Blog Post 6: Baghdad Burning

Jessica Schwendeman
WST 3015
Nina Perez
April 5, 2010

In an effort to dispel the many myths populated by the Western media, and also to allow people to understand what was really going on in her home country, a woman named Riverbend started a weblog in order to chronicle her experiences living in war-torn Iraq. This became important to many people, and served as an eye-opening portal into the world that is often marginalized and demonized by our culture.

Riverbend uses the power of the internet, where anyone with something to say is given a free soapbox, in order to reject the common views of her country. In the post “The Promise and the Threat”, she discusses the myths of the Iraqi people, alongside the reality. The common myth of the Iraqi people is mentioned, including that they lived in tents, rode to school on camels, and only learned what was necessary to tend to their main task of agriculture (Enloe).

This can be seen as a negative response by the Americans, because, as mentioned in the text, “Economic growth is often conflated with ‘progress’…this view often leads people in a highly material society like the United States to value themselves primarily in terms of the money they make and the things they own or consume” (Kirk). This view of “success” and progress definitely contributes to the mostly negative view of the Iraqi culture, as they are seen as being a mostly poor country.

However, as Riverbend states, “Iraq has sophisticated bridges, recreational centers, clubs, restaurant, shops, universities, schools, etc…” (Enloe). Clearly, we allow these myths to happen because this helps us to “other” their society, to make it easier for us to occupy their country and potentially harm their society – as well as our soldiers to hurt and kill their individual citizens.

Riverbend’s blog is both personal and political. She speaks about her life as an average person in a war-torn and controversial country, about which much discourse has pertained. It’s hard to understand what’s really happening when there are mixed messages from all sides about an issue, and reading Riverbend’s blog can help to understand many of the complicated issues about the war in Iraq. It also serves the dual purpose of allowing her to speak about her own life on her terms, without the editing and censorship of the media that we often see in both our country and hers, though for entirely different reasons.

Enloe, Riverbend. "The Promise and the Threat." Web log post. Baghdad Burning. 28 Aug. 2003. Web. 4 April 2010.
Kirk, Gwyn and Okazawa-Rey, Margo. "Living in a Globalizing World." Women's Lives Multicultural Perspectives. 5th Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 371 - 391.