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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMichelle Obama Gives Zero Fucks About What the Saudis Wanted Her To Wear
On Tuesday, President Obama and the First Lady attended the funeral of Saudi Arabias King Abdullah, a renowned misogynistic tyrant who oversaw some of the harshest and most oppressive conditions endured by women anywhere in the world. These conditions included and still include bans on voting and driving. When going out in public, women must be accompanied by a male relative and are expected to cover their heads and faces because modesty or whatever. Abdullah also kept three of his daughters locked up for more than a decade for speaking out for womens rights. (They remain so.)
According to some very upset people in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere, Michelle Obama was supposed to cover her head while visiting the country. To vent their outrage, they took to Saudi Twitter and used hashtags that translate to #Michelle_Obama_Immodest and #Michelle_Obama_Not_Veiled. (Apparently, Saudi Twitter is just as capable of fruitless outrage as U.S. Twitter is.)
Well, Michelle Obama gave zero, and lets count em zero, zero, zero fucks about what the Saudis wanted her to wear on her head. Not only that, instead of wearing black at the funeral, she wore a blue blouse and a festive-looking blue-sweater jacket of sorts that could double as a spring getup for a leisurely stroll through the National Arboretum before a boozy brunch. So while her husband is obliged to say nice things about Abdullah and be respectful because of geopolitics, Michelle is under no such obligation. Hence, the giving of zero fucks.
http://thedailybanter.com/2015/01/so-few-fcks-so-little-time/
Sheldon Cooper
(3,724 posts)B2G
(9,766 posts)Awesome!
Exhibit A
(318 posts)Tarheel_Dem
(31,211 posts)calimary
(80,700 posts)Glad you're here! Isn't that GREAT? I think a bunch of us are probably gonna steal it! I actually do give a fuck about it. I am insulted and outraged that they'd snub her like that. I take it as a personal affront. If they could do that to her, they'd certainly do that to me if I ever was over there. She's not bound by their rules and conventions and belief systems. And they should just shut up and be gracious. She's married to our President for Heaven's sake! Show some respect!
Exhibit A
(318 posts)Totally agree with you about the First Lady.
Welcome to DU!
Exhibit A
(318 posts)nc4bo
(17,651 posts)uponit7771
(90,225 posts)greatauntoftriplets
(175,698 posts)Cha
(295,929 posts)B2G
(9,766 posts)I'll see her fuck and raise her, well...none.
11 Bravo
(23,922 posts)Most influential First Lady in my lifetime.
shenmue
(38,503 posts)[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]
Cha
(295,929 posts)Exhibit A
(318 posts)My elderly father, who is a Faux News addict and just about the worst right-wing extremist I think I've ever met, even told me this afternoon that he was impressed with her for this. I pointed out that she was also setting a good example for her daughters by refusing to go along with such expectations.
calimary
(80,700 posts)She reminds me of Jackie Kennedy. Elegance, grace, style, class. Brilliant, compassionate, loving and kind. A true role model for all women regardless of skin color.
m-lekktor
(3,675 posts)irisblue
(32,829 posts)heaven05
(18,124 posts)love it.
Dr. Strange
(25,898 posts)CanonRay
(14,038 posts)including a Saudi King. Imagine that.
Elmer S. E. Dump
(5,751 posts)elleng
(130,156 posts)as well as highly offensive imo.
Michelle and Potus surely do care about the cultural norms of the countries with whom the US engages on the world stage, and Laura Bush similarly visited Saudi Arabia without covering her head. I don't know about this 'banter' group, but I wouldn't quote them when trying to make the point and discuss this issue.
This from Greta, about Laura: http://gretawire.foxnewsinsider.com/twitter/note-to-everyone-first-lady-michelle-obama-is-not-the-only-one-first-lady-laura-bush-did-the-same-thing-in-2007-look-at-pic-and-click-to-read/
and a pic of Laura Bush:
Elmer S. E. Dump
(5,751 posts)elleng
(130,156 posts)but DUers really shouldn't fall for it, surely not in such numbers.
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)Elmer S. E. Dump
(5,751 posts)msanthrope
(37,549 posts)Elmer S. E. Dump
(5,751 posts)You're a better man than I gunga din
Fred Sanders
(23,946 posts)ND-Dem
(4,571 posts)times?
elleng
(130,156 posts)Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]
MisterP
(23,730 posts)JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)Beautiful. Love the dress. The color is just magnificent on Michelle Obama.. Royal blue. She is the real royalty in that picture. Royal in her soul. Thanks again, Mrs. Obama.
