On May 7th, 2013, the Huffington Post published an online article dealing with the results of a recent survey given in America. The survey asked several different questions regarding discrimination against people of Middle Eastern descent in the United States. One of the questions dealt with Americans' opinion of the general social climate in the U.S. towards Middle Eastern people. According to the survey, Americans felt that there was more discrimination towards Middle Eastern people than gays, Hispanic people, African Americans, and women. Considering the United States' history of prejudice against each of these social groups, it is remarkable that survey takers considered Middle Eastern Americans/Muslims the most discriminated-against group out of all of the abovementioned ones.
Additionally worth noting is the survey takers' response when asked if they believed that Islam was more likely than other religions to promote violence. An astounding 42 percent of responders said that they believed that Islam was more likely than other religions to promote violence.
These statistics on opinion are shocking, but what makes them notably so is just how recently these opinions were collected. Since the article itself was posted only a week ago, it can be inferred that the opinions listed in the article are also quite current. To me, this only re-proves the urgency of the issue of discrimination in America against people of Middle Eastern descent; that this issue is still far from resolved.
(See Article Here)
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Post-Boston Hate Crimes
It was only a matter of time after the Boston Marathon bombings before hate crimes against those of Middle Eastern descent began to spike. In an article published on colorlines.com, recent hate crimes against Middle Easterners because of the Boston bombings are listed and examined. The article compares these violent acts to those committed following the destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Middle Easterners are being generalized as terrorists and being attacked for simply being, because some people still refuse to separate terrorism from race and religion and continue to associate all Muslims and Middle Eastern people with extremism and terrorism.
I had hoped that people might have learned to make this distinction in the 12 years since 9/11, but, given the recent rise in hate crimes following the Boston bombings, it seems that America is farther from acceptance than I had thought.
This needs to be fixed. After over a decade, some Americans still view all Middle Easterners and Muslims as dangerous. However, I know that it will take an extremely long time for total acceptance to occur, if ever. Just look at African American people; it has been half a century since equality was granted to them in America, and yet there is still much racism present in modern-day America. Though I don't like to admit it, this and the resurgence in hate crimes against Middle Easterners may just show that there will always be discrimination against every non-white race in America at some level.
It's up to the people of America to break this trend. It can be possible to change this, no matter how difficult, so long as there are sufficient amounts of people presently working against discrimination and teaching their children and the children of others (perhaps through education programs in schools) the truth--that everyone is equal, no matter what.
Source: colorlines.com (See Article Here)
I had hoped that people might have learned to make this distinction in the 12 years since 9/11, but, given the recent rise in hate crimes following the Boston bombings, it seems that America is farther from acceptance than I had thought.
This needs to be fixed. After over a decade, some Americans still view all Middle Easterners and Muslims as dangerous. However, I know that it will take an extremely long time for total acceptance to occur, if ever. Just look at African American people; it has been half a century since equality was granted to them in America, and yet there is still much racism present in modern-day America. Though I don't like to admit it, this and the resurgence in hate crimes against Middle Easterners may just show that there will always be discrimination against every non-white race in America at some level.
It's up to the people of America to break this trend. It can be possible to change this, no matter how difficult, so long as there are sufficient amounts of people presently working against discrimination and teaching their children and the children of others (perhaps through education programs in schools) the truth--that everyone is equal, no matter what.
Source: colorlines.com (See Article Here)
A Talk with Dad
Due to political unrest, when my dad was seventeen years old, his family fled their moderate wealth in their hometown of Karachi, Pakistan and quite suddenly found themselves struggling to eke out a living in Santa Barbara, California. In Karachi, my grandfather had been a politician affiliated with the Pakistani People's Party, a party that the political rebellion of the time did not like. Because of the danger to himself and his family, My grandfather decided to sell the family's house and car and flee to America. Once in America, the family was safe from political hatred, but was then faced with a different kind of hatred--discrimination.
My dad and his family's move to America was under extremely unfortunate circumstances, but even more unfortunate was that, at the time of their migration, the Iranian hostage conflict was in full swing. Because of this, the family was discriminated against heavily. Even though they weren't Iranian, they looked it; and that was enough.
American teenagers were merciless. My dad recalls, "At school, I would regularly be harassed by American kids. They'd pass me in the hallways and shout things like, 'Go back to your country, camel jockey!' It was hurtful, but also odd to me, considering I'd never even ridden a camel." He remembers another Middle Eastern friend of his who got his head flushed in a school toilet because of his ethnicity.
When the family moved to a small suburb of Chicago, the sense of alienation increased. Most of the people in the community were white, and it was hard to make friends with the neighbors.
However, as time went on, things improved greatly, only going downhill again following 9/11. After that, my dad began to be pulled aside for further investigation in airport security--even once being pulled into a separate room and being questioned in a foreign airport, delaying his mission trip team an hour!
