Racism in F911
Tyler Cowen claims to be disturbed by Fahrenheit 9/11’s portrayal of the Saudi leadership as “vile connivers, in a manner reminiscent of 19th century racial propaganda.”
Watching the film, the same thing occurred to me, and I wrote it down in my notes for this review. I dismissed that concern before writing, however, because it was based solely on the shots of their faces, rather than anything actually said about them. If some Saudi leaders resemble some racist caricatures of Arabs, as seems to be the case, that’s unfortunate, but it’s no one’s fault.
Portraying the Saudi royal family as theocratic tyrants with ties to terrorist organizations isn’t racist. Most Arabs aren’t the Saudi royal family.
I’m going to feel less sympathetic to Tyler Cowen the next time some idiot calls him a racist for opposing affirmative action or criticizing Jesse Jackson.