There are a lot of weird quirks and differences that make people interesting. Since anthropology was my field of study in university, I like to think that I am more open to these differences since I studied human nature (that, and I am full of crunchy-granola goodness, too). The truth is I didn't pursue anthropology since I am not only not interested in a career that includes the words "Would you like fries with that?" on a daily basis, but I also can honestly say that I am not good at not interfering with things I find troubling.
Anthropologists in the field are supposed to be observers. To interrupt or put a stop to something would be impressing their cultural ideals on another culture. So anthropologists are expected to stand and watch anything from gardening in 100+ degree weather, female circumcision, to older practices like sacrificing and executions.
And should a group of tribal elders approached the business space of a beautiful young girl with a leather thong and a sharp and scary knife, I just couldn't have stood by and done nothing, so I knew pursuing a Master's and a PhD in anthropology were not for me. That said, I would love to go back to school for a Master's (in something not so scary, like history or English lit) and think I will do if my visa comes through.
But there is one thing that I simply won't tolerate around me. The friends in my life and loved ones I have been with will not do this. It's a brand of culture so deeply ingrained that many see it as a societal norm, and many others see it as their cultural right.
Racism and xenophobia.
Not ok.
In any form.
I get especially wound up when I hear members of my beautiful country (it's mine. I own it.) say things like: We should bomb all of the Middle East. They're all evil! Or: We have every right to invade every country in the Middle East, or anywhere where they're Muslim!
Ri-ight. Things like that make me feel glad I left. When people talk like that, it really doesn't make them any different from those they are opposed to, does it?
It's strange that I am so viciously against racism, since to be honest I grew up in a very racist environment. My mother's parents (and my very precious grandfather) are as racist as the night is long, and were getting worse as they got older. My grandfather had apparently had some horrible times in Basic Training in the army under a sergeant who has black, and until the day he died his disdain and dislike for the black population was patently clear (lemme' just say that watching the 5 o'clock news with him was always uncomfortable). They always went by the "N" word (which I will not allow on my blog, but suffice to say it rhymes with one of these words: "Super-size your meal, bigger value for your money!")
And the word in there isn't "Super-size", 'k?
My grandmother is the same way-she has a pretty healthy dislike of all minorities, and you can't say anything to her about it, since it just winds her up and makes the situation go to hell. You have to leave the room and ignore her. She's just bitter and it comes out that way. But she doesn't stop to think that her grandchildren are of mixed-race as well (it's weird-I hadn't realized I came from a "mixed family" until a friend pointed it out when I was 15.) More than once my grandmother has made a nasty comment about Asians that registered as fleeting pain across my sister's beautiful olive-complexioned face.
My Japanese father's mother (my grandmother) is racist as well. She's re-married to a nice Portuguese man with a big heart, but she herself is the most glassy, brittle woman I know. There's one thing to know here-The European Union is a union of commerce and finance. EU members are not all sitting around a table with no problems, drinking Italian vino and eating French cheese (only the UN does that, or holiday-makers in the Alps, anyway). There are massive fractions in the EU alliances. The same with the Asians-thinking of Asia as a united area is a mistake-it's only called Asia as a geographical linking. The splits in Asia are even broader than in Europe. The Taiwanese seem to not like the Chinese, the Koreans seem to not like the Chinese, and every Asian country seems to hate the Japanese, which is ok since the Japanese seem to hate everyone else as well.
I remember driving through neighborhoods with my grandmother and father, and my grandmother would sniff: "Roll up your windows. We're travelling through a Korean neighborhood."
Right, grandma. 'Cause they might come attack the car with Kim-chee.
Again, you just had to ignore her racism-she will not change, cannot change, and saying anything to her about it will only wind her up.
So it's with a sad heart that I hear horrible things about "all Muslims" and "all Arabic nations". I feel sad when I hear about the tumultuous state of affairs concerning refugees, and the miserable existence they live. I just don't understand what state of affairs makes one nation hate another, one religion hate another. To my way of thinking, there are extremists everywhere, and maybe we should just lock the extremists in a room and see which group comes out alive. I remember in Turkey, talking to a Muslim man while the Islamic prayer call came out over the loudspeaker, and he told me that the Koran was a matter of interpretation, that some people interpreted doctrines and hate where others interpreted guidelines and love.