Fox News? Aren't those the guys that hyperventilate over sharia law?
And now they criticize Michelle Obama for not following it?
Makes no sense.
Response to JDPriestly (Reply #31)
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misterhighwasted
(9,148 posts)She is not Saudi & the only time she may respectfully wear one is upon entering a Mosque.
She did however, wear loose clothing out of respect for Saudi law & did not reach out to engage in handshake nor nod upon greeting the King's entourage.
The First Lady only responded to such gestures when she was approached first.
That is the protocol for female foreign dignitaries.
You really think Michele Obama would take on such a visit without being coached or wanting t know the proper protocol?
Maybe in a teabilly world, but the First Lady is much smarter than to just show up without doing her homework on protocol.
She could have indeed chosen to wear a headscarf, but it was never a proper requirement.
Such bulls*it to be criticized on.
The headscarf issue is irrelevant except to Faux News.
Thanks
pangaia
(24,324 posts)I can not believe the stupidity of that article..
And what a wasted OP.
tammywammy
(26,582 posts)It's actually quite embarrassing to read such foolishness. I know women that have traveled there on business and didn't wear a scarf. Other foreign female leaders have been there without the scarf. Michelle Obama isn't the first female the Saudi royals have met that wasn't wearing a scarf. This is such a non issue. Michelle Obama did nothing out of the ordinary for a non-Saudi non-Muslim.
MADem
(135,425 posts)ND-Dem
(4,571 posts)this thread reminds of when the heroine in "Titanic" gave some stuffed shirt the finger. The audience cheered and I cringed. Like some upper-class woman at the turn of the century would ever do such a thing.
How insulting to the first lady to say she 'gives no fucks' like she's in some Hollywood film, flipping off the Saudis.
SummerSnow
(12,608 posts)countryjake
(8,554 posts)While I'm not exactly certain that Ms. Obama doesn't really give a fuck, I do know that as I watched that particular report and saw the Saudi delegation pass her by, one after the other, ignoring her very presence in that receiving line and refusing to shake her hand, my own thoughts ranged from, "What the FUCK!" to "Fucking assholes!":
President Obama Meets With Saudi Arabia's New King Salman
http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/president-obama-meets-saudi-arabias-new-king-salman-n294911
I think that we all should give a fuck when so many of the representatives from one of our key allies on the World stage persist in viewing women as less than human.
former9thward
(31,805 posts)I have been in most of them and that is the culture in all of them.
dumbcat
(2,120 posts)that have no problem in judging and condemning another culture.
former9thward
(31,805 posts)JonLP24
(29,322 posts)New York Human rights in Saudi Arabia, birthplace and heartland of Islam, are based on Islamic law, or the Sharia, under the rule of the Saudi Royal Family. It has been widely accepted that the application of these rights, more specifically womens rights, is emblematic of Islamic dogma. It must be underlined, however, that the highly contentious theocratic ideology of Wahhabism, the monarchys official interpretation of Islam, plays an instrumental role in the formulation of many of these rights. It, therefore, follows that a substantial number of womens civic rights in Saudi Arabia, or lack thereof, are only validated by the opinions of a chauvinistic male-dominated Wahhabi society, devoid of any coherent Islamic rationale.
Despite the growing attractiveness of this Wahhabi discourse, it is important to recognize that is does not represent the entire gamut of intellectual space in the Muslim world. In effect, although the inferior status of women is a fairly consistent theme in many Muslim countries, its correlation with Islam, though not arbitrary, is not absolute.
There exists endless controversy in both Islamic and Western literature over the Muslim position on women. In their war against Islamic law, womens rights organizations expose abuses committed by the Saudi regime against women; inherent in their message, therefore, is that Islam is incompatible with the human rights of women.
To terminate this debate, it is crucial to discount all stereotypes attributed to Muslim women and to understand the actual teachings of this faith, and second, understand the Wahhabi interpretation of Islam. This comparative analysis reveals that an examination of womens rights as outlined in the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet, highlights Islams highly revered notion of egalitarianism. Wahhabi regulations for women, on the other hand, are only traced back to the legal codes based on fiqh texts selected and interpreted by a modern patriarchal order.
http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2013/04/87234/womens-rights-in-saudi-arabia-wahhabism-vs-islam/
Tsiyu
(18,186 posts)Hate to yell, but you seem to be missing that part. Do we do what's best for half the population of the planet, or what's best to make nice with those who oppress the other half of their own population?
It's really not that difficult.
