Thoughts on Stereotyping - Speech or Presentation Example

Thoughts on Stereotyping Ladies and Gentlemen, the topic of my speech is Stereotyping. I need to assert in the beginning that it is indeed one of the most misfortunate traits that are present within human beings. I believe that all of you term this as a negative characteristic in any person and while it exists, stereotyping a particular situation or human has somehow managed to weasel its way into socially accepted norms. Thus it makes all the more reason here to state ladies and gentlemen that the world has hit a brick wall in human development as people have created a giant system which has started to categorize people into different segments – be it groups or classes, factions or sects, so on and so forth. Furthermore, these segments are broken down into subdivisions for people's placement in the world, as well as in the eye of each commoner of this world which is ill-fated and regrettable. Continuing with the same topic, here I would like to make a point. With the new war in Iraq and terrorist attacks, America has seen and dealt with, the world has become an even more typified entity. Nevertheless, the affects of the hackneyed image people have about each other has been present hitherto. We base business, home and social life on stereotypical views that don't necessarily need to be present in life. Personally speaking, I myself have been subjected to unjust and unwarranted stereotyping that was unwarranted as this was not something that I brought upon myself, but the actions of others in essence did. To be more specific, the actions of 19 others have led to a stereotype against over a billion people which is precisely 1/6 of the world's total population. What I am trying to make you realize is that I am continuously being stereotyped as an Arab Muslim. Ladies and Gentlemen, for instance, when a large group of Muslims go out in the West, and are identified by either the traditional costume (Thoob) or a headscarf (Hijab), there have always been suspicious looks, slurs, physical attacks and not to mention, the extra screening at airports and arrests on groundless charges. It only seems to be getting worse day by day. I have experienced some of this stereotypical behavior from the West time and time again. In America, at first glace, I am seen like everyone else on the street due to the nonexistent scarf placed on my head and I am treated as equally as everyone else, however, it is interesting to see how this treatment is juxtaposed as soon as the realization of my ethnic and religious background is acquired. The words "Arab" and "Muslim" (which literally translated, means PEACE) nowadays in America have connotations such as 'terrorist', 'the enemy', 'extremists', 'oppressors' etc.., which is constantly seen in the media. I know that these assumptions are not only false but also fabricated. It was after the 9/11 attacks that these came to plague the Muslims all over the world. A recent Gallup poll showed that 39% of Americans admit to being prejudiced against Muslims and nearly a quarter say they would not want a Muslim for a neighbor. How inhuman could that get? When the religious and political leaders use polarizing language and use Muslims as their scapegoats, these are the unfortunate side effects, ladies and gentlemen. It stretches from the likes of Pat Robertson all the way up to President George W. Bush. This behavior that the Americans portray is clearly supported by the inflammatory language President Bush has been using after the 9/11 attacks such as "Islamofacists" and the like. Again, personally, it has affected my life here in America. I recall an instance when I was traveling with my family, most of whom comprise of one brother and women covering their heads with scarves, and while waiting in line to go through the metal detectors everyone was going by so quickly, however, when the policeman got to us and looked at our passports he stood in the middle and announced to all the people standing behind us in line, "This is going to take a while folks, please find another line," then he looked at the officer next to him in distress and said "close the line with the belt, we have 4 Arab women with one man." It was utterly humiliating to be treated like a criminal and to be asked to take off my jacket, shoes and hat and to have a special metal detector passed all over me and then being hand searched when everyone else before us just put their bags through the screening machine and glided right through. It was afterwards that I found out a law was passed by Congress recently on airport "profiling" which is a sheer case of serious stereotyping and racism. The idea is that the officers can identify "risky" people based on the countries they traveled to in the past, thus, Arabs residing within America, and search them more thoroughly and with humiliation than the normal people. This led to what I experienced at the airport and there is one line for Arabs and Muslims and one line for others, which is appalling my dear ladies and gentlemen. I find this a case of double standards and hypocrisy embedded deep within the society. I was dumbfounded by the questions I was asked by my fellow peers when I first moved to Pennsylvania. I received queries like, "but you are an Arab, how did your family let you leave the house alone and come to Penn State without a man?", "how often did religious men beat up on the streets because you were not covered up in your country?" These are questions I found insulting as regards to my culture and religion and only reflected upon the uneducated absurdity of the youth in America pertaining to such issues, which I place full blame on the American media for that matter. This stereotyping is negative because it will never allow peace to prevail between the Muslim states and the West. I would like to end my speech by stating here an assumption. This states that if I were asked to redefine myself, I would begin by opening people’s eyes to the fact that stereotypes are devices for saving a biased person the trouble of learning and knowing for his own betterment. I would ask them to stop believing what the current media is trying to instigate and misinform and ask them to make a wise move by learning a little about Islamic beliefs and Arab culture both of which place a huge emphasis on love, tolerance and harmony. This would mean that I would want people to stop looking at my sisters wearing the Hijab as inferiors or dumb because they essentially are not. They are strong women and their scarves do not cover their brains but only cover their hair. Without any confusion on my side, I would define myself as an educated Arab woman who has been influenced by her religion, culture and the phenomenon of globalization. I am not inferior to anyone, neither am I superior; I am an equal being who possesses the right to be treated on the same token as any other white American or British for that matter. I am a free un-oppressed woman by my religion. I am an advocate for peace and human rights and contest against any form of terrorism. I am a strong Arab woman who will not rest until justice prevails against the fallacious propaganda placed upon Muslims by the West. That is my true self, gratefully ladies and gentlemen. Bibliography Haddad, Yvonne. Muslims in the West: From Sojourners to Citizens, Oxford University Press, 2002 Akram, Susan. The Aftermath of September 11, 2001: The Targeting of Arabs and Muslims in America, Arab Studies Quarterly (ASQ), 2002 Haddad, Yvonne. The Muslims of America, Oxford University Press, 1993 Harb, Zahera. British Arab Muslim Audiences and Television after September 11, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Vol. 32, 2006 Darraj, Susan Muaddi. Understanding the Other Sister: The Case of Arab Feminism, Monthly Review, Vol. 53, March 2002 Karsh, Efraim. Intifada II: The Long Trail of Arab Anti-Semitism, Commentary, Vol. 110, December 2000 Fields, Suzanne. Who Are the Good Muslims? The Washington Times, November 19, 2001 Ibrahim, Saad. LIBERTY FOR MUSLIMS? Reasons for Hope amid Discouraging World Picture, The Washington Times, July 4, 2003 Word Count: 1,274 Read More