Yahoo’s public question forums:
“Are all Muslims terrorists?”
I am terrified of Muslims. I don't hate them and respect their
faith but everybody is telling me they are all beheading, blowing up murderers.
I have heard it is a religion of peace but everyone around me says it is not. I
don't what to believe. are all Muslims terrorists or not and is any part of
Islam peaceful? I do not mean to offend anybody, and I repeat I DO NOT hate
Muslims, I am just scared of them. any honest answers will be appreciated.”
“Are Arabs terrorists ?”
there's an Arab guy in my class
he looks like a terrorist
his dark skin and his eyes are evil”
he looks like a terrorist
his dark skin and his eyes are evil”
“Extreme Terrorist Arab
Prank - Tourist Bus Hijack”
Many people see
Middle Easterners and think “TERRORISTS!!” and suppressed women. These
stereotypes are perpetuated through the media as the single story of the Middle
Eastern cultures. The reason, in my opinion, why the media consistently shows:
-women in hijabs (as suppressed)
-Arabs (who are made to look uneducated
by showing images of demolished areas and calling those “Arab schools”)
-Middle Easterners as destitute
(with no food, no home, no money, etc)
-helpless people (who need the U.S.
troops to save them from wandering the streets with no purpose)
…is because it makes us Westerners
think our country is facilitating growth for a downtrodden and uneducated group
of Neanderthals.
It matters that
these messages are being sent because:
1. Middle Easterners are not:
-always suppressed people
-always uneducated
-always poor (and especially not
before the war, seeing as there were millions of engineers, doctors, architects
and other types of high-class workers)
-in need of American saviors
(George Washington clearly explained that our country is not in the business of
getting involved with other countries’ affairs)
2. These messages perpetuate our
incorrect notions which lead to hate and war
3. Our government is not pulling
out of Iraq so this single story acts as a distraction for consumers
The
single story of Middle Easterners, as perpetuated by the media, is that all
Arabs are terrorists and the women are suppressed. The reasons the media seeks
to feed those notions are to keep consumers entertained while the occupation
continues. I do not agree that the women in Iraq are chained to their masters,
as the above photo depicts. My analysis is that the producer of the photo was
seeking to create a joke. And like the tour bus “prank” terrorist video, the
jokes regarding Arabs is not funny. I find the obsession with Middle Eastern
terrorists and incapable Neanderthals quite aggravating.
This is super interesting. I really wish we could see more the the real lives and the true nature of these people. It's sad they are so wrongfully feared.
ReplyDeleteSome of my best friends are muslim
ReplyDeleteI lived in France and met many muslims who are as normal and weird as i am. I hate this sterotype
ReplyDelete