I just feel we have a lot we can learn from other cultures, whether we approve or not. It's part of what makes everyoen unique and different. But then again, maybe this is a bit of my bleeding heart coming through again or something.
-H....still visa-less. But luckily seeing her therapist this afternoon.
PS-check out this week's Carnival of the Vanities, for your compact edition of interesting blog topics.
Posted by Everydaystranger at February 11, 2004 10:54 AM | TrackBackJeez, I could write volumes inspired by the discussion here. Which has been remarkably civil, and valid points have been raised by all who have contributed. Kudos to everyone (most of all to Helen -- it's your party and you are our lovely hostess) for partaking in such a thread with nary a flame thrown. Intelligent discourse is so lacking in today's world of extremism (extremism on _both_ sides, of course).
I would love to add my two cents, but I simply can't do so in a concise comment-worthy fashion. This thread, however, has definitely inspired a future post on my own site. Now, if I can ever just find the time to write it ...
Posted by: Joey at February 13, 2004 01:46 AMLet's see...I have a BA with a double major in Anthropology and History and an MA in History.
I work in advertising.
Yep, that's about right :)
Posted by: Rob at February 12, 2004 11:49 PMActually, before I left the U.S. I had branched off anthropology and was working towards a (totally useless) Master's Degree in the History of Ideas-a combo of philosophy, psychology, literature and history.
In other words...would you like fries with that?
Posted by: Helen at February 12, 2004 10:57 AMHelen,
Glad 2 hear you're also opposed to male circumcision. You're a very intelligent lady in so many ways ;-)
Don't worry about any future sons you might have being laughed at in the locker rooms if they decide to go to the U.S. Things are changing in the States albeit rather slowly in the flyover states. A majority of boys on the west coast are now leaving the hospital as nature intended so American locker rooms twenty years from now will be plenty diverse.
Also, don't let your aversion to barbaric cultures turn you off to anthropolgy. That's only a small part of the field. As an undergrad at U Penn, years ago, one of the coolest seminars I took was all about Lynne White's theory of how the styrup changed the course of European civilization. We also did a lot of statistical analysis of pipe stems. (try googling pipe stem dating). Antropolgy is neat because it combines liberal arts with language and mathematics and science.
Now of course if you want to be employed that's a reason to avoid anthropolgy but thagt's another issue altogther...
Posted by: Steve P at February 12, 2004 10:45 AMPaul,
*lol* Thanks ... I have visited the States a number of times and have enjoyed myself on each occassion.
The scariest thing that has ever happened to me there was being driven around in a hire car by Helen :D
Posted by: Best Friend at February 12, 2004 10:27 AMGudy-you said precisely what I was planning to say for Pixy Misa and Jiminy. Well done.
Steve-of course you're not banned. In fact, since moving to Europe I am dead opposed to circumcision on males, which I know means someday maybe I will have a son that will get laughed at in the showers in the U.S.
Paul-you made me cry with laughter at the "surpressing fire" comment. Thank you, dearest.
Posted by: Helen at February 12, 2004 10:06 AMPixy Misa, you'r right about many governments actively promoting xenophobia to take attention away from their own failings. The thing is, this is by no means restricted to the Middle East. In fact, the most glaring example that comes to mind is a big country in the northern half of the american double continent that will hold presidential elections this year...
Jiminy, you'r not paying attention to the facts. As Best Friend said, 75% of all terrorist incidents in the US are home grown. So, if you agree that the federal government is there to protect its citizens (which could be debated), wouldn't it be much more helpful if they tracked the 300 million US citizens which cause 75% of the terrorist incidents in the US, instead of the billion or so Arabs who are responsible for a part of the remaining 25%?
Yes, I'm playing devil's advocate here, because I very much doubt that all the checking and fingerprinting and tracking will deter even one determined terrorist - let alone help catching them - regardless of their nationality.
