When politics messes with beauty

[luzribeiro.livejournal.com]

The Miss Universe pageant that's gonna start in São Paulo on September 12 became a reason for strained relations between Serbia and Kosovo. Just when things between these two started to look somewhat quiet, a picture of Miss Serbia and Miss Kosovo caused an uproar.

It all began when during the rehearsals for the contest and between the time spent in the hairdresser's saloon, the gym sessions and the charity events, the two beauties found some time to make friends and even have a picture together. Then Miss Kosovo placed the pic on her Facebook wall. OH THE HORRORS!!!

The backlash came almost instantaneously. Both girls were accused of national treason. The Kosovars reminded the 25 year old Aferdita Dreshaj about the bloodshed in Kosovo caused by the Serbs. But she refuses to get defensive and is stubbornly keeping the photo on her FB.

In turn, the Serbs accused the 21 year old Anja Saranovic that by posing for a pic next to Miss Kosovo, she's officially recognizing the independence of the former Serbian province. This forced Anja to make a statement where she emphasized that she still considers Kosovo "an inseparable part of her fatherland", and she even called Kosovo "the Serbian Jerusalem".

Whether she believes what she said, we may never learn. But we've seen yet another example of politics messing up with people's lives and politicizing non-political events, and pulling out the worst side of people. It reminds me of the story about the Montagues and the Capulets, where the grudges between the two warring families caused the death of the two kids who fell in love, Romeo and Juliet. Will peace ever be achieved in the minds and hearts of people, if even they have to wait a bit more after achieving it on paper? One can only hope. Time heals wounds, but how much time will be needed?

Comments

[luzribeiro.livejournal.com]

The indigenous peoples of Northern America are waving to you from their unknown graves.

[404.livejournal.com]

Least we grew up from all that. Too bad the Europs are still trying to kill each other over religion and ethnicity.

[luzribeiro.livejournal.com]

One million Vietnamese are waving to you from their mass graves.

[404.livejournal.com]

Hmm, war is hell, but I am fairly certain that the US did not killed a million Vietnamese, but whatever makes you feel better. I don't think anyone can surpass the European lust for blood, hell y'all tried for the mass murder prize at least three or four times last century!

[xforge.livejournal.com]

If our neighbors were practically anyone but Canada and Mexico we'd be precisely the same.

[404.livejournal.com]

Why do you think that?

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

Erm, we invaded Canada twice, we swallowed half of Mexico, we invaded that periodically and had veterans from both sides of the Civil War fighting in their civil war when they couldn't quite stop fighting ours, we almost went to a major war with Mexico before entering WWI, and we've pretty much never gotten along very well with either.

[luvdovz.livejournal.com]

And yet you don't seem to have overcome this "us vs them" mentality. Americans and Europeans might not be that different after all. ;)

[404.livejournal.com]

I fully support Europeans getting past their historical differences. It is just a shame that many within the continent refuse to move past the last century.

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

Why yes, the last time we had a major war was 150 years ago....and the social legacy of it legally collapsed only 40+. The United States will be over the Civil War when Memphis, Tennessee has memorials to Frederick Douglass, John Brown, George Thomas, and Uncle Billy.

[404.livejournal.com]

The war has been over in most people's minds for years, only die hards and those who refuse to give it up, I'm looking in your direction...

[kylinrouge.livejournal.com]

Did we grow up from that in the sense that we killed all the Indians whereas Europeans left some people around so they could repopulate for a future ethnic cleansing?

[404.livejournal.com]

Ours just run casinos now.

[dv8nation.livejournal.com]

Most of whom were killed by Europeans. Or did all those people who did all that stuff before the US and Canada were founded magically switch nationalities somehow?

Also, why does no one ever give Spain and Portugal shit for all the people they killed in Central and South America?

[fizzyland.livejournal.com]

Spain blows raspberries every time Mexico brings up things like the Mask of Montezeuma, so not only are they unapologetic about the past, but still justify the theft of treasures. As does every country with Egyptian artifacts, etc.

[dv8nation.livejournal.com]

Given that newspapers in Mexico are surrendering to drug gangs the mask is likely better off in Spain.

[luzribeiro.livejournal.com]

You have a point. There were no "Americans" back then. Americans are basically Europeans.

The Spanish and Portuguese are equally bad, yes. I'm not seeing any Spanish and/or Portuguese around here, though. So it's not interesting. ;)

[peamasii.livejournal.com]

My wife is Portuguese. Think I'll go beat her up now over their ex-colonies.

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

Er, what? They've been doing that shit ever since de Las Casas wrote that book calling them out on that shit. The whole Black Legend thing is quite real, to say it doesn't exist is pretty much an interesting idea. O.X

[dv8nation.livejournal.com]

You're forgetting that not everyone is a historian again, Lankers.

The people who...

[sophia-sadek.livejournal.com]

... practiced ethnic cleansing in the US were from Europe.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

Yeah, while I don't disagree, but a lot of that was nearly 120 years ago, and the earliest bouts of it was pretty much done by-- Europeans (the Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch the worst offedners, although the British did a fine job later in India, Africa and China.

The beauty contest bruhaha is happening now and is tied to very recent events in Europe. I think that's 404's larger point...

[404.livejournal.com]

Hey, thanks for having my back!

[luzribeiro.livejournal.com]

Nothing united opposing partisans like Aw-Hell-Yeah-ism. ;)

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

If the events are very recent, how can it be an instance of them living in the past?