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I went to the mall, and a little girl called me a terrorist.

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Re: I went to the mall, and a little girl called me a terrorist.

#21

Post by ceejayoz »

mgkimsal wrote: post #15

Total western white-male stereotype-infused ignorance here but... Perhaps people avoid muslim women because we don't want them to get in to trouble. I'm surprised to see women dressed like that out in public on their own, because I've been led to believe they need male escorts, and assume that one might be around. if I make eye-contact, I might be contributing to an honor-killing, or perhaps some acid-splashed on her…

> I'm surprised to see women dressed like that out in public on their own, because I've been led to believe they need male escorts, and assume that one might be around.

That's a very, very small subset of hijab wearers, and you're unlikely to see any of them at a Western mall.

Re: I went to the mall, and a little girl called me a terrorist.

#22

Post by stfu »

It's all about symbolism. People simplify, people make fast judgments, people use visual cues to make their life easier. If I walk into a job interview in a suit and a tie I get a slightly different reaction than by walking in wearing swimming clothing.

And if it is more than just a fashion statement, but a symbolism of religion, then we open up a whole new can of worms. The wearing of burqa'esq clothing is highly controversial, as its banning in various countries across Europe is discussed and in parts even implemented [1].

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burqa#Europe

Re: I went to the mall, and a little girl called me a terrorist.

#23

Post by wpietri »

gurkendoktor wrote: post #13
potatolicious wrote: post #3

An exercise more people should partake in. Sometimes on HN I find it shocking just how completely clueless some of our prolific commentators are re: prejudice, whether by race, gender, creed, orientation, or anything else. The number of times I've seen people in privileged positions try to downplay, trivialize, and belittle those struggling with prejudice has made me want to quit HN more than once. Walking a mile in…

I agree, and I wish we could do that, but how? I won't look half as convincing if I wrap a scarf around my head. I have thought about this after reading about Günther Wallraff[1], and I haven't found a nice way to try this out. Maybe I should "dress up" on the internet? So far, the closest experience I have is being white and understanding Chinese - but it doesn't hurt nearly as much, the worst people regularly think…

How about a turban? You could go for a Sikh turban:

http://www.sikhnet.com/pages/tyingturbans

or a Muslim one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r1_HfOMRBM

I'm sure you could go to a local gurdwara or mosque and ask for pointers. They'd probably be over the moon.

It's also not particularly hard to look verging-on-homeless poor.

Re: I went to the mall, and a little girl called me a terrorist.

#24

Post by mgkimsal »

ceejayoz wrote: post #21
mgkimsal wrote: post #15

Total western white-male stereotype-infused ignorance here but... Perhaps people avoid muslim women because we don't want them to get in to trouble. I'm surprised to see women dressed like that out in public on their own, because I've been led to believe they need male escorts, and assume that one might be around. if I make eye-contact, I might be contributing to an honor-killing, or perhaps some acid-splashed on her…

> I'm surprised to see women dressed like that out in public on their own, because I've been led to believe they need male escorts, and assume that one might be around. That's a very, very small subset of hijab wearers, and you're unlikely to see any of them at a Western mall.

Possibly, but how can I be sure? Really not trolling at all, but trying to make any assumptions about what's 'safe' in situations where someone's life may be at stake, I err on the side of caution.

Re: I went to the mall, and a little girl called me a terrorist.

#25

Post by rickdale »

mgkimsal wrote: post #15

Total western white-male stereotype-infused ignorance here but... Perhaps people avoid muslim women because we don't want them to get in to trouble. I'm surprised to see women dressed like that out in public on their own, because I've been led to believe they need male escorts, and assume that one might be around. if I make eye-contact, I might be contributing to an honor-killing, or perhaps some acid-splashed on her…

When I was in high school I used to hang out with some of the muslim girls and we would do elicit high school things ie smoking pot. Interestingly enough I am a Jew, one generation away from Israel. Anyways, definitely got approached multiple times by muslim dudes telling me I needed to stop being a bad influence on their culture. I always laughed it off. Soon after one of the girls stopped wearing her scarf, everyone realized she was a knock-out, and then I would say the majority of the girls followed. I could really sense them striving for identity and its why I liked hanging out with them.

I want to be clear I never had a problem with any of the dudes beyond a conversation. I think they were confused too because they wanted to defend their culture, but really had no moral objections.

Re: I went to the mall, and a little girl called me a terrorist.

#26

Post by manaskarekar »

guylhem wrote: post #9

If wearing a hijab cause people to call you names, throw bad looks or more generally makes you feel discriminated against, what about trying not to wear an hijab?? Maybe I'm clueless and prejudiced and all that but it seems to me that religion was a perfectly "open" choice, ie something you can change at any time. Comparing that in any way to racism is insulting. People do not chose their ethnicity. People can chose…

I think you're mixing up fashion and religion.

Re: I went to the mall, and a little girl called me a terrorist.

#27

Post by twelvechairs »

guylhem wrote: post #9

If wearing a hijab cause people to call you names, throw bad looks or more generally makes you feel discriminated against, what about trying not to wear an hijab?? Maybe I'm clueless and prejudiced and all that but it seems to me that religion was a perfectly "open" choice, ie something you can change at any time. Comparing that in any way to racism is insulting. People do not chose their ethnicity. People can chose…

> Comparing that in any way to racism is insulting.

errr. prtty sure 'racism' was never mentioned. This is an issue of stereotyping and possibly also religious tolerance.

Sure you can change your religion, but do you really think that social norms should be enforced on wider society through ridicule? What century are we living in?

Re: I went to the mall, and a little girl called me a terrorist.

#28

Post by [deleted] »

csours wrote: post #7
potatolicious wrote: post #3

An exercise more people should partake in. Sometimes on HN I find it shocking just how completely clueless some of our prolific commentators are re: prejudice, whether by race, gender, creed, orientation, or anything else. The number of times I've seen people in privileged positions try to downplay, trivialize, and belittle those struggling with prejudice has made me want to quit HN more than once. Walking a mile in…

I'm a white guy, but I wear a trimmed beard and sometimes a skullcap when I'm exercising. I do get some funny looks, like people are trying to figure me out.

[deleted]

Re: I went to the mall, and a little girl called me a terrorist.

#30

Post by wpietri »

sergiotapia wrote: post #8

So? If I were to go to Saudi Arabia and wear jeans and a wife beater I would get looks as well. You find it strange that people look at you funny when you wear a hijab in a western country? I have a Muslim cousin and she sometimes wears a hijab to university but stopped because people would stare at her. Obviously! She stuck out like a sore thumb amidst a sea of people with no hijabs. She got tired of people asking h…

Who's complaining about funny looks? Funny looks are what you get when you wear and ugly shirt, or fuzzy reindeer antlers on your head around Christmas.

What she's complaining about is aversion, fear, and prejudice. And I don't think the solution to that is "Try harder to look like an attractive, middle-class white person."

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