the other day i heard a news anchor say that president obama is "extending a hand to the muslim world..."
i just want to inform the news anchor, the president, and the rest of the country who doesn't know already---muslims live in this country. they live all over the world. there is not really a muslim world. muslims, like all people, live in this world. i know i am picky about semantics, but come on.
what does this statement mean then? what does it imply?
to me, it implies that muslims are not here. they are there. they meaning, muslims are not among us. they are not the normal, not really a true part of this country. there meaning muslims are in other countries; countries that we can choose to have a relationship with or choose otherwise.
it seems like people from the u.s. fear muslims. for example, there was an uproar and media frenzy when there was false information circulating about the president being muslim. it was an accusation. it was reason not to vote for him. it was controversial. all out of fear, and quite possibly hatred.
fear that muslims are out to destroy the country. fear that muslims are terrorists. the fear and assumption that muslims cannot (and should not) lead this country. fear around the potential of a muslim leading the country. fear that allah is something/someone different than god. might i suggest, fear of upsetting the status quo.
it's not wrong to be muslim. it's not a crime. muslims as a whole are not terrorists. muslims as a whole are not fanatics. islam is not a religion based on hate, or war, or revenge.
these fears and assumptions have stacked one on the other, making it impossible for muslims to be seen as people in this country. muslims are stuck under the thickness and weight of such fears. instead of being of a peaceful religion, muslims are described as being in their own world. that's a ple i would like to change as i am an american muslim woman and i live right here.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Thursday, January 8, 2009
words with meaning
i am amazed by the numerous meanings and contexts of words. with intention or not, words and phrases can be taken as harmful, oppressive, and bias.
like today...i said that i was the master quilter. not really harmful in and of itself. however, i was talking about leading a group of people who would quilt under my direction. calling myself the "master" quilter was reminiscent of times of slavery with masters and their slave workers. wow. that's not what i meant at all, but it is a meaning that could definitely be understood in that moment. and i have to own that.
now that someone else pointed it out, i feel a bit sheepish. that, however, i can live with. in the future (which starts right this second), i will need to be more aware of that term as well as to other relational/hierarchical terms that i may use in harmful manners. slavery is not okay in my book, and it is important to me that my language is consistent with my beliefs. this is my overarching reason for seeking to use inclusive language. it is important to me for my beliefs and actions to align and demonstrate consistency.
we all mess up. we all need to be okay with messing up and being messy in general. social justice is a tough thing to work on/toward. it is messy and that is a fact. every day is a journey. i need to remember that as much as the next person...especially when i am feeling a bit sheepish.
like today...i said that i was the master quilter. not really harmful in and of itself. however, i was talking about leading a group of people who would quilt under my direction. calling myself the "master" quilter was reminiscent of times of slavery with masters and their slave workers. wow. that's not what i meant at all, but it is a meaning that could definitely be understood in that moment. and i have to own that.
now that someone else pointed it out, i feel a bit sheepish. that, however, i can live with. in the future (which starts right this second), i will need to be more aware of that term as well as to other relational/hierarchical terms that i may use in harmful manners. slavery is not okay in my book, and it is important to me that my language is consistent with my beliefs. this is my overarching reason for seeking to use inclusive language. it is important to me for my beliefs and actions to align and demonstrate consistency.
we all mess up. we all need to be okay with messing up and being messy in general. social justice is a tough thing to work on/toward. it is messy and that is a fact. every day is a journey. i need to remember that as much as the next person...especially when i am feeling a bit sheepish.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
what is privilege?
simply put, privilege is when one person/group has unfair advantage due to opportunities available only to that person/group. people can have privilege because of laws that are passed (or still on the books), bias presented in news stories, hiring practices, personal cultural capital, and countless other ways. power is having (either personally or through group affiliation) privilege through ideological control, control of resources in society, ability to determine "normal," "real," and "correct," and the imposition of culture onto other groups. typically, when we have power and/or privilege, we are blind to it.
it is easy to see what we don't have and quite difficult to see what we do and how we got it. we have to re-train our brains, our biology and psychology to acknowledge our privilege, as well as the effects of our privilege. from a young age, we are taught to ignore differences and believe in equality. with such teachings, we successfully ignore advantage because we have been told too often it does not exist. we only notice this advantage when we do not have it or when we use it to taunt others.
i am reminded of the "survival of the fittest" theory...biologically, any advantage we have as humans will help us survive. that is biologically though, not socially. advantage given to us socially does not mean we are biologically fittest. social advantage is based on choice and hierarchy. the choice to exault one group over another. the choice to advantage some and simultaneously disadvantage others. biologically, we have all survived. socially, we have not accepted this survival as the biological sign that we all should be here--equally.
i am tired of hearing privilege is having a job or that a person should feel privileged to have a job. unless the job was given based on unfair hiring practices...for instance, if a job was never posted and the owner of the company is having dinner with friends, the friends mention their child doesn't have a job, and the owner agrees to hire this person because their families have been friends so long. something like that is privilege. where people who were qualified for the job didn't even get the opportunity to apply for such a position. instead, a person's social capital granted them this job unfairly. in this case, having this job is an example of privilege. not a privilege as in it's an honor.
i am tired of hearing examples like this because the fundamental definition is different. when you use an example under a different definition yet apply it to the original situation, you are just creating chaos. in the messiness of such chaos, it is easy to dismiss having privilege.
changing the definition of privilege to avoid acknowledging you have it is just a perfectly logical explanation (ple) and more specifically, an excuse. this ple is like an ostrich who just sticks its head in the sand--it doesn't work and it doesn't take away reality. end of story.
it is easy to see what we don't have and quite difficult to see what we do and how we got it. we have to re-train our brains, our biology and psychology to acknowledge our privilege, as well as the effects of our privilege. from a young age, we are taught to ignore differences and believe in equality. with such teachings, we successfully ignore advantage because we have been told too often it does not exist. we only notice this advantage when we do not have it or when we use it to taunt others.
i am reminded of the "survival of the fittest" theory...biologically, any advantage we have as humans will help us survive. that is biologically though, not socially. advantage given to us socially does not mean we are biologically fittest. social advantage is based on choice and hierarchy. the choice to exault one group over another. the choice to advantage some and simultaneously disadvantage others. biologically, we have all survived. socially, we have not accepted this survival as the biological sign that we all should be here--equally.
i am tired of hearing privilege is having a job or that a person should feel privileged to have a job. unless the job was given based on unfair hiring practices...for instance, if a job was never posted and the owner of the company is having dinner with friends, the friends mention their child doesn't have a job, and the owner agrees to hire this person because their families have been friends so long. something like that is privilege. where people who were qualified for the job didn't even get the opportunity to apply for such a position. instead, a person's social capital granted them this job unfairly. in this case, having this job is an example of privilege. not a privilege as in it's an honor.
i am tired of hearing examples like this because the fundamental definition is different. when you use an example under a different definition yet apply it to the original situation, you are just creating chaos. in the messiness of such chaos, it is easy to dismiss having privilege.
changing the definition of privilege to avoid acknowledging you have it is just a perfectly logical explanation (ple) and more specifically, an excuse. this ple is like an ostrich who just sticks its head in the sand--it doesn't work and it doesn't take away reality. end of story.
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