What I Think of Stereotyping Free Essay Example, 1250 words

The words "Arab" and "Muslim" 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 "Islamofascists" 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. We will write a custom essay sample on What I Think of Stereotyping or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page