People form stereotypes based on various reasons, some of them being events containing specific circumstances or coincidences, outright prejudice, and sometimes without any reason whatsoever. Many of these stereotypes become adopted by society and in turn are integrated in media and portrayed as common knowledge and that thinking and acting based on these stereotypes is normal. However, stereotypes are not factual and the people that are targeted by them are affected more than you would think. This image, pictures a man being seen of as having relations or being apart of Al Qaeda, a terrorist Saddam Husane, terrorism, 9/11, as well as being a suspect just because he is Muslim. This picture is a perfect reflection of a typical stereotype that has been adopted as well as adopted by the media against Muslims, simply because certain terrorists that had involvement in 9/11 were Muslim. Due to the fact that Al Qaeda was formed with a group of Muslims, doesn't mean that all Muslims around the world are in fact affiliated with Al Qaeda or terrorist acts.
Directly after the events of 9/11, the United States Government placed restrictions on flying and increased security in airports. Even though searches weren't executed on every single passenger, those of Muslim appearance or any sign of the Middle Eastern culture were immediately searched. Going beyond the routine search of being patted down, several of the Middle Eastern passengers were interrogated by federal government security officers based on appearance. In an article by forbes.com, author Scheneier describes a story "an elderly couple being given the twice-over by the TSA, pointed out how these two were obviously not a threat, and recommended that the TSA focus on the actual threat: “Muslims, or anyone who looks like he or she could conceivably be Muslim.”
Not only did this stereotype affect the passengers being questioned, but it raised more concern and fear among the passengers having to ride with these people, once they were cleared to fly. I experienced this stereotype first hand when I flew to Africa in 2008, even seven years after 9/11 occurred. As a family of Middle Eastern people with two small children were approaching the boarding terminal, they were patted down and detained about five minutes later than my family an d I. When we saw them on the plane, finally they looked upset and one of the children with the family was crying. Just because they were of Middle Eastern culture meant that they had to be treated differently than everyone else at the airport that wasn't of their race? This broke my heart. If we are truly a country of freedom and equality, than even under certain events and conditions everyone, should be treated differently, stereotyped or not.
If feelings of prejudice are being carried out and passed off as accepted by society in places such as airports, these feelings will not only continue, but possibly increase. If searches are to be being performed at airports, the passengers selected should either be random, or if they are chosen, they should be given a reason. In this way, prejudice at airports can hopefully be lessened and Muslim passengers can feel equal respect as any other passengers traveling.
No comments:
Post a Comment