"Are you dodging bullets?"
"How do you manage to escape from the bombs?"
"You'd better be careful! Aren't they kidnapping Americans?"
"Why would you want to live there? It's not very safe."
"How do you manage to escape from the bombs?"
"You'd better be careful! Aren't they kidnapping Americans?"
"Why would you want to live there? It's not very safe."
These are some of the questions that I have been asked before and after moving to the United Arab Emirates, which is located in the gulf region of the middle east, to teach 2nd grade at an international school. In all honesty, I have to admit that I had been approached about teaching in the middle east on several occasions in the past and refused to even entertain the idea due to fear. Fortunately, I talked to people who had either visited this part of the world, or knew someone who lived here and changed my mind. Fact: there are countries in the middle east that are safer to live and work in (for Americans) than many U.S. cities!
Using fear to control the hearts and minds of the American people, the U.S. media perpetuates this stereotype by only showing news coverage that focuses on the war torn countries in the middle east; thereby painting a negative image of the whole region. The U.S. has several cities which have very high crime rates and are dangerous; however, to say that the whole country is violent and unsafe in extremely erroneous! The same is true of the middle east. I have lived in the Emirates for almost one year and can say that is a lot safer here than, Los Angeles, my hometown.
Unfortunately, since September 11th, when the words Arabs and middle east are mentioned, it conjures up images of Muslim extremists declaring Jihad or a Holy War and blowing up both themselves and the "infidels" in order to find favor with Allah and obtain their 70 virgins in the afterlife. Living in Los Angeles, I, too, lived in a constant state of fear after the 9/11 attacks. Each day I was told to be vigilant and remain on guard for possible terrorist attacks. My anxiety was heightened by the various stages of alerts that the U.S. government informed us we should be aware of on a daily basis: yellow, red, orange...
Are there religious Muslim extremists hell bent on waging war and destroying America, and its citizens???? Absolutely!! However, contrary to popular belief, the average everyday Muslims that I've encountered have informed me that, although they do not care for the current political administration, they like Americans, in general, and wish us no harm. They have also informed me that they hate the way the media portrays all Muslims as terrorists. Extremists come in many varieties and religions: remember the Oklahoma City bombings?? Waco, Texas?? Americans were responsible for those acts of terrorism.
Understanding their point, I shared my feelings about the negative way that many African Americans are portrayed in the media as well. Although there are many blacks in the U.S. who do, in fact, commit violent and heinous crimes, that is not representative of every single one. However, when watching the news, the majority of the coverage about African Americans is negative. Likewise, although most Americans are law abiding and decent citizens, the images that are shown all over the world are of us going ballistic, rampaging across college campuses on mass killing sprees, then blowing our brains out afterwards. How many times have we either used or heard the expression: "Don't make me snap and go postal on your ass."
While it is important to keep informed about world events, and to be concerned and aware of the possible threat of terrorism - both at home an abroad - we need to be vigilant in discerning fact from fiction, and not allowing ourselves to be biased towards a whole group of individuals based upon the actions of a few insane extremists.
Using fear to control the hearts and minds of the American people, the U.S. media perpetuates this stereotype by only showing news coverage that focuses on the war torn countries in the middle east; thereby painting a negative image of the whole region. The U.S. has several cities which have very high crime rates and are dangerous; however, to say that the whole country is violent and unsafe in extremely erroneous! The same is true of the middle east. I have lived in the Emirates for almost one year and can say that is a lot safer here than, Los Angeles, my hometown.
Unfortunately, since September 11th, when the words Arabs and middle east are mentioned, it conjures up images of Muslim extremists declaring Jihad or a Holy War and blowing up both themselves and the "infidels" in order to find favor with Allah and obtain their 70 virgins in the afterlife. Living in Los Angeles, I, too, lived in a constant state of fear after the 9/11 attacks. Each day I was told to be vigilant and remain on guard for possible terrorist attacks. My anxiety was heightened by the various stages of alerts that the U.S. government informed us we should be aware of on a daily basis: yellow, red, orange...
Are there religious Muslim extremists hell bent on waging war and destroying America, and its citizens???? Absolutely!! However, contrary to popular belief, the average everyday Muslims that I've encountered have informed me that, although they do not care for the current political administration, they like Americans, in general, and wish us no harm. They have also informed me that they hate the way the media portrays all Muslims as terrorists. Extremists come in many varieties and religions: remember the Oklahoma City bombings?? Waco, Texas?? Americans were responsible for those acts of terrorism.
Understanding their point, I shared my feelings about the negative way that many African Americans are portrayed in the media as well. Although there are many blacks in the U.S. who do, in fact, commit violent and heinous crimes, that is not representative of every single one. However, when watching the news, the majority of the coverage about African Americans is negative. Likewise, although most Americans are law abiding and decent citizens, the images that are shown all over the world are of us going ballistic, rampaging across college campuses on mass killing sprees, then blowing our brains out afterwards. How many times have we either used or heard the expression: "Don't make me snap and go postal on your ass."
While it is important to keep informed about world events, and to be concerned and aware of the possible threat of terrorism - both at home an abroad - we need to be vigilant in discerning fact from fiction, and not allowing ourselves to be biased towards a whole group of individuals based upon the actions of a few insane extremists.
2 comments:
Regina, should have told you long ago...this blog is great, why dont you write a book...Virginia
Thanks for the compliment Virginia. Maybe one day I will :-)
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