The New York Times has an upcoming piece that asks if TV is fair to Muslims. It interviews writers, actors and so on. The problem? Programs with Muslim characters are often terror-related. Never mind that terror-related programs feature Muslim characters because terror-related realities feature Muslim characters. Eliminate that link, and you eliminate truth.
Take Joshua Safran who runs the TV show "Quantico," who says -- quote -- "For me, it was important to not ever put a Muslim terrorist on our show. There hasn't been one. This year we have the appearance of one, which is a spoiler, but it's not true." Well, how brave. He thinks he's fighting stereotypes, but he's simply obscuring truth. How does that help real Muslims? Wouldn't it make more sense to tackle reality than remake it as fantasy?
Fantasizing the innocence of any group has always been Hollywood's thing. The homeless man turns out to be a gifted pianist, not a junkie. The bank robber's just trying to make ends meet. Oddly, this treatment is never reserved for Christian couples on reality shows.
Safran's mentality is a truth burka, a cloth to hide facts. The thing is, fiction that obscures reality to protect feelings reinforces a dangerous victimhood, linking grievance to retribution. Before he was killed, the OSU terrorist was taking a class that asked him to list micro-aggressions and which identity groups are victims. Now there's a plot point you will not see in Hollywood.
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