Labeling Differences: Is it Wrong to Identify People by Their Religion?

One of the issues that I am personally most passionate about is race and "othering," but othering isn't just about casting someone out as different based on their race. Religion is also a hot-button topic that many people have difficulties talking about due to strong differing values and opinions. Senator and potential presidential candidate Lindsey Graham had a few less than kind words to say about president Obama and his recent lack of identifying terrorist group ISIS by a religious affiliation-namely Islamic. According to Travis L. Dixon, who conducted a study on the correlation between race and sentiments towards victims and criminals, African-Americans tend to be overly represented  and stereotyped as perpetrators in the media, whereas Caucasians are more closely portrayed as the "victim." But what about religious groups? Do certain religious groups represent the majority, while other affiliations are overly stereotyped as dangerous, violent, or "terrorist?"

In a recent ABC News article, the South Carolina senator stated that while president Obama loves and is a patriot of the United States, he is failing miserable as president. According to Graham, this is due to Obama's failure to label ISIS as "radical Islamists." Graham goes on to say, "I've never been more worried about my country than I am today in terms of radical Islam, and yes, it is radical Islam."  What was most worrisome about the article was Graham's dubbing all Islamic affiliates as belonging to a country that is trying to convert Christians, Jewish, and even vegetarians (sarcasm noted) into members of the Islamic religion, following with, "they're not going to stop unless somebody stops them."

While the Obama administration has been under similar criticisms recently, they maintain that 'ISIS and other extremist groups represent a perversion of the religion and to call them Islamic would legitimize a false claim.' Leaving the issue of race aside, it is quite interesting that a good number of American citizens are upset by the fact that the president of the United States refuses to stereotype an entire religious groups as Islamic terrorists or "radical Islamists." Stereotyping seems to be a strong component of the media, with images of Muslims in the media being portrayed predominantly in the light of terrorists (see first blog on 'American Sniper'). The increase in the number of attacks on Muslims just goes to show the effect of creating and reinforcing negative images of "radical Islamics" in the media.

This is an interesting photo I happened to come across on Facebook within the past week that sheds light on the fact that we continue to reinforce the idea that Muslims (Islamic faith) are dangerous "terrorists," meanwhile, we are forced to forget the injustices that have been dealt against African-Americans during slavery and the antebellum period through to today. This leads to a pressing question: Who is the real victim?

'No Doubt' President Obama Loves His Country, Says Sen. Lindsey Graham:

http://news.yahoo.com/no-doubt-president-obama-loves-country-says-sen-213801258.html

White Privilege Through the Eyes of a Minority

As an Ethnic Studies Major, one of my favorite topics of discussion has to be the concept of 'white privilege.' Growing up as a multi-racial female in the diverse city of Aurora, Colorado, I must admit that I didn't always acknowledge white privilege as the majority ethnic group where I grew up tended to be of Hispanic descent. But upon moving up to Fort Collins, Colorado to attend Colorado State University, I experienced a culture shock. With 89% of the total Fort Collins population being made up of Caucasian residents (2010 US Census), white privilege becomes a much more visible social construction in the everyday lives of minorities.

Before I go any further, I would like to (hopefully) clearly and respectfully layout what exactly this 'white-privilege' is and why it's so damn important to talk about. Privilege is itself, "a special advantage, immunity, permission, right, or benefit granted to or enjoyed by an individual, class, or caste." (Steele, 2015) In the case of white privilege, this benefiting 'class' is the Caucasian population in the United States.

In the video below, Tim Wise, an anti-racism activist, describes how 'white privilege' first developed and provides contemporary examples of white privilege to bring it into context for those believing that we live in a post-racial society-that is, a society where race no longer affects our everyday lives and social interactions.

 In the context of my own personal experience of living in Fort Collins, the benefits of white privilege are working against me in the very slightest actions of my everyday routine. For example, I cannot walk to class without other (Caucasian) students looking over their shoulders at me as if I were about to mug them. I also can anticipate on a regular basis, that if there is an empty seat next to me on the bus, it will remain empty and fellow (Caucasian) bus riders will stand on the bus rather than taking the available seat next to me due to my skin color. Now, this may sound dramatized and even a bit ridiculous, but the sad fact of the matter is that both of these instances occur in my life on a regular basis. What may be even more sad is the fact that I can't even talk about feeling "othered" and outed as a minority to fellow Caucasian colleagues or co-workers without them asking me to explain exactly how my experiences could be any different than their experiences living in a predominantly white community. Why is this exactly?

According to Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, author of "Racism Without Racists," minimization- the idea that discrimination is no longer a central factor affecting minorities' life chances, is reinforced in our society. This frame of what is known as "color-blind racism" or "racism without racists" accuses minorities of being hypersensitive and using race (playing the race card) as an excuse for their life experiences.

The idea of 'white privilege' is a very difficult concept for many Americans to digest in a contemporary "post-racial" (not really) society. While issues of race may seem to occur to a lesser degree, being multi-racial in a society made to see a very binary: white or non-white identity can be hard. Hopefully I have peaked your interest on the issues of white privilege enough that you would like to look into, and maybe even better educate yourself and others on the issue as well. For more information on being bi-racial in America, a very interesting Huffington Post discussion is posted below, along with Tim Wise's discussion on white privilege, and the Fort Collins census to give a little perspective on being a minority in a largely Caucasian town.

Feel free to leave comments, concerns, suggestions, and questions in the comment section!
Knowledge is Power!

