Changing Perspectives
In general, I tend to avoid politics and religion. That doesn't mean that I'm completely in the dark, don't have any opinions, or don't care though. I just have a sense of...hopelessness of sorts. Cynical much? Yup, pretty much. When you watch the news these days, it's hard not to be a cynic. There are so many countries involved now in the conflicts in the Middle East, and it seems like every time 1 step forward is made, something happens to set everything 3 steps back.
So Wednesday's attacks in San Bernardino came as a shock since they hit so closely to home. The reports have said there have now been more mass shootings in the US this year than there have been days in the year so far. When the initial reports started rolling out throughout the day, without any identified suspects, I just thought "oh, probably just another disgruntled, crazy, gun-toting redneck!" After all, most of the recent mass shootings were of that nature, right? African American church, schools, Planned Parenthood to name a few. But as the story keeps unfolding and we see IS praising the shooters, I regret jumping to conclusions. Sorry about that, gun-toting rednecks. So what's this all going to mean for other people of Middle Eastern descent living here in the States? How is this going to affect all the poor refugees that are waiting for a place to go?
Being half Persian, growing up in San Diego, I was used to people just assuming I was Mexican most my life. But after 9/11, all that changed. That was the first time I ever experienced racism first-hand, directed at me. I had always considered myself American or Hawaiian since I grew up with my mom's family and never even knew my Persian family. I feel that those tensions at least died down after about a year, but what about now? It's hard at times not to be a bit paranoid after these recent attacks. For example, Stephen plays with a country band sometimes, but I've been hesitant to go to his performances, especially when they're at places like the Elk's Lodge, due to having certain anti-Middle Eastern comments made to me at a different lodge 14 years ago. Or an incident today when a guy in a Lexus stared at me as I walked across a parking lot and he just drove straight at me without slowing down. It was bizarre because I wasn't walking anywhere that would be considered in the way or not visible. It was probably nothing, but sometimes my mind races and wonders...
So this is where I get to the stories of the refugees and how there are so many wonderful Americans out there who prove my crazy thoughts wrong. Since this past summer I've been following the Facebook page/blog of Humans of New York. If you haven't ever checked this page out, I highly recommend it. The photographer/writer usually goes around New York and photographs random people with little stories, told in their own words. Since the summer though, he traveled to Pakistan, Iran, and to various parts of Europe, Turkey, & Jordan where Syrian & Iraqi refugees are. The photos and stories he posted put such a personal touch and human face onto the cold, clinical news we're fed through general media. And one of the things I have loved most about the posts is that even the comments made by the readers have been beautiful!
So many kind people have reached out and offered to help. So many people have commented on how their eyes have been opened and admitted to have complete misconceptions or negative views about the region and the people. And I, in turn, have to admit my own misconceptions about my own country & people. When I would read the news online, there had been so many horrible comments at times I'd nearly be in tears. So many Americans commenting with hate about the nuclear deal with Iran ("don't negotiate with those rag-heads, just nuke them all!) or the Syrian & Iraqi refugees ("why should we let them in so they can take advantage of us when they're all terrorists? they should just go home and fight their own war"). But with each of the stories on HONY, the situation is brought down to a human level, and you can see individual people instead of government, military, politics, or religion. You see the little boy who wants to grow up and start his own dinosaur museum when he gets to America or the father that lost everything back home and now doesn't want anything to do with religion or politics - doesn't even want to watch the news - he just wants to focus on providing for his wife and children.
The latest refugee stories are of the families who are now on the last leg of the process for screening to be resettled in America. And the response from people in the cities that these people have been confirmed to be resettled in has been overwhelmingly positive. And again I was surprised at my own ignorance and bigotry. When the refugees would be going to places in the Southern states, like Tennessee or Florida, I had initially cringed, worrying that those states might not be as diverse or accepting as larger metropolitan areas. But then I would see the comments just pour in from people in those areas offering help to the families and advice about the towns they were going to. Literally thousands of comments and hundreds of thousands of likes to each story. With so much negative news, this type of positive story telling has been sorely needed. I'm thankful for the people who realize that the horrible attacks in Paris and San Bernardino were made not by refugees, but radicalized European and American citizens. Sending the refugees home would only be a death sentence, either from their own government or IS. I do feel heightened worry though about attitudes towards Middle Eastern-Americans and hope people remember not all of us are Muslim and also not all Muslims are bad. At the same time, I do hope the radical nut jobs & terrorists out there, whether religious in nature or just random crazies who shoot up movie theaters, schools, churches and the like are caught on the radar and something can be done to prevent more of these mass attacks from happening.
So at the end of things, yes, my own perspective has been changed. My cynicism has been decreased and I am once again proud to be American and feel such gratitude that there are still people out there with such open hearts and minds. For over a month now I've been struggling greatly with my Fibromyalgia and anxiety, so my mental outlook was pretty down too. I've been fighting against that sense of hopelessness and pushing myself against the nagging thoughts of "why bother getting out of bed?" and the news of the Paris attacks and state of the world certainly didn't help this. But these types of stories and comments have given me a new sense of hope and motivation to better myself and help others. Just as these people reading the HONY stories are opening their eyes to the individual refugee stories, I am embracing the reminder that not all American people think like the politicians who have wanted to shut our doors to these people who desperately need help.