Posted by: Gudy at February 12, 2004 09:48 AMI agree that comments like 'nuke em all' are
pretty stupid and probably done as much out
of frustration as ignorance. We are hardly
the only ones making them. Look up what the
Iranian millitary had stenciled (painted?)
on the sides of their missles. And what some
of their leaders have claimed they will do once
they get a working bomb.
Violence based on who is 'better' is hardly
new and religion has probably been the cause
of more human suffering then any other cause
espically if we include the secondary effects
of silly religion (I refer to the Catholic
church and some its policy which made the
black death as bad as it was [no bathing]).
That's why I always say there is a difference
between having faith.. and religion...
One is between you and what you believe in
the other is a human organization.. and
by definition .. flawed..
Not to be the big American lug of the group, but some of these comments are a little odd. If it were up to me, every single Arab coming into the country would be searched. Their bags searched. Interviewed, fingerprinted, retina-scanned, and GPS tracked for their entire stay. They don't like it? Tough. You see, I find it completely ridiculous that we're not allowed to focus on the small fraction of international passengers who come from places that hate us. Notice, I'm not talking about Arabs now, just any passenger from, say, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, Iran, Libya, or any number of other countries. White, black, arab, or other, that's my criteria. Because that's who is trying to kill us.
Maybe I just give them more credit than others here. You see, when someone says, "I hate you, I think you're the Great Satan, and I would like nothing more than to turn my body into deadly shrapnel and kill as many of the infidel Americans as I can," I BELIEVE them. And I see no problem at all with doing whatever necessary to protect myself from them. Up to and including sending the 1st Marine Division to their capital city to hang out for a spell.
I don't understand people that don't get that. I heard once, and still think it's both true and hilarious, that the definition of a "liberal" is someone who won't take their own side in a fight. Because this is a fight. And the enemy is smart, well-funded, dedicated, inventive, capable, and deadly. And, by the by, governed by no strictures other than their finances. No moral inhibitions whatsoever. And, not to forget, capable of using anyone, mother, father, or child, to accomplish their only task: indiscriminate murder. That "deadly shrapnel" line above wasn't made up; it was said by Reem Salah al-Rayashi, a mother of two who blew herself up: "It was always my wish to turn my body into deadly shrapnel against the Zionists and to knock on the doors of heaven with the skulls of Zionists." This was a MOTHER OF TWO. That's the nature of the enemy we're facing.
So if a traveler to the US (not for nothing, a visitor, a guest, in our country) has to endure a little probing and prodding, because they come from somewhere whose leaders or populace want us dead, well, tough cookies.
The first responsibility of the federal government (of which the FAA and TSA are parts) is to ensure the security of its citizens. Let them do the job.
Posted by: Jiminy at February 12, 2004 06:47 AMMy parents are not racist in the least, but my mother is a snob. I sometimes think that's worse than racism. Here in India, we have huge differences. We speak about 30 languages (don't even count the dialects) across the country, plus we have the caste system (obsolete and dumb in my opinion), so we deal with not only racism but also casteism. The only reason I can attribute to people being racist is needing to feel superior about themselves. I have a family that is pan indian, we have people from many diametrically different communities in our family and sometimes the older members in my family sniff at the newer entrants. It is funny to say the least. I guess the Japanese-Korean thing is like the Indian-Pakistani thing. Funny one can draw so many parallels, which just goes to show that human behaviour is pretty much the same all over the globe.
Posted by: plumpernickel at February 12, 2004 06:25 AMBest Friend,
As one of the gun-toting populous allow me to extend a personal invitation to come visit the States.
I will meet you at the airport, help you with your luggage, and lay down supressing fire as you run to my Trooper in a zig-zag fashion.
Uh, that was me.
Sorry I was cleaning my Enter key and it suddenly went off.
PC
Posted by: Paul at February 12, 2004 04:10 AMMany of the governments in the middle east actively promote xenophobia to take attention away from their own failings. Recently, this has turned around and bitten them - the rise in terrorist attacks within Saudi Arabia being a prime example.
