| Here's my rant:
1.The Hassan character was touchy in the first place, but they did it well so that even though it may have offended some people it made sense and was good.
2. The Media in America like to blow things out of proportion, tha much is true. They like to focus on certain things and ignore other things, depending on what you watch. Things involving terrorists tend to get alot of attention.
3. Hassan was just fine until they ran the masked men attacking the Undertaker and holding Davari up as a martyr. This is where the angle and the character was killed. It was over the line, terrorism gets press and is a touchy subject. even though it was claimed they weren't Arab they were dressed like the guys in the hostage videos which conjures up those memories, what else do you think the general populace would think?
4. Wrestling in general gets bad press anyway, they are known for pushing the boundries of good taste. There was no way any good could have come of the masked men angle once people got a hold of it. WWE writers and bookers should have known better.
5.I feel bad for the guy who plays Hassan, I believe he will be back once they get to USA, but in wrestling when the writers screw up an angle it is the wrestler who takes the flak, not the writers. I personally think Vince should issue a public apology to smooth things over.
In closing. A young talented guy lost his job becuase the people that booked his angles are too out of touch with what actually offends people in the world today. It was not a handful, it was pretty decent amount or this would have never gotten to where it is. It obviously offended stockholders, and network executives, who are the wrong people to offend. It did offend some wrestling fans becuase it is a touchy subject. It also offended Arab Americans, becuase even though Hassan probably spoke some things they thought were true, how could one of them ever attend a wrestling event without feeling like they were enemy #1? I'm pretty sure I would have felt threatened. |