The first thing that comes to mind when you hear someone mention Syria nowadays is ISIS or war or something of that nature. A family from Syria just moved into the building next to me about a week ago and its kind of hard to not feel a little racism in the back of my mind. People have been told since they were little kids to not judge a book my its cover, and to get to know someone before you judge them. About two years ago a family from Turkey moved here and I didn't know what to think about them. I now am very close to that family and have even been to Turkey to visit them without the rest of my family. We learned that they like to do a lot of the same activities that my family enjoys. Even though we are from different parts of the world, we are still very similar in a lot of ways. I know that there is a big possibility that this family from Syria could be just like the family from Turkey, but with all of the conflicts and problems in Syria right now, its hard not to be a little stereotypical. I would love to just be able to accept them as if they were any other family moving in on the block and I truly want to do just that.
Its weird how people can be racist and judge others without even thinking about it. I personally did this with the family from Syria and I know it happens all the time. There are still people in America that see people with different skin colors or coverings on their heads and automatically start to judge them. It's sad that this is still happening in this day and age, but people fear what they don't understand. If we just tried a little harder to understand the things that we don't get and not judge people before we have even talked to them, our country would be a whole lot better.
Great Job! I find it great that you, unlike many others, actually admitted that you felt racist thoughts, at some moments, towards the Syrian family. Through accepting the fact that we can be racist it helps us grow to become more tolerant towards others and even though they are Syrian it doesn't mean that they are radical jihad's like the members of ISIS and actually they might not practice Islam at all. Most Syrian families are moving away from Syria because of the horrible things being done to them by ISIS and the Assad regime. Not only that but the country is already war torn and is controlled by both of their oppressor's. It is sad to see what is happening over in Syria and although it may be difficult to not be somewhat stereotypical towards the family just remember that they may be struggling and coping with being forced to move away from their home and they may be going through a very rough time in their lives. Once again, great blog!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Diego, in that its cool you actually admitted to your racist feelings. Because we all probably have them sometimes, even if we don't want them. And the line "people fear what they don't understand" is so simple but effective. Nice post!
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