Racism and xenophobia are part of an even bigger problem - people have this tendency to believe things, and not only do they resist any efforts to change their minds, they actually get angry if you present facts that challenge their preconceptions. It's viewed as a personal attack rather than an education.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at February 12, 2004 03:19 AMI haven't had time to read the comments, so I'm not sure in which direction the discussion has been steered.. I just wanted to share something I saw when I had to pick up my sister. She was in the second grade or something at the time, so were these kids:
Blonde girl: Because all black people steal things, that's why.
Brunette girl: That's dumb and not true.
[teacher approaches]
Caramel boy: All blondes have a wart on their knee.
Blonde girl: No we don't. How could we ALL have warts?
Caramel boy: Exactly.
[teacher walks away, looking slightly shocked. I befriend caramel boy, meet his pseudo-brother, and plan our wedding. But that's not relevant, is it?]
Kids are smarter than us. The end.
Posted by: Meg at February 12, 2004 02:41 AMHelen,
I have to agree that racism's a bad thing but political correctness is also a bad thing. I mean circumcision of both males and females is part of the muslim religion and is AFAIC just a euphemism for genital mutilation. And before you shoot me down for criticizing male "circumcision" I'll concede that male genital cutting isn't as mutilating as what's done to many muslim girls but hey would it be o.k. if muslims "just" cut off the hood of girls' clits instead of the entire thing?
Of course the irony here is that so many Americans, especially the ignorant types who tend to be racist are gung hoe on male circumcision!
And genital mutilation's just the tip of the iceberg. It's ironic how people like George W and his band of southern rednecks and white trash share so many beliefs with the muslims they want to kill. (The death penalty, censorship, repression of women, religious extremism etc. etc)
O.k. that's my anthropological rant for the day. I hope it doesn't get me banned from your site :-(
And seriously - good luck with your visa. I understand the stress - I had 2 deal with it when my wife first joined me in the States and then again when I immigrated to Australia with my wife after she'd had enough of the States!
Posted by: Steve at February 12, 2004 01:24 AMRight, grandma. 'Cause they might come attack the car with Kim-chee'
I could just see that.. some korean people chasing the car with big glasses of kimchee throwning it at the back window.
I have yet to meet my g/f Japanese mother, I guess I'll find out if its the same.
Posted by: pylorns at February 12, 2004 01:22 AMI grew up with similar attitudes on one side, but luckily had my extremely open-minded father to steer me in the right direction. Great topic!
Posted by: Heather at February 12, 2004 12:09 AMRacism is practiced ignorance. Its ugly, stupid and racists should be "outed" as much as possible.
Basing one's beliefs about an entire culture on a few incidents (at best, most of the time its one event that has caused the racism) is just stupid.
I can't stand to be around racists, even if they are kindly old people. I just start humming or whistling the tune to They Might Be Giants' "Your Racist Friend" and find some way to get the hell away from them.
Tolerance = good. Tolerance of racism = bad! But then, we all knew that already, right?
Posted by: Johnny Huh? at February 11, 2004 11:27 PMNicely put Paul and everybody.
One Muslim I worked with is hard to have a conversation with compared to others. During Halloween he just kept going on and on how depraved America is with such a holiday and about a [female] secretary wearing a cow costume and that she actually had teats between her legs! Now his seriousness struck me as extremely funny but I knew he would have been mortified if I had laughed outright so I made a quick excuse and dodged out of his lab office. I had many speculative questions of why this bothered him so much but I couldn't ask him and keep a straight face:-)
I also knew that we couldn't have a sane conversation about the suicide bombing that occured in Israel that same week. It would have been another one of his rants against America. For me the sobriety difference between the two subjects is striking.
Other Arab friends just shake their heads over this and we go back to watching a soccer match.
Posted by: Roger at February 11, 2004 10:09 PMI understand and agree completely with "THIS ONE DISCUSSION" being political.
