Maybe it's all but inevitable for us to have prejudices of some kind; I couldn't be 100% certain. Then again, whenever I hear such a statement being made, I immediately think, "I wonder if he/she is trying to provide themselves an excuse for their own prejudices." But overall, even if everyone possesses some form of prejudice, I'd say a decent majority is able to typically cover such irrational, derogatory beliefs when in a public setting. That's not always the case, of course, and following tragic isolated incidents, it seems many believe this provides reason to their prejudices and leaves them more prone to making those hateful beliefs come to light.
As fed up as I am hearing about mass shootings in this country, a pair of them over the past couple of weeks has helped expose this country's prejudices and double-standards. When a Christian man attacked a Planned Parenthood facility in Colorado Springs, Colorado, killing multiple people in the process, in the name of his religion, it seems that most in this country shrugged their shoulders and said, "He's a lone wolf. His actions weren't representative of the Christian faith and of Christians in general." Yet when a Muslim couple shot and killed multiple people in San Bernardino, California last week, in the name of their religion, many in this country had a far different reaction:
- "We need to shut down mosques!"
- "We need to make it more difficult for Muslims to travel here!"
- "Muslims should be required to have special ID's!"
I even heard a local say to me, "I think after 9/11, we were rightly worried and on the lookout, but we got kind of lazy after that, well, until this latest attack happened. People say you shouldn't judge others, but I'm starting to think you should!"
Why the starkly different reactions? Just a week prior, a Christian extremist was guilty of a mass shooting in the name of his religion, yet most in this country saw his views and actions as contrary to Christian teachings. However, when a Muslim couple was found guilty of the same criminal act, many of those same individuals in this country saw their views and actions as representative of Islamic teaching.
I'd like readers to now take a minute to check out this short video - http://metro.co.uk/2015/12/06/what-happens-when-you-read-people-the-bible-but-tell-them-its-the-koran-5547109/
This video helps to depict ignorance of religions other than that with which we grew up, prejudices we may have long held but have yet to realize, and also the forgotten similarities between organized religions and their followers all across the world.
Following up on what the video clip suggests, here are some undeniable facts:
- Christianity is the most practiced religion in the United States
- The majority in this country is still white
- Muslims are a minority in this country
- The media's portrayal of Islam is often times negative, especially with regard to radicals in the Middle East
- The Bible and Koran, as well as Christianity and Islam, are much more similar than many in this country would like to believe
I think part of the problem with these prejudices and double-standards, in addition to the media and ignorance, is limited exposure. Muslims are still a minority in this country, and I'd be willing to guess a decent percentage of Americans don't know too many Muslims personally. So when these Americans hear about domestic terrorists acts in the name of the Islamic faith, they tend to unfairly paint all Muslims as evil. On the other hand, like with regard to the Planned Parenthood shooter, most Americans have likely befriended several self-identified Christians, so when they hear about a Christian man killing in the name of his faith, they shrug their shoulders and say, "I know so many good Christians that would never think of doing such a thing."
I'm not a religious man, but just as I know to not see the Planned Parenthood's mass shooting as representative of all Christians, I know to not see the Muslim couple's actions in San Bernardino as representative of all Muslims. Since 9/11, there have been more terrorists attacks on our soil committed by Christian whites than by Muslims. Does this mean we should shut down churches, limit Christians' travel access to this country, require Christians to possess special ID's, or prejudge all Christians to be potentially dangerous and violent? No. Well, Muslims shouldn't be prejudged in such a manner either. In this country, we have the right to believe in and worship as we so choose, whether we happen to be Christian, Buddhist, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, atheist, etc. We have the right to not fear governmental persecution for these very beliefs. Just because a few extremists misrepresent a religion as a whole doesn't mean we should see a whole religion as being represented by a few extremists.
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