Despite this and other discrimination, though, my dad is an extremely successful restaurant owner who is proud of his heritage and has raised my sister and I to be proud of it as well. There will always be ignorant people, but there will also always be a heritage to be proud of.
Source: Adil Jaffer
My dad and his family's move to America was under extremely unfortunate circumstances, but even more unfortunate was that, at the time of their migration, the Iranian hostage conflict was in full swing. Because of this, the family was discriminated against heavily. Even though they weren't Iranian, they looked it; and that was enough.
American teenagers were merciless. My dad recalls, "At school, I would regularly be harassed by American kids. They'd pass me in the hallways and shout things like, 'Go back to your country, camel jockey!' It was hurtful, but also odd to me, considering I'd never even ridden a camel." He remembers another Middle Eastern friend of his who got his head flushed in a school toilet because of his ethnicity.
When the family moved to a small suburb of Chicago, the sense of alienation increased. Most of the people in the community were white, and it was hard to make friends with the neighbors.
However, as time went on, things improved greatly, only going downhill again following 9/11. After that, my dad began to be pulled aside for further investigation in airport security--even once being pulled into a separate room and being questioned in a foreign airport, delaying his mission trip team an hour!
Despite this and other discrimination, though, my dad is an extremely successful restaurant owner who is proud of his heritage and has raised my sister and I to be proud of it as well. There will always be ignorant people, but there will also always be a heritage to be proud of.
Source: Adil Jaffer
Jeff Dunham Defends "Achmed the Dead Terrorist" Comedy Act
In a few of my previous blog posts, I have discussed my views on ventriloquist Jeff Dunham's popular act "Achmed the Dead Terrorist," which garners laughs with the use of a turban-clad puppet with a Middle Eastern accent who professes to be a terrorist.
Therefore, I found it necessary to write a blog post in response to an article I found in which Dunham defends his act and explains why he doesn't see a problem with it.
In the article, which is from September of 2008, is centered around the South African government's removal of a commercial which incorporated a bit from the act from television. A Muslim man claimed that the act and the commercial were offensive to him because they implied that all Muslims were terrorists. Dunham responded to this by saying first that Achmed makes it clear in his act that he is not a Muslim (though, having watched the entire act myself, I don't remember this happening--perhaps I need to give it another watch), and second, that he leaves no stone unturned when it comes to making fun of people. He claims that he makes fun of every religious group, sexual orientation, gender, and race so that everyone can have a good laugh--even at themselves. But in my opinion, there is a way to do this in a way that is perhaps more tasteful, such as not involving terrorism in the act at all. Terrorism has no religion, race, or nationality, and is offensive to everyone. If Dunham wanted to poke fun at Muslims or even just Middle Easterners in general (seeing as he claims his act makes it clear that Achmed is not Muslim), there are so many other things he could have utilized in his act--such as the food, language, accents, mannerisms--that could be deemed 'racist' or 'offensive', but that don't cross the fine line into unacceptable. Poking fun at a culture, race, or religious group is one thing, but doing so in a way that implies that said group are terrorists is completely another.
Source: FOX News (See Article Here)
Therefore, I found it necessary to write a blog post in response to an article I found in which Dunham defends his act and explains why he doesn't see a problem with it.
In the article, which is from September of 2008, is centered around the South African government's removal of a commercial which incorporated a bit from the act from television. A Muslim man claimed that the act and the commercial were offensive to him because they implied that all Muslims were terrorists. Dunham responded to this by saying first that Achmed makes it clear in his act that he is not a Muslim (though, having watched the entire act myself, I don't remember this happening--perhaps I need to give it another watch), and second, that he leaves no stone unturned when it comes to making fun of people. He claims that he makes fun of every religious group, sexual orientation, gender, and race so that everyone can have a good laugh--even at themselves. But in my opinion, there is a way to do this in a way that is perhaps more tasteful, such as not involving terrorism in the act at all. Terrorism has no religion, race, or nationality, and is offensive to everyone. If Dunham wanted to poke fun at Muslims or even just Middle Easterners in general (seeing as he claims his act makes it clear that Achmed is not Muslim), there are so many other things he could have utilized in his act--such as the food, language, accents, mannerisms--that could be deemed 'racist' or 'offensive', but that don't cross the fine line into unacceptable. Poking fun at a culture, race, or religious group is one thing, but doing so in a way that implies that said group are terrorists is completely another.
Source: FOX News (See Article Here)
Racism from People in the Public Eye
Society itself is bad enough when it comes to perpetuating stigmas and racism, but racist views and sentiments get more publicity, so to speak, when perpetuated by someone in the public eye. This person can be a famous actor, singer, politician, athlete, or one of any number of categories of people constantly in the public eye. One such person who has done just that in the wake of the Boston bombings is much-loved reality show "Cake Boss"'s Anthony Bellifemine. Following the bombings (but before any arrests or claims of responsibility surfaced!), Bellifemine tweeted, "Lets just keep letting all these Animals into our country so they can keep attacking us...We even pay for them to go to school how's that!" His tweets were seemingly aimed at Muslim extremist terrorists from the Middle East. Even after many people called him out on his comments, he continued to defend his views.
