DSS Hubris

To Hussein or not to Hussein? Facebookers duke it out

It all started as a way to prove solidarity with Barack Obama and take a stand against people who associated the presidential candidate with terrorists because of his middle name, Hussein. Hundreds of supporters on Facebook added “Hussein” as their middle name on the site and joined groups such as “Take The Middle Name ‘Hussein’ for Barack Obama.” There were thousands of them. There was Marc Hussein Andreessen. Clay Hussein Shirky. Kate Hussein Wetherhead. Peter Hussein Honeyman. James Hussein Shaw. Patricia Hussein Washburn.

But Facebook, like other communities, hosts people of many different political persuasions. They also had something to say about Hussein as a middle name. So they started their own Facebook groups. Now, there are more than 100 groups on the social networking site concerning the issue of adopting Hussein as a middle name.

They include the likes of (you may need to be a Facebook member to view them):

Support Obama ? Add Hussein as your middle name to protest misconceptions

Anyone with the middle name “Hussein” should not be president of the U.S.

Saying Barack’s middle name is “Hussein” doesn’t make you a racist

Enough already with the “I changed my middle name to ‘Hussein’ on Facebook”

The groups and the discussion among them have made some participants marvel at the way Facebook allows them to engage in political discourse with people they didn’t previously know. Still others make fun of them for talking politics on a social network that also houses pictures of people drinking beer.

Alex Freeman, a music professor at Carleton College, started his 5,134-member group, I’m changing my Facebook name to Hussein, a few weeks ago.

“In a small way, I thought I could defuse the bigotry, or at least the fear,” he said. Supporters he didn’t know posted compliments on the group’s homepage, including one whose actual middle name was Hussain. Dissidents also posted, telling him his idea was stupid. While Freeman was sleeping, one Turkish group posted dozens of pictures of genocide on the site as sabotage. Still, Freeman thought the group was effective.

“One guy wrote and said, ‘This is retarded, you’re not doing anything,’ ” Freeman said. “I explained it to him, and he said he saw my point and joined.”

Same with Casey Godwin, a 16-year old from Dunn, N.C., who started the group

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