Response to Tsiyu (Reply #47)
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ND-Dem
(4,571 posts)followed standard diplomatic protocol, as do all presidents and their families.
Response to ND-Dem (Reply #70)
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ND-Dem
(4,571 posts)ND-Dem
(4,571 posts)means.
former9thward
(31,805 posts)The Saudi leadership does not care what Western women wear, especially those in leadership positions. Condoleezza Rice was with Obama and she did not wear a head scarf either. Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton did not wear them either in earlier visits. Twitter messages have the same non-meaning in Saudi Arabia as they do in this country.
Response to trumad (Original post)
Donald Ian Rankin This message was self-deleted by its author.
greymattermom
(5,751 posts)her clothes are quite modest and her arms are covered.
greymattermom
(5,751 posts)This is a very modest outfit for Michelle.
spedtr90
(719 posts)libdem4life
(13,877 posts)Saphire
(2,437 posts)libdem4life
(13,877 posts)heads too, but don't expect or criticize Western men for being head covering free. That the focus is only on women going bare headed and is another form of sexism the West buys into ... suddenly ... about our black First Lady...no others. Many Western political women have "failed" the Burka Test.
RandySF
(57,661 posts)will be the day oil is obsolete and those royal terrorist fade into poverty.
MADem
(135,425 posts)Notice that she is wearing a high neck and long sleeves, also, her blouse and overblouse are loosely cut, not form-fitting. She is wearing trousers that are not tight and cover all the key bits. The overblouse covers the posterior, which is 'just the ticket' when it comes to "appropriate" attire.
She is showing respect for the culture but she's not being subjugated by it.
Good for her.
Some people know how to walk the fine line--she's one of 'em.
elleng
(130,156 posts)bluestateguy
(44,173 posts)It is sexist, homophobic and anti-Semitic.
So fuck them.
Response to bluestateguy (Reply #55)
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Response to trumad (Original post)
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ND-Dem
(4,571 posts)ND-Dem
(4,571 posts)It's not like she's taking some brave original stand.
1 American officials in Saudi Arabia typically do not wear headscarves, including at formal government functions. Michelle was following normal protocol.
2 Former first ladies Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton did not wear headscarves on similar official visits to Saudi Arabia. Neither did former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
3 Saudi Arabia is officially ultra-conservative, but it is also heavily integrated into the global economy; unveiled Western women are extremely common in elite government circles like this one. Unveiled female Western leaders are common sights on Saudi media.
4 I feel very confident that no one at the funeral blinked at seeing Michelle Obama unveiled. Saudi royals are comfortable with the West and with Western customs; many spend long parts of the year in Europe and a number were educated in American boarding schools or colleges. They are accustomed to seeing unveiled women, and to working and interacting with powerful women...
http://www.vox.com/2015/1/28/7928167/michelle-obama-saudi-arabia-headscarf
ND-Dem
(4,571 posts)Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) praised Michelle Obama on Twitter for standing up for women by not wearing what he called, a Sharia-mandated head-scarf in Saudi Arabia. But, as The Hill pointed out, the AP article he linked to in his tweet clearly stated that the headscarf is not a requirement for foreign women visiting the country.
There were also reports that the first lady shocked some in the ultra-conservative country by shaking hands with the newly-anointed King of Saudi Arabia.
Its really not that shocking. Several female heads of state and U.S. secretaries of state have grasped kingly Saudi fingers.
To boot, heres Condoleeza Rice shaking hands with Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal, a crown prince, back in 2008.
While there were some 1,500 tweets using a hashtag that translates as #Michelle_Obama_unveiled, thats far from a backlash in a country with 2.4 million Twitter users.
merrily
(45,251 posts)covering is optional for visitors. She is dressed modestly and exercised the official option in favor of omitting the head dress.
The critics, Saudi and USian, need to sit down and shut up.
Rhiannon12866
(203,041 posts)What is so immodest about hair, anyway??
redstatebluegirl
(12,264 posts)The Saudis have hated women since the beginning of time, she doesn't have to live by their rules... Of course the Republicans like those rules....go figure.
cadaverdog
(228 posts)the title of this OP particularly distasteful in implying that our First Lady is thumbing her nose at the traditions of another country when there is absolutely zero evidence to support such a claim. Besides the many points that have already been made about her attire and comportment, it should be noted that she respected local tradition by walking a step behind the president from the airplane, and did not offer her hand to a man in the greeting line unless he offered his first.
Thankfully the First Lady exhibits a lot more class than the writer of this OP offers.