So What Does Miss USA Rima Fakih Mean?

Here’s the backstory just in case you’re not a big time pageant follower or a gay dude (but I repeat myself): 

Arab Americans across metro Detroit cheered as Rima Fakih of Dearborn was crowned Miss USA tonight in Las Vegas.

This is unbelievable,” said Rami Haddad, 26 of Livonia, one of Fakih’s biggest supporters. “It’s a dream come true. I can’t express my feelings.”

Fakih, of Lebanese descent, is believed to be the first Arab American and Muslim to become Miss USA.

Okay.  I guess this is sorta big news in and of itself.  The fact that she’s a Muslim adds a bit of a wow factor here.  It’s not every day that an Islamic woman wins a beauty contest in America.    

But there’s also the annoying “First (fill in racial/ethnic/gender/religious/sexual orientation category) to do (fill in achievement/accomplishment/noteworthy whatevs)” thing that the racial grievance libs always do when a non-white non-Christian does anything.  In the very near future, we’re going to get to the point where, in order to keep the affirmative action fires glowing, the government is gonna dole out a Congressional Medal of Freedom to the first Half Chinese Half Brazillian Bahai Lesbian to Stub Her Toe While Playing the Didjeridoo in a Kansas City Jazz Club.  Rima Fakih is a representation of that lame-ass train of thought.

Moving on from that douchyness,  there are some that say that this chick is the politically correct Miss USA.  Well, yeah.  Ever since Perez Hilton asked Carrie Prejean a rabbit-punch question about gay marriage,  lefty politics have been forced into the pageant scene.  While it’s not great to see this, it’s been a trend in the progressive-sphere for some time. 

Also, lets look at the audience for beauty pageants.  It’s not like NRA life members who oppose abortion rights, the United Nations, and tofu burgers are the big target demographic for this type of program.  I hate to make gross generalizations here, but the type of person that watches this sort of television is probably not the most clued-in peep when it comes to politics.  Most of the audience are likely sentimental and politically soft-headed, thus they are very receptive to the ‘First Muslim to Win’ angle the Miss USA organizers decided to go with.

So sure, Rima Fakih was a politically expedient winner.  On some level, she represents a weak-kneed progressive attempt to force Muslims into the mainstream of American life:  “Hey, they really are just like us!  No, there really are no troubling  terrorist sympathies within the American Muslim community!  Look over there!  It’s a gorgeous chick in a bikini!” 

But on a deeper level, the ethnic grievance dweebs in the Miss USA pageant missed the larger implications of Rima Fakih.  First of all, she’s Lebanese, which is sorta interesting all by itself.  Lebanon-at least before the civil war-was a multi-religious enclave.  It was a fairly tolerant place; there was a vibrant Christian population that made up a plurality of the population.  The Shiites, Sunnis and Druze communities in Lebanon were also notable for their relatively relaxed attitudes about religion and society.  Even today, the Lebanese are considered pretty chilled-out and cosmopolitan by Middle Eastern standards.  The fact that Rima Fakih and her family celebrate some Christian holidays is not shocking when you know about her background.

In addition to that, look at what the gal is wearing.  I don’t see a burqa in this chick’s future.  I’m sure that many of her fellow Arabs back in Dearborn are none too pleased about Fakih’s fashion choices.  But she still bucked the trend in her community and decided to show off more than just her wrist or her ankle.  The reality is that Rima represents a different possibility for Muslims, both in America and abroad.  Her decision to look the way she does says that she’s not sewn into an anonymous niqab and getting pumped with anti-Western nonsense while waiting for her female circumcision.  That’s pretty cool considering what’s gone down both inside and out of the Middle East.     

Do I think she’s the second coming of moderate Islam?  No.  That’s an awful tall bill of goods to throw onto one twenty-something beauty pageant winner.  But the fact that she won Miss USA looking like a Western girl is a signal to the rest of Islam that there is at least the possibility of a different path that a Muslim can take in life.  A follower of the faith doesn’t have to hew to 7th century Wahhabist revivalism or Shiite Hidden Imam weirdo extremism. 

So the lefty thumbsuckers in the Miss USA pageant might have wanted to put up a little multi-culti kool kid gesture by giving Fakih the crown.  In reality, they actually helped out the cause of moderate Islam.  Good job Donald Trump.  You inadvertently did something awesome for once.   

By the way, the one and only Sissy Willis has an interesting take on Miss USA 2010.  Check it out.

Also:  Big Hollywood and the great Greg Gutfeld have a cool little dittie about the Miss USA pageant.

SE Cupp had the best line: “And she’s causing earthquakes!”

Yeah, in my pants.

HEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY-OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!