Merriam-Webster Vs. Ricky Martin

The microphone is mightier than the pen

La coppa del Amor

Witness two contradictory events that happened in the last few days:
1- The “reputable” Merriam-Webster’s Unabridged Collegiate Thesaurus has enlisted in its 3rd Edition a new entry for the word Arab:

Entry Word: Arab
Function: noun
1
Synonyms VAGABOND, clochard, drifter, floater, hobo, roadster, street arab, tramp, vag, vagrant
2
Synonyms PEDDLER, duffer, hawker, higgler, huckster, monger, mongerer, outcrier, packman, vendor

2- Pop Star Ricky Martin, with song titles as lavish as “she bangs”, traveled to Jordan to “change negative perceptions of Arab youth in the West” and declared:

“I promise I will become a spokesperson, if you allow me to. A spokesperson on your behalf. I will defend you and try to get rid of any stereotypes.
I have been a victim of stereotypes. I come from Latin America and to some countries, we are considered ‘losers,’ drug traffickers, and that is not fair because that is generalizing”

You don’t encounter a lot of cases where pop culture is more responsible than Academia, but in this case it’s just too flagrant. I don’t know what Merriam-Webster was thinking but it’s amazing how acceptable it’s becoming to be derogatory of Arabs in the United States.

A lot of readers of this Blog don’t think highly of “Arabs”, but no matter what our point of view is, it is preposterous for us to accept that the word “Arab” be equated with “VAGABOND, clochard, drifter, floater, hobo, roadster.Etc”

The Beirut Spring sees itself Arab the same way the British see themselves European. Not for any cultural or historical nonsense, but for the siren call of the common market. The Egyptian market for example, with its millions of consumers who speak our language, is just too attractive for our Lebanese producers and professionals to ignore.

It is one thing to despise the ruling regimes of our neighbors, but another to subscribe to or ignore a racial propaganda that special interest groups are aggressively promoting in the United States.

To them I say: Today, we are all Arabs!