None of us here can be so bold as to claim that we are completely free of prejudice. We all have some sort of bias. Some male employers may prefer to hire men over an equally qualified woman. Some parents would practically disown their children if they married outside of their religion. Some Whites, on seeing a Black man headed in their direction, might cross to the other side of the street. Some Blacks are instinctively distrustful of Whites, mentally cussing their 401K plans and white picket fences in the suburbs. And the list goes on. Although I would like to believe that none of us here are that close-minded, I am still positive that we all have a bit of prejudice.
Maybe prejudice is too strong a word. Irregardless, I believe that we all have some preconception of a group or groups of people. On meeting an individual from that particular group, we may enter into the encounter very open minded and ready to challenge the preconceptions we possessed. We may understand that even if the stereotype is largely true, it is not the same for every single member of that group. We may also understand that even if some of the stereotypes are true, many of the people from said group are still very kind, likable individuals – hangoutwithable, as I like to say. Still, that preconception is there. It tints how we see people. Sometimes, it can even taint our view of people. The tint may change or the tainted may become faded, but we are always a bit conscious of the differences, and in some cases, a bit uncomfortable.
To give a short illustration, picture this. A White guy and a Black guy meet for the first time. They realise they like each other, want to become buddies – that kind of thing. They may be both open-minded, get along fine, but still, in the Black guy’s mind, he *might* be thinking...
“This guy is really cool, but he hasn’t experienced discrimination like I have, he wouldn’t be able to fully understand where I come from, he hasn’t had a life like mine…” etc
Or let’s say, the same meeting happens between two guys of the same race, but one is fairly well off, and the other is balancing precariously on the poverty line. The rich guy is thinking…
“This guy is really cool… But does he feel uncomfortable about my wealth? I should probably try not to flash myself too much…” etc
In both cases, I don’t think either guy would consciously be thinking about this. It would sort of be an abstract thought on the lower strata of his mind. And I can say all of this with a fair amount of certainty because my thoughts have revolved around something like the above… both instances… variations of both instances. But let’s not talk specifically about that. Let’s talk about my own personal prejudice.
I thought it quite suiting to speak on this with the whole War on Terror, and Saddam’s capture and all that tra-la-la. I will admit to a slight prejudice against Muslims. Now stop, wait, hold your horses… Firstly, as I have said before, “prejudice” is too strong a word. It’s more like a “dissentient tint” like the examples I have above stated. Secondly, Feez, darling, if you’re reading this… nothing against you. And if you read on, you shall understand why.
I do NOT hate Muslims. I do NOT dislike them. I do NOT fear them. I will admit that I can be a bit apprehensive around some of them, and this wariness, my dear readers, is where my bias lies. Muslims come any more forms, and they vary greatly from country. Going strictly by garb (as opposed to the formal Muslim sects), I will say that Muslims come in three forms in this country. First of all there are the ones who dress “normally” for lack of a better word (and I hate that word, because I find it insulting… but as they say… it’s not the word, it’s the intent behind it). My bias is not against them. Then there are those whose men wear those little hats on their heads. Still looking… Finally, we have those who wear the traditional Muslim garb (in this country, it looks nothing like the stereotypical Middle Eastern garb), the women with their hijabs, faces hidden, eyes showing through a slit in the cloth… I acknowledge that I am very aware of their presence when they are around me.
I might have said that my “prejudice” stems from my parents, but I don’t think it does. Well… maybe, but just a little bit. As you might have guessed, my parents have always scoffed at other religions quite openly and frequently in front of me. Non-Christians get the brunt of it, and the two largest non-Christian groups in Trinidad are Hindus and Muslims. Of course, all Christians who do not fall into my parents’ particular branch of Christianity (Spiritual Baptists) groups get their licks too, but I wouldn’t say my parents put them in the same boat as the non-Christians. Maybe in the yacht trailing behind them… But not in the same boat.
Anyways, as I got older, I got friends who were Hindu, a couple of whom are really good liming buddies. I honestly don’t even remember what religion they are until it is Divali (a Hindu festival) because they give us traditional East Indian food, and bindhis (those ornate tear dropped things that East Indian women wear on their foreheads). Muslims are far fewer in number that Hindus, so I know less of them. I do have some Muslim acquaintances who are very cool (and intelligent!!), but my “prejudice” isn’t against them, anyways.
This… “prejudice”… probably stems from the coup d’etat that happened in this country in 1990. In that year, members of the Jamaat al Muslimeen tried to overthrow the government. They blew up the Police Station, took control of the local television network, and stormed the Red House (the Trinidadian version of the American White House). In the end, quite a few people were shot. I am uncertain if anybody died as a direct result of the coup. On a slightly different note, the Prime Minister of the country at that time, Mr. Arthur N R Robinson, is the only local politician I have any respect for. When the Jamaat put ANR Robinson live on the television and told him to call off the army, all while they were pointing a gun to his head, ANR said the most memorable words:
“Attack with full force.” – Mr. ANR Robinson
It gives me goose bumps still, knowing that this man was willing to die for his country. He got a bullet in the leg for it. And he survived. But I bet if the incumbent Prime Minister was faced with the same situation, he would have squealed:
“Stand down for God’s sake! I’m sitting in a pool of my own piss)
Same goes for the last Prime Minister. Anyways… I’m straying.
