself for once.

Chatatya lataa… Ayshah

CNN posted this article: http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/TV/10/02/letterman.past.incidents/index.html named, ‘Sextortion’ is latest issue pushing Letterman into spotlight. 

A new review by the Police Executive Research Forum found that 44% of 233 police agencies across the country reported spikes in crime linked to the economy.  Of those, 40 percent reported an increase in thefts due to the economy.

Robert ‘Joe’ Halderman supposedly desperate and debt-ridden according to The New York Daily News (http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2009/10/02/2009-10-02_robert_j.html) has possibly ruined his career and his reputation for life because his ethic of service is at war with a craving for gain.  It always seems to come back to money. I’ve had to learn the hard way that it just doesn’t pay but when we are desperate, we do not think clearly. 

The movie Fun with Dick and Jane (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0369441/) is about a middle manager Dick Harper, who becomes jobless, and with no savings, pension, or home equity, Dick and his wife Jane sink slowly into poverty.  A foreclosure notice sends Dick and Jane over the edge into a life of blue-collar crime. Then, as things finally look up, the report of a looming indictment pushes Dick and Jane toward a denouement with the real criminals, the white-collar guys.

Even the Showtime show Weeds (http://www.sho.com/site/weeds/home.do) addresses how desperate people can become.  The plot revolves around a widowed housewife (Mary-Louise Parker) from an affluent California suburb who becomes her neighborhood’s marijuana dealer to make ends meet. The title is a play on words, referring to both the slang term for marijuana and widow’s weeds, it also refers to the tendency of American suburbs to grow quickly and pervasively, with the dwellings and their residents being almost as indistinguishable as weeds; this is mirrored in the show’s theme song “Little Boxes” and opening credits, and is a recurring theme of the show itself. The theme song changes in the second season. The change consists of a different version every week.

People probably think Robert ‘Joe’ Halderman is a dirt bag and that he had a personal vendetta again David Letterman but I believe it was not personal at all.  What he did was something a dirt bag would do but I do not know Mr. Halderman so I cannot begin to judge but I hope that what the Assistant District Attorney Judy Salwen says about him wanting” to destroy the reputation of Mr. Letterman and submit him and his family to humiliation and ridicule” is not true.  Shame on her, and this is a very judgmental statement in this ‘supposedly’ democratic country we live in. 

By no means am I justifying his attempt at extortion but right now, many people feel desperate, silently.  We all judge and based on what the media puts out we deem their opinion as gospel.  Crimes of desperation suck for all parties including the person who is guilty before proven innocent.

Chatatya lataa… Ayshah

… but the foolish woman tears hers down with her own hands.  That’s from proverbs 14:1.  I am not sure I agree with everything in the bible but I certainly agree with this.

So many woman that I know have blame their life, weight gain, their last few pounds from their pregnancy to their adult children, misery, feelings, attitudes and everything else on everyone and do not stop and try to reflect.  It’s sad, actually. 

Women were not made to be martyrs or to value everyone else before regarding ourselves.   

To me, it shows a sign of how low they feel as people… kind of like the person in this video… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfdTUGMMi_c.  Or they do not know it but they demonstrate one of the following behaviors…

Pretty funny but it’s true too!

Why is it that some people, the Ayshah’s of the world, seem to believe only the best about themselves and others, while others, perhaps especially bitter women, seize on the most critical thoughts they can come up with about everyone else and secretly about themselves?

I read somewhere that when you feel stuck in low gear jump-starting your brain by doing one of the following:

-Grab the remote and watch an episode of your favorite TV sitcom on fast-forward… please no Jerry Springer!

-Pick up an easy Sudoku or crossword puzzle, not a trashy magazine, and try to finish it in less than ten minutes.

-Brainstorm by jotting down as many solutions to a problem (like how to pay your bills on time and how to live within your means, or make a plan to get your car payments out on time.) as quickly as possible.

Don’t pick up another chocolate martini, burger, meatloaf, dirty cigarette, or any of that junk food you are always buying.  And give up being a closet eater, everyone knows you are!

It’s time to see the way out of your misery and take it.  Realize that all of your behaviors are why you keep on melting into a person of self pity.

You’ll like life, people and yourself a lot more.  Maybe you may not be so pitiful anymore.

Chatatya lataa… Ayshah