Thursday, April 21, 2011
Hatred & Stereotypes after 9/11
After reading the articles and readings for today’s class it really made me wonder how I would feel if I was an Arab, South Asian, or Muslim American and experience the increase of hatred that has risen since 9/11 towards this race. I feel that a lot of white Americans take their freedom for granted and do not understand or realize some of the social and cultural pains that some immigrants face. It blew my mind when Ibrahim wanted to interview five young Iraqis and believed that this process was not going to be an issue. She soon found out that because she is now an American most people viewed her as an outsider and not an “authentic” Iraqi. The reason why these candidates were hesitant to participate was because they did not understand Ibrahim’s motivation for conducting these interviews and they felt that their safety could be jeopardized. Being an international student myself, even though I am only from Canada, I could not even image how it would feel to go back to your homeland and be rejected by people of your own kind and nationality let alone how it would feel to be rejected by people of other nationalities. It frustrates me that after 9/11 there has become this norm and racial stereotype towards Arabs. It is outrageous how Ibrahim was held in customs for six hours and asked questions about things such as her thoughts or view of the Iraq war. What does this have to do with customs? Personally, this is disturbing especially because she considers herself an American, and that her home is in New Jersey not in a foreign country.
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I think Amanda makes a really valid point. It seems like many of these women are forced to straddle two conflicting identities. Ibrahim was not considered completely American by the Americans and is no longer seen as Iraqi by the people of Iraq. I can't even fathom how difficult it would be to struggle with not truly having one solid identity and being accepted by any group fully. However, Ibrahim seems to have a great attitude about it. She embraces the ambiguity and wouldn't have it any other way. This made me think of our discussions earlier in the semester about people of mixed genders and how difficult it is for them to fit into one category when maybe it is not so simple as male or female.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Tira and Amanda. They both bring up interesting points in response to the article. Along with Amanda, I think being split between two conflicting identities must be extremely difficult. I can hardly imagine what it would be like to live a life like that. One of my friends from highschool is Pakistani and her family is very conservative. However, she grew up in a society where girls were very forward with their sexuality and were prided on voicing their opinions and thinking as an individual. I know in my own family my father pushed me to question beliefs and create my own opinions of life instead of following a strict religion. Her family life was much different. Her family prohibited her from expressing her sexuality, dating boys, and voicing an opinion that defied their beliefs. Yet at highschool, the culture she was faced with was completely different.
ReplyDeleteI do not know how my friend learned to balance these conflicting identities and cultures, but I am amazed by it because of the extreme determination and self perseverance it must have required.
Personally, I have always had issues figuring out my identity and no matter how much I debate about it, in the end, there's really no correct or simple answer. For my entire life, I have carried and still do a Chinese passport yet I could barely be considered a Chinese when I do not speak the country's official language nor have I resided in my homeland for more than a year. I was eight months old when I moved to Honduras. Hence, I was raise in a Latin community speaking Spanish and dancing to the beat of salsa. Every time I visit China, I feel like an alien in my own country. Yet, whenever I'm back in Honduras (the place I call home and sing to the tune of out national anthem), I would also hear racist street comments from people trying to mock an awful chinese accent. I feel the frustration of these women, and like Tira said, I cannot imagine how it must be like for people of mixed genders.
ReplyDeleteWe all have preconceived notions of others from different regions of the world, but 9/11 reinforced negative assumptions. I seems like anyone who looks Middle Eastern is often negatively stereotyped and seen as a potential threat. Even I have been stereotyped negatively although I am South American. I remember after 9/11 being asked by a fellow classmate, in a very serious tone, if I was in fact a terrorist. I was appalled by the assumption. Why, because of my skin color or Indian attributes?
ReplyDeleteAmanda,
ReplyDeleteLike Tira, Caroline, Shanshan, and Crystal have all commented about the dilemma people face with many different levels of identity, I think society is so quick at judging a person's identity based on their physical appearance that we don't acknowledge the multiplicity of identity. Skin color, gender, and other visibility traits strikes an assumption before one can really take the time to get to know another person; that their identity goes beyond appearance. This makes us question diversity--we often see race as the key indication of diverse, but we fail to recognize different factors (socioeconomic status, geography, religion, sexuality, etc) that makes up diversity. This comes to show how confined our society is that we have to pick a specific box for gender, ethnicity, etc. How diverse are we anyways?