Anyways, so eventually, the coup starters surrendered, they were tried for treason and with the help of their attorney, Mr. Maharaj, (a man I will NEVER respect) who utilised a loophole in the law, they were acquitted of all charges. That’s right. They are all free men today…
Of course, I was 5 years old at the time. But everyone knew the “kind” of people that had tried to overthrow the country, and “they” could easily be pointed out by the kind of clothes they wore. See where I am going with this? And if that wasn’t bad enough, Osama Bin Laden had to order some fellahs to fly a few planes through the buildings of the world’s only remaining superpower, thereby raising awareness of the Taliban’s despotic rule in Afghanistan. It was the video, the video that came out… some reporter doing a grand tour of Afghanistan revealing what was really going on under the Taliban regime.
The picture that will remain ingrained in my mind is that of a woman getting shot. She was wearing the customary hijab, standing up in the middle of a former football field. Behind her were some men armed with guns… I think it was two of men; it could have been more… And they were not carrying just any guns… Those big ak-47 type guns… One of them pushed the woman to her knees, facing away from them. Kneeling, she turned her head and looked at one of the men, who was then raising his gun and taking aim at her head. She turned back around as if accepting her fate, then the gun jerked, and she fell forward on the ground…
So this is the stereotype I have gathered. Whenever I see a Muslim wearing the traditional garb in *my* country, I can easily picture that gun in their hands. It seems almost to suit them. It really does not help that the majority of the men I see in Muslim garb are standing at the doors of jewelry stores and those walk-through malls as if they were the head security personnel. They carried no weapons, but it seems to make no difference.
It’s quite ironic, actually; the quality that I admire most about Muslims is the very characteristic that makes me wary of them. This quality is, of course, the strength of their faith. There are the simple things that demonstrate this. Firstly, there are the clothes. Looking different in a society that is based on conformity is difficult enough as it is, but to compound that by adding a stereotype as bad as the one attached to Muslims… That’s pretty brutal. You have to have a tad bit of balls for that, even if there is a bit of a snob value attached to it – I am doing something different from the other religions, therefore my religion is right. I think I put it a bit crudely there, but each religion has its own snobbery like that… in one form or another.
Then there are the Friday stints. EVERY Friday (not every Friday [or Sunday] unless it’s raining like some Christians), they leave their jobs to go to their mosques to pray. I’ve seen it. Then when the sun is beginning to set… it does not matter where they are, they will stop, kneel to the floor and do the… bow thing… Once again, I’ve seen it… I’ve seen it in the middle of the aisles of buildings. I’ve seen it in the middle of the Brian Lara promenade… I’ve seen it. You have to admire dedication to their religion like that. Many so-called dedicated Christians will not show that kind of commitment to their God.
Of course, we can’t leave out the willing martyrdoms, and jihads. This is the largest religion of people that believe in their God enough to die willingly for Him. The Christians, the Jews… they can’t compare. Sure we can mention, the Holocaust, and all of those Jews who managed to survive it. But it’s different… their case was survival; they took the defensive, not the offensive. I am in no way belittling what the Jews sacrificed to maintain their religion; it required a *large* amount of valiance and all of those good things. But it’s different. I suppose you can say that, for the Christians, the Inquisition was a form of offensive. But that too, was different. For one thing, although the Inquisition was based on religion, it was driven by politics and personal gain. So the kind of faith the Muslims exhibit, you see, is something very admirable, even if I think it is unfounded. At the same time, it is scary. If you read that entry a bit ago about how religion can separate humans from their humanity… you’ll understand why. Fundamentalist Muslims are the experts behind this separation.
But it’s all a stereotype. For one thing, not *all* Muslims are militant, not even the ones who are wearing the traditional clothes. Anyways, I know Muslims, but I am acquainted with not a single one of those who I have this stereotype for. If I do ever have the opportunity to meet one, I will definitely go into it with an open mind. Who knows? My preconceptions might be confirmed. Or they might be ripped to shreds. There is nothing I can do about them now, considering my current position. In fact, I think this is the best thing I can do right now – observe them from afar and modify my “stereotype”… for that is what it will remain until I know them personally… but go into a meeting with an open mind. I can hope for no more.
But this colouring… this tinting of perception is the reason I have not mentioned this before. It should be quite obvious though, considering where I live, and therefore this will come as no surprise to the vast majority of you. Caribbean people are already accused of having “small-island thinking” by some developed countries. And that folks, was recounted for us by a White girl, who was telling the class about how her brother had been rejected when applying to some foreign company… “He should have studied in America… now he probably has small-island thinking”… Something to that effect.
In diaryland, I wanted to challenge the stereotypical small-island thing, but I wanted my writing to remain largely untainted by preconceptions or coloured with preconceived notions. I suppose that’s why my bio never mentioned that I was Black. But I’m sure you intelligent people figured that out already.