A Senegalese man left behind his wives to come to the USA. When the US embassy asked him how long he would be staying, he said two weeks. This short volume is his observations and advice from his 19-year stay in the USA.
You should read the book to get a flavor of a different perspective. Unfortunately, he is not a very reliable observer:
"Certainly, we can see two major different groups of people: The first group includes the rich, politically called Republicans, and movie stars, athletes, and entertainers. Unfortunately they are the most exposed to the justice system, which treats them very harshly when they are found guilty of ...." What planet is he talking about? Three groups, not two; most of the famous rich are Democrats; and the justice system is almost always very tender with the rich and famous.
His understanding of Christianity is as poor as most Americans' understanding of Islam; he takes up the "America is racist to the core" line; and he follows the usual a-historical tropes about the source of all the woes in the Middle East. But, inaccurate though this is, it represents what a lot of the world thinks.
He is a Muslim of Sufi flavor, and though he doesn't go into a lot of detail he cites famous Senegalese Sheikhs--which most of us (myself included) have never heard of before--whose message isn't quite the same as the Saudi-based imams or the Egyptian schools.
I gather that he spent most of his time in New York, which may color his view of the US as being exceptionally violent. He is generous with advice; explaining why the African ways are better. Not infrequently, they are.
Hell in Heaven? The USA is the heaven, the promised land; with endless opportunity. Except when it isn't, and you have to sell fake watches on the streets of New York to make ends meet because you haven't a green card. (He never actually says what he was doing during those years...)
No comments:
Post a Comment