Why Stereotypes Are Bad and What We Can Do About Them
My cousin is an Arab.
Well, that is not literally true, but I bet that it got your attention. What is literally true is that Jews and Arabs share many of the same roots, both cultually and genetically. Both are Semetic peoples and if you accept the Bible, both are descended from the Patriarch Abraham. But there is another element that we have in common. Both are victims of stereotyping.
I watched author Jack Shaheen speak today and he makes many good points. He has writtem several boks on the stereotyping of Arabs in the movies and on TV.
Stereotyping may not be evil in itself. But it leads to de-personalization (looking at a group as a "thing" rather than a collection of individuals, all unique,) which can be a step on the road to demonization, then to hatred. Hate crimes are rationalized because, in the eyes of the commiter, they aren't crimes against people, but against "things." The victim has been stripped of individual identity and made into part of a thing. At the extreme, look at the numerical tattoos of the victims of concentration camps.
The way to counteract this is to rehumanize the individual members of the group in the public eye. Are you familiar with Shylock's speech from Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice? It asserts the basic humanity of the Jew in a time when Jews were largely made out to be demons. See http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/7221/Jewbleed.htm
Today, Western society does much the same thing thing to Arabs. They are only portrayed as villians and terrorists in modern times. Bad idea! first of all, it is stereotyping, untrue and dehumanizing. It leads to hate crimes against the innocent and resentment from the victims. But secondly, and perhaps most importantly, Western TV shows and movies are seen around the world. Arabs have got to look at these and think "They all hate us." If I was a recruiter for Hamas, I would show my young pupils "Hidalgo." All the Arabs in that movie are bad guys and many are killed by the hero. I would then point out that Michael Eisner, head of Disney, is Jewish and say "See what they want to do to us?"
But the media is NOT representative of society as a whole. Since I singled out Michael Eisner as being Jewish, let me add that he does not represent the Jewish community. The organization that I belong to and where I teach Sunday school, for example, reguarly hosts sessions to promote communications between Jewish and Arab groups.
So, what's the solution? How about a TV show that is based on the actual lives of Arab-Americans? I pulled some facts from the Detroit Free Press. There are about 3 million Arab Americans, with about 1/3 concentrated in Michigan, New York and California. Most Arab Americans are not Muslim, but are Christian. (Did that shock you?) In some areas, depending on the pattern of immigration, the majority are Muslim. Language varies, but speaking Arabic in addition to English is common. In 1996, most Arab Americans supported Bill Clinton. Today, according to a recent New York Times article, most Arab Americans support President Bush. Prominent Arab Americans today include U.S. Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, D-Maine; Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham; former secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala; former New Hampshire governor and White House chief of staff John Sununu, and presidential candidate Ralph Nader. Source: http://www.freep.com/jobspage/arabs/ See also http://www.allied-media.com/Arab-American/arab%20americans_rise_in_influence.htm
So, how about a TV show about a young Arab-American woman living in the Detroit area (maybe Dearborn?), working at an automotive company? Lets have her be Muslim (for the sake of ratings) but she chooses not to wear a chador. Except for when she goes to Mosque or for family events. There can be an episode involving a discussion of hijab (modesty.) She is very involved with her family, which can be typically TV "wacky." An over-protective father and a wise and caring mother. Just like every other TV family that we have ever seen. Maybe add a brother, who is off serving his country in Iraq. They shop at local stores and eat "American" food in addition to their ethnic fare. (American food being defined as ethnic food, one generation removed. Like Hambugers, Frankfurters and Pizza.) The family is concerned over relatives in the Middle-East and faces prejudice. But the family is making it in America. Like every other group that has come to America, they have to overcome obstacles, but eventually add their particular spice to the melting pot.
I would watch it. Well, at least check it out. But boy, I would love to see this being shown around the world. Propaganda? You betcha! Is it an accurate portrayal? I would say that it is more true than not. Despite problems, statistically the lot of a Moslem Arab living in the US is FAR better than the average for someone of the same background living in Palestine. Please see http://www.aaiusa.org/demographics.htm to verify that for yourself. But let me quote some highlights:
1) Median income for Arab American households in 1999 was $47,000 compared with $42,000 for all households in the United States. Close to 30% of Americans of Arab heritage have an annual household income of more than $75,000, while 22% of all Americans reported the same level of income. Mean income measured at 8% higher than that national average of $56,644.
2) Similar to the national average, about 64 percent of Arab American adults are in the labor force; with 5 percent unemployed. Seventy three percent of working Arab Americans are employed in managerial, professional, technical, sales or administrative fields.
3) Arab Americans with at least a high school diploma number 85 percent. More than four out of ten Americans of Arab decent have a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 24% of Americans at large.
That is the truth. Why not let the truth set us free?
(If anyone knows a TV or movie producer who likes this idea, remember I said it first!)