Huffington Post on Being Bi-racial in America:
http://live.huffingtonpost.com/r/archive/segment/524f11e178c90a74fa0002b8?cps=gravity_3541_-1544811536283823882

US Census for City of Fort Collins:

http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=bkmk

Tim Wise on White Privilege:

Is Firing a Woman for Public Breastfeeding Really Gender Discrimination?

According to the US Supreme Court the answer is 'no.' But on what grounds is it sufficient to assume that a woman CAN indeed be fired for breastfeeding at work without it being considered a case of sex discrimination?

Nationwide employee Angela Ames was denied a place to breastfeed at work after returning from maternity leave and upon complaining was forced to resign with the message, "just go home and be with your babies." After taking the case to court on several occasions, finally leading to the Supreme Court, it was ruled that Ames forced resignation was not sex discrimination due to the fact that men can also lactate. The ruling of this case truly sheds a light on the discriminatory workplace policies that do not efficiently accommodate pregnancies or motherhood, which in itself, exposes the sex discrimination and bias against women on a multi-institutional level.

The biggest question raised by this case is: how can the US Supreme Court rule that the case is NOT an act of sex discrimination? A good argument that supports Angela Ames claim for sex discrimination is as follows:

• Schemas-also known as webs of related ideas, characteristics, etc. would suggest that the idea of breastfeeding would (primarily) be connected to ideas of pregnancy, women and motherhood, all of which are ideas connected to the female sex due to the nature of women being pregnant and becoming mothers.
• Although men can indeed lactate, men cannot become pregnant, and are typically thought of as "father" types rather than "mothers" which makes it more difficult to categorize the idea of "breastfeeding" with "males. 

Women who are also mothers are largely stereotyped, or widely culturally idealized or believed, as staying at home and taking care of families. Because of stereotype of mothers, the comment made by Ames then boss to "go home and be with your babies," can be directly attributed to the stereotypical, patriarchal idea that it is a woman's duty to stay and home and take care of the house work and family which can clearly be labeled prejudice against women that cause them to be labeled inferior to males in the workplace, and society as a whole.

Feel free to leave your comments, thoughts, opinions, or questions on this case in the comment section and check out the latest article on this case if interested in hearing more:
https://www.yahoo.com/parenting/court-rules-firing-mother-for-breastfeeding-isnt-110548718077.html

'American Sniper' Film Incites Verbal and Physical Acts of Violence Against Muslims

Since its release, American Sniper (2014) has been at the center of controversy throughout the United States. Responses to the film range from full-fledged support and enthusiasm to criticisms over the film being an anti-Muslim, pro-war propaganda film. Several tweets with anti-Muslim sentiment have been taking over Twitter and raising the question: is American Sniper influencing thoughts of violence and hatred towards Muslims in the United States?

            One of the biggest problems with American Sniper, according to both Muslim and non-Muslim critics, is that there is a negative representation of Muslims and Arabs portrayed in the film. The images of Muslims and Arabs in the film are reconstructed in such a light that is inaccurately portraying the Muslim population as a whole. Instead, the representations mold Muslims in the image of the “terrorist,” a largely misconstrued image associated with the Muslim faith, especially since the attack on the Twin Towers on 9/11. Just as the attack represented an attack on the country and what it means to be “American” in the most nationalistic sense, Muslims have easily been transformed into the anti-American villain in the film and country alike.

            In a country where patriotism and militarism is glorified-quite possibly to an unhealthy, unreasonable extent, it is important to shed light on the ideology-or normalized ideas, attitudes, and negative behaviors that are being presented in the film to better unravel just what it means to be an “American” in this country. Being a country built on the principles of imperialism and manifest destiny-the idea that Europeans have the God-given right to control any land and any peoples that they choose out of birth-right, it seems that even in contemporary America, there is a sense of superiority that causes inferiority to be portrayed on all those that don’t feel the phenotypic “American” model. What does it mean to be an American? Is it a fair complexion that allows one to call his or herself an American? Is it blonde hair and blue eyes? Can a person of the Muslim faith that was born and raised in this very country be deemed an “American” citizen? This very question foreshadows a very serious problem in the United States.

            Following a viewing of the film, one Twitter user posted, “American Sniper makes me wanna go shoot some fuckin Arabs.” As much the comment provokes a sense of outrage, comments such as the one above are not uncommon in response to the American Sniper film. An underlying hegemonic idea that imitates the dominant culture is being presented through these negative, hateful responses. Reiterating the idea of anti-Muslim sentiments following 9/11, it seems almost a culture-norm to see Muslims as violent, non-human aggressors which is, in turn, leading to acceptable threats of violence against them. This idea causes a very “us versus them” approach, rendering a very binary, black-and-white response to the film as either posting threats and slurs such as “sand nigger” toward Muslims or being completely outraged by the negative ideology that seems to be promoted by the film: the idea that Muslims are the ultimate threat and enemy to Americans.

            Although this is a difficult issue that needs to be addressed, the idea of non-human, animalistic, dangerous Muslims is deep-seeded into the American psyche. By exposing some of these acts of aggression and hatred, there is hope that consciousness can be raised on the treatment of Muslims in order to change such negative ideology against them.

Below are posts from Twitter that shown discrimination, hatred, and threats of violence towards Muslims in the US, followed by a tweet posted by a Muslim woman to hopefully put these acts into perspective. A link to an article about the tweets (where the pictures were obtained) is also posted below.

http://www.ifyouonlynews.com/racism/the-disgusting-tweets-inspired-by-the-propaganda-film-american-sniper-screenshots/