My final "political" thought is this, Thomas Jefferson said, "Those who would trade freedom for security will end up with neither." That's why I'd be against testing all Americans even if it helped our world opinion. It's a shame we have so much to offer as a nation and yet do things that cause others to think so ill of us :(
I think your "monkeys to remove my kidneys" comment might inspire the next reality tv show. Ouch! That's what it's coming to though. I hope they at least have a good anesthesiologist :)
Posted by: Solomon at February 11, 2004 09:57 PMSolomon-I for one (as an American) would consent to being fingerprinted, tested, giving blood for DNA sampling and allowing monkeys to remove my kidneys, as I think it would help the world perception of the U.S. Right now, I think we're taking a real beating on the world stage, and I don't like that one bit.
So sign me up for being biometrically tested! And no worries about THIS ONE DISCUSSION being ok :)
Posted by: Helen at February 11, 2004 09:28 PMAmynah - The guy with the gun needs to get over it. They made me turn my cell phone on to prove it worked. It was just a precaution.
Helen - Legal issues prevent them from testing all Americans (privacy being the chief one), otherwise they'd have gotten everyone's fingerprints as soon as they turned 18 long ago. Non-citizens don't have the same rights. That's true everywhere.
Now if the state of California starts calling America "The Great Satan", having anti-America rallies, and sending suicide bombers to NY, we may have to start testing all Americans. Until then, I think our greatest threat comes from non-Americans.
By the way, thank you for allowing this amount of "political" discussion. I know you said you don't generally allow politics and religion, but thanks for this exception. :)
Posted by: Solomon at February 11, 2004 09:25 PMI had a long-winded, yet highly entertaining, rant in my head when I first read your post this morning. Two staff meetings later my brain is fried, hence that gem of insight is now long-gone.
Basically, racism is shallow and self-defeating. Our life is only as good as the people in it. We only hurt ourselves by dismissing entire races or cultures of people who could profoundly enhance our lives, if we only gave them the chance.
BTW, it's cool that I can still call you little flame. I would never argue with a lady. My backup nickname of Distant Distraction will tucked away just in case. : ) (Sorry this was kinda long-winded anyway)
Posted by: Paul at February 11, 2004 09:00 PMI don't know Helen, I may be from the indian-subcontent and have a muslim name. But my fiancee who is white and in the US military has gotten bags checked and scanned just as much as I have. That it, at least for traveling around in the US. I think since September 11th I fly about 4 to 5 times a year. I have been checked a total of 2 times in 2.5 years. Oh, I might also add that because of my skin tone, I tend to be mistaken for Arab by Arab people even.
Posted by: Amynah at February 11, 2004 08:01 PMSolomon,
That reminded me of something I heard on the radio the other day. It was about a man that was trying to check in a GUN on a plane (for hunting of course). Security wanted it opened and he was all insulted that they questioned whether he had made sure it wasn't loaded and disassembled it properly. At one point, he remarked "It's not like I'm an Arab!" This gentleman also happens to be an aide to a congressman.
Posted by: Amynah at February 11, 2004 07:56 PMBut Solomon-they don't test everybody.
They just test all of those who are not Americans.
If they want to do biometric testing, I say test every last human being who comes through the borders, regardless of passport. That includes those of us with American passports.
Posted by: Helen at February 11, 2004 07:50 PMWhen all terrorists tattoo a big "T" on their forehead, we'll test only them. Until then, we're testing everybody.
(please read this paragraph as humorous as well as poignant) To say testing you is lumping you in with terrorists is analogous to saying auditing Chik-Fil-A (honorable) is lumping them in with Enron (despicable), or a police checking your drivers license is lumping you in with vagrant drivers, or a bank running a credit check on you is lumping you in with people who default on loans, or a dog adoption group.... :)
It's not doing that at all. The government just doesn't know who is honorable and who isn't, so it tests everyone. If they only tested Arabs, there would be an outcry against that. If they had a magic ball that could tell them who was good and who was evil, someone would complain about that too :)
Posted by: Solomon at February 11, 2004 07:41 PMAccording to Webster: xenophobia - "Being unduly afraid of or contemptuous towards foreigners or strangers." The key word in all this is "unduly".
