Racism based on ethnicity
The Arab world has regularly been accused of engaging in Racism against Africans and other non-arab groups. The Guardian's Brian Whitaker that "serious discussion of ethnic/religious diversity and its place in [Arab] society is a long-standing taboo." Furthermore, Mona Eltahawy, a columnist for Egypt's Al Masry Al Youm and Qatar's Al Arab, wrote in the New York Times an article titled, Racism: The Arab world's dirty secret about how the many racist attacks she witnessed by Arab egyptians on blacks. Furthermore, we saw during the Chapel Hill shooting, that the Arab community was extremely outragged about the loss of Arab lives however are painfully silent during the loss of non-Arab or black lives despite the fact that 30% of Muslims are black.
The South Asian community also participates in racism, primarily in the form of economic racism. For example, a large majority of liquor stores in inner cities are owned by South Asians despite the fact that many of these areas are food deserts, where there are no grocery stores, no safe places for families to shop and for Muslims, many of whom are immigrants, to come and open stores in areas with high concentrations of existing liquor stores that contribute to the crime in the area is really problematic. Furthermore, with each visit to buy anything from bread to cashing a check, alcohol abuse is normalized. According to a Brookings Institute report, “Although the relationships are complex, the high concentration of liquor stores in the inner cities, the ready availability of beer and hard liquor, and the high incidence of alcohol abuse are deeply implicated in the troubled homes, disorderly neighborhoods, and dangerous streets there."
These notions of anti-blackness are not limited to the ostracization from outside communities but also radiate outwards from the community itself. These types of anti-blackness manifest themselves not always as openly as other cultures make them out to be, rather taking a much subtler approach and not always categorised as being outwardly against their own community by means of action. These lie more so in the thought of that is communally shared and shown through rhetoric and adoption by force of trends that are found in larger society. This form of orientalism extends further back than the post 9-11 world and slides into the realm of the Civil Rights Movement. Malcolm X has some commentary on this in his autobiography, “I was among the millions of Negroes who were insane enough to feel that it was some kind of status symbol to be light complexioned-that one was actually fortunate to be born thus”. These are not actions that can be pointed as being outrageously violent but more a culture where being attributed the traits of a white slave master would be prized over that of being of full African descent. Despite the fact they attained these qualities through rape they are still looked upon as being desirable. The mentality that this needs to take to swallow this and then take it as a good outcome is jarring. The African American population adopted thinking that essentially made the residues of slavery okay and didn’t disparage the fact they had undergone such brutal treatment at the hands of their owners. This sort of dissociation with the context of events and praise for the end result is a dangerous one, allowing for greater acceptance of one’s situation.
Since race is not solely pegged to skin one can turn to this video on ABC News where an African American family dresses their children according to what they deem as okay out fears they would be shot at otherwise. Taking a less physical approach towards understanding racism and moving into larger socio-economic frameworks it becomes apparent that as a society there is a link between class and race. Despite the couple in this video having multiple degrees from Harvard they live in fear that their children will be seen as threats to society regardless of their true socio-economic standing. There arises a duality where one’s socio-economic status is deferred by larger society and given a false title. What is exhibited here is not anti-blackness as in hate of one’s heritage but an incapability to express one’s self through a variety of ways. Resulting in limitations placed on the social lives based on perceived notions of race. This sort of mentality is not so much a celebration of white traits but fear of the parameters fitted on them by white society.
The South Asian community also participates in racism, primarily in the form of economic racism. For example, a large majority of liquor stores in inner cities are owned by South Asians despite the fact that many of these areas are food deserts, where there are no grocery stores, no safe places for families to shop and for Muslims, many of whom are immigrants, to come and open stores in areas with high concentrations of existing liquor stores that contribute to the crime in the area is really problematic. Furthermore, with each visit to buy anything from bread to cashing a check, alcohol abuse is normalized. According to a Brookings Institute report, “Although the relationships are complex, the high concentration of liquor stores in the inner cities, the ready availability of beer and hard liquor, and the high incidence of alcohol abuse are deeply implicated in the troubled homes, disorderly neighborhoods, and dangerous streets there."
These notions of anti-blackness are not limited to the ostracization from outside communities but also radiate outwards from the community itself. These types of anti-blackness manifest themselves not always as openly as other cultures make them out to be, rather taking a much subtler approach and not always categorised as being outwardly against their own community by means of action. These lie more so in the thought of that is communally shared and shown through rhetoric and adoption by force of trends that are found in larger society. This form of orientalism extends further back than the post 9-11 world and slides into the realm of the Civil Rights Movement. Malcolm X has some commentary on this in his autobiography, “I was among the millions of Negroes who were insane enough to feel that it was some kind of status symbol to be light complexioned-that one was actually fortunate to be born thus”. These are not actions that can be pointed as being outrageously violent but more a culture where being attributed the traits of a white slave master would be prized over that of being of full African descent. Despite the fact they attained these qualities through rape they are still looked upon as being desirable. The mentality that this needs to take to swallow this and then take it as a good outcome is jarring. The African American population adopted thinking that essentially made the residues of slavery okay and didn’t disparage the fact they had undergone such brutal treatment at the hands of their owners. This sort of dissociation with the context of events and praise for the end result is a dangerous one, allowing for greater acceptance of one’s situation.
Since race is not solely pegged to skin one can turn to this video on ABC News where an African American family dresses their children according to what they deem as okay out fears they would be shot at otherwise. Taking a less physical approach towards understanding racism and moving into larger socio-economic frameworks it becomes apparent that as a society there is a link between class and race. Despite the couple in this video having multiple degrees from Harvard they live in fear that their children will be seen as threats to society regardless of their true socio-economic standing. There arises a duality where one’s socio-economic status is deferred by larger society and given a false title. What is exhibited here is not anti-blackness as in hate of one’s heritage but an incapability to express one’s self through a variety of ways. Resulting in limitations placed on the social lives based on perceived notions of race. This sort of mentality is not so much a celebration of white traits but fear of the parameters fitted on them by white society.