I have been reading different books about the histories of groups of people (e.g., Muslims, Christians, Germans, English, Americans, etc.), reading news about occurrences that involve a person in that particular group, and, going out to deal with society on a daily basis.
My question is:
Why does every group, whether it be race/religion/class/etc., seem to have its entire image distorted based on the actions of a few unscruplous individuals?
I will use some examples I mentioned in the first part:
Muslims are generally portrayed as shameless people with long beards or burqa/hijab who will kill anyone that they view as a "disbeliever". They(not the Muslims) also portray the Prophet as a "bearded, smelly guy who killed disbelievers and had sex with young children. " I was born into Muslim family, hence my full name, and, many Muslims I met at gatherings are people who make an honest living and contribute to society, just like many other people. They don't make the believer thing a big issue because, it is not something that is constructive to think about.
The region of my country that I live in has many people who call themselves Christians; many of them are down-to-Earth and don't waste time on frivolous issues. There are Christians here in the town I live in that condone the killing of brown and black people, and burn crosses while dressed in white robes and hoods all while proclaiming they follow Christianity. Jesus would certainly not do such sickening acts in the name of his God. They portray Jesus as a person who hated blacks, Arabs, Muslims, gays, women, and pretty much any person that is not a white Christian male. Many of these "Christians" are involved in the Tea Party.
Germans have been portrayed as Nazis, but, it is only a tiny number of them.
English people have been viewed as snooty and rude, but I have met many who are accomadating.
Americans are portrayed as stupid, fat and ignorant. Well, 1 in 3 Americans are obese, yes. But, onto the bottom line, many of us truly care about our country more than all the politicians in Washington. We are portrayed as stupid because we glorify our idiots more than our sensible citizens.
Virtually, all the major religious texts say something like: most humans in this World have the best intentions; it's a small few who are malevolent in their thoughts, and, they control the world.
My question is:
Why does every group, whether it be race/religion/class/etc., seem to have its entire image distorted based on the actions of a few unscruplous individuals?
I will use some examples I mentioned in the first part:
Muslims are generally portrayed as shameless people with long beards or burqa/hijab who will kill anyone that they view as a "disbeliever". They(not the Muslims) also portray the Prophet as a "bearded, smelly guy who killed disbelievers and had sex with young children. " I was born into Muslim family, hence my full name, and, many Muslims I met at gatherings are people who make an honest living and contribute to society, just like many other people. They don't make the believer thing a big issue because, it is not something that is constructive to think about.
The region of my country that I live in has many people who call themselves Christians; many of them are down-to-Earth and don't waste time on frivolous issues. There are Christians here in the town I live in that condone the killing of brown and black people, and burn crosses while dressed in white robes and hoods all while proclaiming they follow Christianity. Jesus would certainly not do such sickening acts in the name of his God. They portray Jesus as a person who hated blacks, Arabs, Muslims, gays, women, and pretty much any person that is not a white Christian male. Many of these "Christians" are involved in the Tea Party.
Germans have been portrayed as Nazis, but, it is only a tiny number of them.
English people have been viewed as snooty and rude, but I have met many who are accomadating.
Americans are portrayed as stupid, fat and ignorant. Well, 1 in 3 Americans are obese, yes. But, onto the bottom line, many of us truly care about our country more than all the politicians in Washington. We are portrayed as stupid because we glorify our idiots more than our sensible citizens.
Virtually, all the major religious texts say something like: most humans in this World have the best intentions; it's a small few who are malevolent in their thoughts, and, they control the world.
. These stereotypes are useful for "some" people and they gladly promote them. The term "race" is not even proven by science. Just a classification of human-kind, which has no effect but appearences.
