Hiding in the Backwaters Just one more blog on the net.

I never thought of it that way.

One of the reasons I'm enjoying my diversity class: it's making me see things that would never have occured to me in my white, middle class world.

Latin women pray "in Spanish to an Anglo God/with a Jewish heritage," and they are "ferverntly hoping/that if not omnipotent,/at least He be bilingual." (Cofer, 2004, p. 364)

The Broken Record

The conclusive objection to the political enfranchisement of women is, that it would weaken and finally break up and destroy the Christian family. The social unit is the family, not the individual; and the greatest danger to American society is, that we are rapidly becoming a nation of isolated individuals, without family ties or affections. The family has already been much weakened, and is fast disappearing. ...and when the family goes, the nation goes too, or ceases to be worth preserving.

Orestes A. Brownson, Catholic World, May 1869 (Rothenberg, p. 462)

Passing: Chapters 2,3

Chapter two tells the story of a white woman in Essex County Virginia where school integration did not occur until seventeen years after Brown v. Board of Education and seven years after the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Our leading lady is a school teacher who considered her self color-blind. Her boyfriend is adopted and unsure of his parentage, but is "noticeably dark-complexioned," and she spends most of her time in the company of the black people in her community.

Her moment of truth came when she was asked to serve as master of ceremonies for a charity fashion show. She was delighted to accept. Occasionally asked to attend planning meetings, she came to realize that all the women involved in planning were black and that the organization was all black. No big deal. She was used to being the only white woman in a room. The problem came when it became clear the other women assumed that she, too, was black. After wrestling with her dilemma she decided it was best to be honest and let the ladies know they were mistaken.

The encounter made her desperately uncomfortable. ... "I'm emabarrassed to say that I think it [the discomfort] was because somebody thought I was black. At that time. In my life." (Kroeger, pp.61, 63)

Really? I'd be interested to hear how she came to that conclusion. It seems to me that is the standard conclusion. "I was in a really uncomfortable situation with a person of color. I must be racist." I'm sorry, but this presumption of racist guilt bugs. Wouldn't any person, even absent issues of color, be uncomfortable informing an organization they had be offered a position of honor under false pretenses? Weren't the racist people the black ladies who assumed she must be black because no white woman would be so involved with and so helpful to their community? Granted, not an unreasonable assumption to make in that time and place, but painting anyone the villain in this scenario seems ridiculous to me.

I recently read in one of my many other readings the statement that black people cannot be racist, the presumption being that to be racist you must be in a position of power. If I can find the reference, I'll update the post, but frankly I think that's horseshit. What a great way to define racism so you don't have to examine your own prejudices. Chapter three tells the story of a Hispanic woman who was a model student by day and hung out on the streets with dropouts who smoked weed, drank too much alcohol, dealt drugs and illegal weapons. "If my friends found out I was a goody two-shoes at school and at home, I would've been beaten and left on the curb" (Kroeger, p.82). She would have been beaten for the sin of being too white. The man she finally married and settled down with was, like her, "deeply engaged with the world of ideas, but [did] not have a college degree" (Kroeger, p.87). One of the things she enjoyed most about him was being able to have intelligent discussions without either of them accusing the other of sounding white (p.87). But minorities cannot be racist...

Personal Prejudice?

Muslim attitudes and beliefs are at the top of many people's minds these days. Some spend their days fearing a terrorist attack. Others, including me, are just trying to get a handle on a culture that seems completely foreign to our way of thinking. Recently an article appeared in the International Herald Tribune titled "Murder of a Muslim prompts anti-immigration feelings in Italy." After reading about the 20 year old Pakistani woman found buried in the family garden with her throat slit, with her father, uncle and brother-in-law in custody as suspects, my reaction was, "Oy. There they go again." Probably not the most culturally sensitive response, but it does, in fact, get worse.

The Muslim community here, which has universally condemned the murder, strongly resents the allegations that Hina was killed as a result of her family's religious beliefs.

"For us, murder is a sin, not only a crime," said Mahmood Tariq, the director of the Muhammadiah Islamic Cultural Association in Brescia (Povoledo, 2006, ¶7-8).

My cynical, "Uh huh. Sure," response to Mahmood's statement brought me up short. How could I assume one murderous act is representative of Islam as a whole? Perhaps such a cynical view of Islam is a natural consequence of constant media coverage of the rising violence in Iraq, public execution of minors in Iran, successful and thwarted terrorist attacks in Europe, Muslim youth in the streets of New York openly praising terrorism and, most recently, a bit on the evening news about suicide bomber recruitment drives. Nevertheless, why is the possibility that these acts are, in fact, the doings of extreme radical elements of Islam that have little to do with the average Muslim so far removed from the public consciousness ? Is there no Western analogy to such groups? Obviously, there are. What about the former Presbyterian minister who showed no remorse for gunning down a physician who performed abortions and his bodyguard? "Much of the joy I felt after shooting the abortionist, and still feel today, is the joy of having freely obeyed Christ after long being enslaved to fearful obedience to men"(Hill, 1997, ¶45). Did anyone at any time condemn the Presbyterian religion for the acts of this one man? Indeed radical Christian fundamentalists have been waging a terrorist campaign against abortion clinics for the last twenty years ("Violence," 2004). When was the last time you were nervous your new Christian neighbor might be a terrorist?

The prejudice that Muslims are violent and unpredictable fosters an environment of fear where dialog and understanding are impossible much less trust. Those affected by this prejudice are on both sides of the issue. Italians fear for their safety, and growing resentment only serves to further ostracize and alienate Muslim immigrants. For their part Pakistanis and other Muslim immigrants fear wider reprisals and increased discrimination. There is also growing sense of bitterness that they are regarded as alien. "People used to be more tolerant; they used to be less allergic to seeing someone from a different race... Now people don't want to see us outside the factory... They just want us to produce" (Povoledo, 2006, ¶20-22).

The media has already been counted among those who contribute to a distorted view of Islam. One cannot discount opportunistic politicians who seize on such tragic events to further their own political agenda. As nice as it would be to lay the blame elsewhere, human groups, whether large like a society or small like a gang, tend to demonize "the other." We must all take a second look within at our own socialized responses, responses like mine, and determine whether we are helping to maintain prejudices or dismantle them.

I cannot think of any practicing Muslims I have had the chance to meet much less get to know. I believe that were I to have that opportunity I would not allow my prejudices to interfere with getting acquainted with that individual. I also believe that it would have to be a conscious effort on my part.

While this sociodrama has played out in Italy, I do not think the issues are unique to Italy. Such a scenario could play out anywhere in the western world, including here in the U.S. and Utah.