Now, at what time does undue fear become due? After 1 building? After 2? After a nuclear bomb? After biological warfare?
Before 9/11 I didn't give a 2nd thought to a middle easterner on a plane with me (hence I'm not xenophobic of middle easterners); now I have 2nd thoughts. It'll take time and peace to get over that. Patience is still a virtue.
Is fear of a group undue if a small subset of that group is vowing to harm you in a catastrophic way? Why is it so hard to acknowledge that some fear of Middle Easterners is warranted?
Biometric testing? That's not so bad. I'd prefer not to have it, but it's not like we're asking anyone to check a kidney at the border :)
Posted by: Solomon at February 11, 2004 07:02 PMFor a moment there I was lost and had to look up the word biometry. For me the biometry applies when your prepping to run a marathon or compete in a triathlon. And even though I'm good at ice hockey you won't catch me near a triathlon:-)
Posted by: Roger at February 11, 2004 06:30 PMMmmmmm. David Bowie.
Just doing a drive by spanking. *!spank!* You like that, don't you? hee. (check zee email)
xxx
Posted by: Sarah at February 11, 2004 06:26 PMOne of my closest friends, a white woman, has a child by a black man she met in Belize. The woman is now partnered with a black woman, and it it is just hilarious to watch people react to this mixed-race lesbian couple with a gorgeous brown baby. You can see the questions race across their confused faces (sperm? whose? how? sex change?) even while they fall in love with the child, who has the best smile I've ever seen.
"It is understandable to be ignorant. It is inexcusable to remain ignorant."--David Bowie, ladies and gentleman (married to maybe the most beautiful black woman of all time)
Posted by: Kaetchen at February 11, 2004 06:19 PMWell Helen, I'm sure they just want to use the biometric data for antropological reseach reasons ;)
NOT!!
Apparently it is supposed to make me feel safer - it doesn't. It is branding me a potential terrorist. It is lumping me in with people who strap explosives to their chests before going out to a restaurant or using public transport.
I am prepared to make a deal with the US authorities - I will travel to the US and submit to biometric humiliation, and you can supply me with a bulletproof jacket to protect me from your gun-toting populous ... according to a recent survey, the third most potent terrorist force in the world after Al-Qu'eda and Hamas is 'Assorted Extremists - United States' ... to quote:
'For all Bush's breast-bashing about Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein, the most consistant terrorist threat to America over the last 25 years has been - Americans! Of all the incidents classified by the FBI as terrorist attacks since 1980, three-quarters are homegrown ...'
So maybe I shouldn't complain about the collection of my biometric data as it will allow them to identify my remains ...
Posted by: Best Friend at February 11, 2004 06:16 PMGareth-bravo. Your last paragraph nailed it.
Posted by: Helen at February 11, 2004 05:42 PM"...I remember in Turkey, talking to a Muslim man while the Islamic prayer call came out over the loudspeaker, and he told me that the Koran was a matter of interpretation, that some people interpreted doctrines and hate where others interpreted guidelines and love..."
For me, this is the crux of the issue. Just like people with particular agendas will twist the teachings of a religion to suit their ends, so others will twist the perception of a religion or culture to suit theirs.
It just seems to me that there always has to be something the media are constantly trying to teach us to be scared of. For years it was communists (in the US at any rate), but then the iron curtain fell and so a new demon had to be found instead.
Quoting from this Jim McDermott article:
This kind of tactic was described by Hermann Goering, who said at the Nuremberg trials, "The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country."
In such a way, xenophobia is fed, manifesting itself in racism, bigotry and intolerance.
Posted by: Gareth at February 11, 2004 05:40 PMKylan-you need to send me the link to your blog again.
Roger-I practically orgasm at the thought of attending university again. Not because of wanting to "re-live those wild college days" (which I never had anyway) but because I looooooove to learn!
Ted-that's pretty much my grandmother's reaction when I was born. I am the whitest of all the grandbabies, which is weird, as my sister is the brownest. That lucky bitch...!
