Anti-Muslim xenophobia & racism in action.

[redfox]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/seema-...b_3231561.html

Powerful writing by a physician.

[Yossarian]

I'm sure it was frustrating for her but I would be careful drawing sweeping conclusions based on the actions of a stupid rent a cop.

[SevenSeven]

I'd agree that some decisive statements are a bit rushed.

[Jilly]

I am adding this to make certain that no one thinks that my thoughts are a reflection of any of my experiences here on this forum. Were this not such a safe and supportive place to share, I would not risk what I have to say, the energy this thread holds for me. Peace, all!

I have never been to the White House, nor am I likely to be anywhere that I will encounter fancy dressed people or celebrities unless they become hopelessly lost on the way to the Oscars.

I am white, probably the whitest person I know, and I have the stories to prove it. I really do.

However, I have seen more racist behavior than I care to share. I agree that some of what she wrote is excessive, but I can assure anyone, even though I have never met this person, that her pain and the resultant emotion, not to mention an over-generalization or several, are not inappropriate.

She writes of an infectious plague, and I think that is only partially true as newly growing and expressed racism. It, the whole arena of prejudice and bigotry, has been an aspect of the experience of most people. The actively racist are in the minority, at least that is my hope, but those of us who struggle to overcome the biases with which we were raised have surely witnessed prejudices of all kinds directed at other people.

I think that the reason that prejudice is more openly expressed is because of world events, particularly since 2001, that some people now feel that they have the opportunity and perhaps a right and a perceived social environment that encourages them to express hate speech and actions. The prejudices have always been there, simmering away under the societal facade, previously shared only with like-minded folk, but still there, just waiting for opportunities to reach fuller expression. Many people are experiencing fright in a way that I cannot remember seeing before. We fear for our own safety, for our families and communities. Fear can translate into aggressive behaviors and speech directed to that which is unfamiliar to us.

However if your skin is not the right color, or the texture of your hair or your appearance is not somewhere in the mid-range of ordinary society...whatever that happens to be..., in many parts of the world you can expect to experience biases. Whatever the prevailing culture, discrimination can rear its ugly head. Not just across culture, race, ethnicity, but also age and gender, weight, mental health issues, poverty, and I know that I am forgetting other conditions. The recent hate speech here is a perfect example of that. The seemingly innocently presented joke that disenfranchises a segment of society is only the tip of these behaviors.

I believe that I am not making sweeping or uninformed statements. I think that if you pay attention, you might find more examples than you thought possible. And, you know, perhaps my sensitivity to all of this is increased by the work I do. I find it interesting that there are a fair number of us here, members of this forum, who are involved in social service or educational work of some kind or another. Beyond that, there is a level of sensitivity and social support that is apparent here, that seems to be above the norm. Again, I am making generalities, but for this forum and its members, I think it applies. Would that it were like that everywhere.

This reminds me of Mary Rowe, from MIT, I think, who talks about micro-inequities. Those seemingly innocent, difficult to prove comments and behaviors that are prejudicial. The offender is often unaware of how they are expressing themselves, not exactly innocent of intent, about what they say, how they behave towards people they perceive to be different from themselves. It is often unintentional, merely an expression of life-long beliefs and the offender (hate that word, by the way, but the alternatives seem harsher to me), would most likely be shocked to learn that anyone could take offense by what they said or did.

I do not think that we all have to be alike or even similar, and it reminds me of the message of Quinn's Ishmael, that there is not only one right way to live. There is not only one right way to look or behave. It would be wonderful if diversity could be embraced, but if we cannot do that, maybe acknowledgement acceptance could be a start.

No matter how dumb or uninformed my comments or questions are, no one here has ever challenged my experiences, nor mentioned how dumb and informed I am. I am doing the same for the author of that article. I do not live in her skin or her life, but I have a breadth of personal experience that informs me that many other people have been on the receiving end of such discrimination. The difference is that those people of my experience lack access to a public platform on which they can share what happens to them.

[sweetana3]

My father is a racist and my in laws could clearly be considered racist. My father does it even with an educated background and my inlaws from fear and a lack of education and experience. My father thinks that unless you are white, an officer in the military, and educated that you are somehow subhuman. However, even he would not act as the rent a cop did.

It IS pervasive and subtle in some instances and not so subtle in others.

I think the article is powerful in describing her anger and powerlessness in the face of such obvious prejudice.