I've been thinking quite a bit about my last post.
Something is gnawing at my soul. I don't want to believe that I've fallen prey to prejudice. But I have.
Last week on the train (see previous post) I jumped immediately to the conclusion that the flustered fellow on my right, a man of middle-eastern extraction, was a suicide bomber.
Would I have felt the same way if it were an european or asian? No.
Damn you media! Washington fear-mongers and the like. More and more I feel sucked into it. The recent Fort Dix episode scared me. New Jersey? Who knew?
Whats worse the gentle cleansing of our brains here in suburbia, or feeling smothered with hatred in the city?
In any event, I apologize; especially to you MEBM, wherever you are.
3 comments:
I love self-realizations, Angela! Fear has a way of worming itself into our brains, and making us think crazy. We live in a time where we are aware of our vulnerability, and that makes everyone suspect. It's sad, but it's true. My daugher has an Arabic first name, we gave it to her as a blessing. You can see from her picture that she looks anything but Middle Eastern, yet she NEVER fails to get stopped at airports for further screening. I know it's because of the name. I respect you for realizing that you were probably overreacting, due to the fact that your day was already askew.
Weren't his actions sort of unusual? These so called predjudices are not intended to incriminate innocent people but to serve as red flags. Alerts. Just as we, as the weaker sex would be less wary of an elderly women walking toward us on a darkened alley than a man of any age, we are programmed by nature to operate in the interest of self preservation. You'd have to be somewhat simple minded not to make a mental note of a what constitutes suspiscious looking characters based upon demographics and behaviors, when we are under attack and will continue to be under attack by specific groups who generally have a certain features/ ethnic backgrounds.
Take it easy on yourself. you weren;t uyse to being around all those people anyway. That
s why they call it Intelligence...kinda hit or miss anyhoot. I feel bad for the ones who feel and actually are descriminated against.
yeah, he was unusual alright. I hate the tunnels.
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