So Wednesday's attacks in San Bernardino came as a shock since they hit so closely to home. The reports have said there have now been more mass shootings in the US this year than there have been days in the year so far. When the initial reports started rolling out throughout the day, without any identified suspects, I just thought "oh, probably just another disgruntled, crazy, gun-toting redneck!" After all, most of the recent mass shootings were of that nature, right? African American church, schools, Planned Parenthood to name a few. But as the story keeps unfolding and we see IS praising the shooters, I regret jumping to conclusions. Sorry about that, gun-toting rednecks. So what's this all going to mean for other people of Middle Eastern descent living here in the States? How is this going to affect all the poor refugees that are waiting for a place to go?
Being half Persian, growing up in San Diego, I was used to people just assuming I was Mexican most my life. But after 9/11, all that changed. That was the first time I ever experienced racism first-hand, directed at me. I had always considered myself American or Hawaiian since I grew up with my mom's family and never even knew my Persian family. I feel that those tensions at least died down after about a year, but what about now? It's hard at times not to be a bit paranoid after these recent attacks. For example, Stephen plays with a country band sometimes, but I've been hesitant to go to his performances, especially when they're at places like the Elk's Lodge, due to having certain anti-Middle Eastern comments made to me at a different lodge 14 years ago. Or an incident today when a guy in a Lexus stared at me as I walked across a parking lot and he just drove straight at me without slowing down. It was bizarre because I wasn't walking anywhere that would be considered in the way or not visible. It was probably nothing, but sometimes my mind races and wonders...
So this is where I get to the stories of the refugees and how there are so many wonderful Americans out there who prove my crazy thoughts wrong. Since this past summer I've been following the Facebook page/blog of Humans of New York. If you haven't ever checked this page out, I highly recommend it. The photographer/writer usually goes around New York and photographs random people with little stories, told in their own words. Since the summer though, he traveled to Pakistan, Iran, and to various parts of Europe, Turkey, & Jordan where Syrian & Iraqi refugees are. The photos and stories he posted put such a personal touch and human face onto the cold, clinical news we're fed through general media. And one of the things I have loved most about the posts is that even the comments made by the readers have been beautiful!So many kind people have reached out and offered to help. So many people have commented on how their eyes have been opened and admitted to have complete misconceptions or negative views about the region and the people. And I, in turn, have to admit my own misconceptions about my own country & people. When I would read the news online, there had been so many horrible comments at times I'd nearly be in tears. So many Americans commenting with hate about the nuclear deal with Iran ("don't negotiate with those rag-heads, just nuke them all!) or the Syrian & Iraqi refugees ("why should we let them in so they can take advantage of us when they're all terrorists? they should just go home and fight their own war"). But with each of the stories on HONY, the situation is brought down to a human level, and you can see individual people instead of government, military, politics, or religion. You see the little boy who wants to grow up and start his own dinosaur museum when he gets to America or the father that lost everything back home and now doesn't want anything to do with religion or politics - doesn't even want to watch the news - he just wants to focus on providing for his wife and children.
The latest refugee stories are of the families who are now on the last leg of the process for screening to be resettled in America. And the response from people in the cities that these people have been confirmed to be resettled in has been overwhelmingly positive. And again I was surprised at my own ignorance and bigotry. When the refugees would be going to places in the Southern states, like Tennessee or Florida, I had initially cringed, worrying that those states might not be as diverse or accepting as larger metropolitan areas. But then I would see the comments just pour in from people in those areas offering help to the families and advice about the towns they were going to. Literally thousands of comments and hundreds of thousands of likes to each story. With so much negative news, this type of positive story telling has been sorely needed. I'm thankful for the people who realize that the horrible attacks in Paris and San Bernardino were made not by refugees, but radicalized European and American citizens. Sending the refugees home would only be a death sentence, either from their own government or IS. I do feel heightened worry though about attitudes towards Middle Eastern-Americans and hope people remember not all of us are Muslim and also not all Muslims are bad. At the same time, I do hope the radical nut jobs & terrorists out there, whether religious in nature or just random crazies who shoot up movie theaters, schools, churches and the like are caught on the radar and something can be done to prevent more of these mass attacks from happening.
So at the end of things, yes, my own perspective has been changed. My cynicism has been decreased and I am once again proud to be American and feel such gratitude that there are still people out there with such open hearts and minds. For over a month now I've been struggling greatly with my Fibromyalgia and anxiety, so my mental outlook was pretty down too. I've been fighting against that sense of hopelessness and pushing myself against the nagging thoughts of "why bother getting out of bed?" and the news of the Paris attacks and state of the world certainly didn't help this. But these types of stories and comments have given me a new sense of hope and motivation to better myself and help others. Just as these people reading the HONY stories are opening their eyes to the individual refugee stories, I am embracing the reminder that not all American people think like the politicians who have wanted to shut our doors to these people who desperately need help.
Comments
Post a Comment