Hana Tajima

Its too sad that nowadays, the trend is that people are afraid to talk about religion or freely admit that they do want to follow religion properly. It is seen as something that one celebrates in a cultural and commercial sense( i.e christmas) but nothing more. Too often we see, rampant in the pop culture phenomenon today, eschewing of anything related to religion. The media does an excellent job of connoting anything connected to religion as indoctrination, rigidity, backwardness and narrowmindedness. So it is rather to refreshing to see a drop dead gorgeous beauty like Hana Tajima, a revert to Islam, put us muslims to shame by showing everyone you can be muslim and not affix yourself into the neat grave of stagnation and stereotype the media and the suspicious world has prepared for us. Truly an inspiration, she makes me think that I can be a good muslim AND be fashionable if I am strong and true like her.

Stereotypes: a misnomer

The trouble with stereotypes is that they leave no room for interpretation and zeroes in on one particular feature of that race to the exclusion of all other traits.

I think when stereotypes become extreme to the extent that people act out on them it becomes racism. There is really a fine line between stereotyping and racism.

Take for example Arabs. Arabs are generally seen as barbaric, uncultured, crude, rude,arrogant,snobbish,aggressive,narcissistic, horny and not that endowed in the hygiene department. I myself am guilty of this culturally demeaning form of typecasting...Whenever i see an Arab id wrinkle my nose to hold my breath( the BO is intoxicatingly horrible)and id avoid Arab guys like Im being paid a million bucks to win a race. So far ive been hit on by sleazy Arab guys and been talked rudely to by the same.
They tend to be arrogant too with the false belief that they are superior to the Asiatic race because of their white skin colour and Arab lineage which was the cradle of Islamic Civilization.

But sometimes things and people happen. And when i mean happen they hit you like a red ominibus on a deserted highway. I made friends with this Arab girl called Medina and she was the opposite of everything i held Arabs to be. She was as gentle as the personification of the Arab psyche was not. She was kind, had clear eyes...the kind that shot right through your soul and identified whether you were kindred spirits or not in an instant. She was a perfect lady, modest,unassuming and friendly.

And take for example, White people. Most Asians are subconciously or conciously in awe of their previous colonial masters. Who were almost demi-gods with their white, fair skin, freckles, blond hair and coloured eyes and of course unbridled power that brought the whole world to its knees. So the result is that you see Asian girls( anyone not white) throwing themselves at these white guys in what they see as a move towards the perfect coupling. You see them dressing sluttily and clinging onto the white tourists looking for a casual fling like lost puppies. You hear of them engaging in lewd sex acts to please the modern white male. Why all this? It all boils down to stereotypes...again.

It took the Black Americans years to fight for their equality. To break the mold of stereotype cast by physical overtures that bespoke of their inferior status( in white peoples' eyes): their black skin was associated with ugliness and lowliness, their wide spaced eyes and wide flat noses were considered a derivation of the ape race. They were seen as slaves with little or no intellect at all and driven to lose their humanity through inhumane methods of labour.

Because you see, stereotypes are the result of ignorance of another's culture and values. What the western world sees as good or noble may not be seen as such in say, the lost Aztec Civilization. But that doesnt mean the Aztec people were inferior to the Western civilization...It just means that there is a difference in the set of values and culture to compute. We live in a world where everything Western is seen as worth emulating and good...an investment( even in terms of education) and anything that goes against the grains of Western Civilization's culture hub-which through its media tentacles have influenced the world to think of its culture and values as the universal truth-unacceptable.

So I say to myself and to others! Shake free of that stereotype and get to know a person in the context of his culture and origin rather than accepting the status quo of a known, so called universal culture(i.e globalization)!

Stereotypes and the Stereotyper

I finally have seen stereotyping gone wrong with my own eyes. I mean i know everyone is a hypocrite in that sense because every one says as if by rote" Stereotyping is wrong" and then in the next sentence goes on to say something that complete deflates the effect of that sentence like " All debaters are pompous asses".

People have told me repeatedly that debaters are arrogant assholes with a little bit more knowledge in their over inflated heads than others and think that that gives them a right to think they're better than everyone else. I beg to differ. I went to this debate league because i was invited by a dear friend of mine( who does not in my opinion fall within the crude definition provided by the ignorant masses)to attend.

I got the shock of my life in a pleasant,boisterous, lively way. Everyone there was so warm, friendly and encouraging. And what some people get intimidated by, i do get intimidated too but i can draw the line between the alter debate personalities and their real life personalities. These people are just like us...who like to debate. Not debaters who might or might not be like us.

I found that they were more human and supportive than the ones that condemned them, more humble even. I made so many new friends. The seniors were so supportive and encouraging of me when i was all nerves and jitters. And i would soon become used to jovial cheers and claps whenever i got a point across. The sense of camaraderie is so fulfilling. I felt like i might actually belong here because the people here were like me.Im not trying to spread pro debater propaganda. What im trying to say pervades the larger picture. That we really shouldn't stereotype people unless we've had a first hand experience with them ourselves and even then if it's just one individual that acts like the whole world is a cushion for his ass, then we shouldn't(tempting as it may be) automatically assume that the whole crop is bad. Unless the majority of that group prove themselves to be assholes and are driven by the wrong ideals of course.

But debaters they're just trained to think on their feet and to argue, logically, not maliciously. I really think the essence of debate itself should be clearly seen as separate from debaters no matter what kind of people might become debaters. I like the essence of debate which is that it allows for a healthy exchange of information in a controlled setting. It helps us develop our analytical, cognitive faculties. It helps you organize, absorb and process information in a way that is structured and rational. So that people get what you're saying in a clear way. And when you get your points across well you are rewarded for it. I find nothing wrong in this. In fact its what most people need but fail to see.