It is especially dangerous for people in the public eye to make and defend comments such as these, because it not only perpetuates intolerant and racist views (especially among people who are more likely to be lemming-like in their following of celebrities) but also broadcasts hate on a national and possibly international level, which, in my opinion, slows the progress of intercultural acceptance.
Source: jezebel.com (See Article Here)
It is especially dangerous for people in the public eye to make and defend comments such as these, because it not only perpetuates intolerant and racist views (especially among people who are more likely to be lemming-like in their following of celebrities) but also broadcasts hate on a national and possibly international level, which, in my opinion, slows the progress of intercultural acceptance.
Source: jezebel.com (See Article Here)
Vermont Paper Accidentally Racist?
On March 9th, 2013, USA Today published an article on their website about a local Vermont newspaper that made a "racist" joke in one of their issues. The town in which the newspaper is published is home to a high school which was soon to face off against a certain Rice High School in a basketball game, and so it ran a page with the words "FRY RICE!" in huge, Asian-looking font.
The paper claims it meant nothing bad by the page; that the slogan was meant to be a silly pun on the rival school's name intended to promote school spirit and excitement for the game, and that they had no intentions of being offensive or racist in any way. However, the Asian American Journalists Association was not pleased. While they understood that the paper had no ill intentions, they did think that the headline showed a "lapse of judgement and poor taste."
While the article in question was criticized for its poor taste in dealing with things related to Asian culture, there are many things in contemporary American society that are done in poor taste with respect to Middle Eastern culture. For example, as I have mentioned in a previous blog post, Jeff Dunham's comedy ventriloquist act "Achmed the Dead Terrorist" is not something I believe to be blatantly malicious or racist against Middle Easterners and Muslims, but it is very culturally insensitive. In creating something that people can laugh at, Dunham has forgotten to take into account the stigmas his act is perpetuating (and because of the stigma that all Muslim people are terrorist or support terrorist activities, perhaps his lapse of judgment is at this time in America's history a more dangerous lapse than that of the editors of the Vermont newspaper.) In any case, I believe that Americans need desperately to be more sensitive about respecting the cultures of others. Just because something may not be offensive to one person, it may be to another.
Source: USA Today. (See Article Here)
The paper claims it meant nothing bad by the page; that the slogan was meant to be a silly pun on the rival school's name intended to promote school spirit and excitement for the game, and that they had no intentions of being offensive or racist in any way. However, the Asian American Journalists Association was not pleased. While they understood that the paper had no ill intentions, they did think that the headline showed a "lapse of judgement and poor taste."
While the article in question was criticized for its poor taste in dealing with things related to Asian culture, there are many things in contemporary American society that are done in poor taste with respect to Middle Eastern culture. For example, as I have mentioned in a previous blog post, Jeff Dunham's comedy ventriloquist act "Achmed the Dead Terrorist" is not something I believe to be blatantly malicious or racist against Middle Easterners and Muslims, but it is very culturally insensitive. In creating something that people can laugh at, Dunham has forgotten to take into account the stigmas his act is perpetuating (and because of the stigma that all Muslim people are terrorist or support terrorist activities, perhaps his lapse of judgment is at this time in America's history a more dangerous lapse than that of the editors of the Vermont newspaper.) In any case, I believe that Americans need desperately to be more sensitive about respecting the cultures of others. Just because something may not be offensive to one person, it may be to another.
Source: USA Today. (See Article Here)
Israeli Soccer Team and Fans set Example of Acceptance
Recently, soccer players 19-year-old Gabriel Kadiev and 23-year-old Zaur Sadayev were signed to Israeli soccer team Beitar Jerusalem. Because the players are from the Muslim region of Chechnya of Russia, there has been much hate and controversy surrounding this signing. Many police officers were stationed in and around the stadium as the two players made their debut with the team in a game in February 2013, due to fear of hate violence similar to the burning of a team office that occurred a few days prior following the announcement of the players' signing. Though there was some booing and jeering as the team walked onto the field, the majority of the stadium gave them a standing ovation. In addition, bright banners reading "Violence and racism? Not on our field" were strung around the everywhere.
This, to me, is a major step forward in the fight against Muslim and Middle Eastern discrimination. Despite the fact that there were still people present at the even who were jeering at the players, the majority of the people there were supportive not only of the players, but of tolerance and acceptance for people of all backgrounds and religions. Additionally, this is monumental because there has long been conflict and disagreement between the Israeli people and people from other Middle Eastern countries. Though it didn't occur in America, hopefully this event will help to send a message and set an example of acceptance for people around the world.
Source: USA Today. (See Article Here)
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