Solomon-to me xenophobia breeds the type of fear and mis-understanding that Drew, Amynah, Miguel, and the others have discussed. When a nation insists on biometric data on all visitors, then I have to chalk that up to xenophobia.
Whoops. Think I lit a match too close to the propane tank now.
Posted by: Helen at February 11, 2004 05:37 PMMy bro-in-law married a Chinese lady, and they had a son. When new (Chinese) grandma came to see the baby for the first time, her first words were "Hmpf, looks white."
I laughed my ass off. Nobody else knew how to deal with it.
Posted by: Ted at February 11, 2004 05:07 PM"I just feel we have a lot we can learn from other cultures, whether we approve or not" - ... beeing judgemental about other cultures seems like a bad aproach. At least for me. I tend to identify older people in my family as racist prone. Younger generations are coming up smarter. I hope. And I have a great best friend who is racist. It´s so confusing for me, such a great person, and such an unforgiveble flaw. I don´t tolerate intolerence, makes sense right? Miguel.
Posted by: msd at February 11, 2004 04:46 PMFor my parents it was the Japanese..they never got over Pearl Harbor. It's quite sad to listen to them talk about it.
Ahhh, Helen going back to school has a nice ring to it; it would be like Helen's brain on natural crack.
And besides doing it for you, you would have the papers that would allow you to teach someday.
Posted by: Roger at February 11, 2004 04:17 PMI agree racism is bad, but xenophobia? The definition I read of xenophobia was "Fear of foreigners", and that's the definition I'm commenting on. If there's a broader definition, I'm not addressing that here. Fear can paralyze but it can also protect.
These fears will subside but only after the violence does. Until terrorist attacks and invasions stop, the fear on both sides will remain. Isn't that a healthy fear?
Posted by: Solomon at February 11, 2004 04:16 PMI think it strange that as the human race we seek nothing more then to kill ourselves. Wanna blow up a nuclear bomb in NY and kill alot of people? fine...but don't for a second think that you will not be killing yourself and your love ones and the fallout spreads throughout the world.
When does the shuttle leave for the moon?
Posted by: Drew at February 11, 2004 04:02 PMWell,
Having grown up Muslim, I find that the majority of racism in the world stems from fear. Many people do not comprehend religious fanaticism. Maybe because the religion they learned was much more secular. Maybe it was because they've had a better life and have not depended on the salvation of the after life. But it seems that what appalls people most about Muslims is the fact that they just don't understand the craziness and desperation. My life has been so different than the majority of them that I don’t understand it either most of the time. But I do realize that I can’t understand and therefore I should refrain from judging too harshly.
Well stated. I think it's all a matter of perspective. People like yourself, who have been to foreign lands and been themselves foreigners in a foreign land can understand.
Racism is the same, only worse. It’s just too stupid for words. Unfortunately I know people who are racist and with that exception they are/can be great people. It’s sad, really.
Another friend of mine also blogs -- admittedly normally he is more "vim and vinegar" than regular posting ... but especially in light of your post today, I thought you might be interested in his take on it ... You can check him out at xanga, The Horse You Rode In On -- or THYRIO for short ...
http://www.xanga.com/skin.asp?user=TheHorseYouRode
Meanwhile -- still got a candle going for your visa -- sending you waves of "good energy" -- hope it helps.
Tioraidh!
Ky
Well said, Helen.
Posted by: Jim at February 11, 2004 01:09 PMMy embarassingly racist sister announced to me the other day that she will be doing "indigenous studies" this year at uni. I am so pleased, just maybe she will learn something. While my sister-in-law is said to have scraped the handpaintings off the wall of a cave on the property where I grew up, because she is frightened of land-rights. I am too sickened to climb up and look incase that story is true.
Posted by: nisi at February 11, 2004 12:26 PMI'm not sure about my dad, but my mum is definitely racist.
I find it really difficult to understand how people can be so narrow minded in this day and age, to pre-judge people, based on an ill-conceived perception of what their race might be.
Like I said the other day. She's the one in the red jumper.
Posted by: melanie at February 11, 2004 12:07 PM