Introduction
The Arab-American subculture experiences discrimination and inequality owing to certain historical and social forces. Some of them include media stereotypes, religious differences, language challenges, and September-eleventh attacks.
Societal and historical forces
Arab Americans are any US citizens who either come from or whose ancestors originated from the 22 recognized Arab countries. They may or may not necessarily speak Arabic. Arab Americans first entered the US just before the First World War from the Ottoman province in Syria. They came to trade and farm in the country. However, a second wave took place after the war, and this group largely consisted of educated citizens that were predominantly Muslim. Unlike the first wave of immigrants, who consisted of relatively poor immigrants, the second wave of Arab Americans was bilingual and nationalistic. They came from various Arabic nations and were proud of their heritage. It should be noted that the second wave had a distinct identity from the first wave because statistics in the latter group did not correspond to their identities. Most US Bureau of Immigration statistics did not include their national identity or religion. The state classified them as Asians. However, after the Second World War, most Arab Americans had a distinct national identity (Parillo, 2011). Statistics indicate that the highest percentage of Arab Americans is Lebanese, followed closely by Egyptians, Syrians, Palestinians, and Jordanians. It is likely that the lack of statistical information on the group in the first half of the 20th Century may have led to their low-profile status in ethnicity discussions. This statistical issue also explains why most of them came to the nation’s attention in the last half of the 20th Century and beyond.
A second societal factor that may affect the degree of inequality encountered by this group is media stereotypes. Most movie producers depicted Arab Americans negatively as far back as the 1950s. Brittingham and Cruz (2005) explain that, in early depictions, most Arab American males in films were brutal and valueless, especially because they believed in a different god. Many producers perceived them as primitive since they lived in a desert. The women were muted and immensely subservient. Alternatively, others were exotic but still passive. With time, these media depictions became centered on terror activities. Arabs were oil-rich billionaires who could do anything to enact terror on the American people. These stereotypes were evident in the film Wanted Dead or Alive (1987). In the movie, Arab Americans work with Arabs to poison Los Angeles residents. Many films assigned villainous roles to Arab Americans if terror activities were the main area of concern. A case in point is the 1999 film, Martial Law (Parillo, 2011). These depictions have made it immensely difficult for Arab Americans to free themselves from suspicion. They are often stigmatized and regarded as ruthless individuals. It is obvious that terrorist groups represent a tiny minority. If one Arab is a religious fanatic, this does not imply that other Arabs are fanatics. Unless society breaks such misconceptions, then the group will continue to face difficulties.
The other source of inequality among Arab Americans is their religion. Since the US is predominantly Christian, then a religion that falls outside this parameter may be perceived as alien. Although the country has made a lot of progress in racially integrating members of all faiths, some radicals still nurse hatred for Muslims. Some of them justified it by claiming that the Muslims started it, and always perceived Christians as their enemies. These ideas have led to hate crimes among gangs and other antisocial groupings. In fact, some Arab Americans refrain from reporting any attacks against them because they perceive themselves as belonging to an unwanted group.
Perhaps the biggest factor behind Arab American discrimination is the September-11 twin tower attack. Society’s attitude towards the group changed tremendously. Some Arab Americans underwent immense scrutiny. Other people verbally abused or even physically attacked this minority group (Oswald, 2005). Additionally, law enforcement officers and other public authorities began to profile Arab Americans racially. A number of them found that it was difficult to fly a plane as they would be subjected to immense searches. Federal arrests increased, and many Arabs responded by increasing their in-group affiliations. Most of them felt sidelined by the US government and decided to seek refuge amongst themselves.
First-generation Arab Americans often find that it is difficult to assimilate with conventional Americans due to language challenges. Sometimes they may have to learn English as a third language. It is particularly hard for individuals to fit in at work when they have a strong accent or grammatical challenges. In learning institutions, these biases often cause peers to make fun of Arab Americans who then retreat into their own groupings. As such, opportunities for work and growth can be substantially reduced due to such attitudes (Gallagher, 2009).
Conclusion
Arab Americans face discrimination and biases in the US, just like several other ethnic minorities. These biases can be corrected if the media starts to portray a balanced view of the group. It can also be reversed if the public undergoes sensitization about tolerance of people who speak differently. Religious tolerance must also be taught in order to foster acceptance.
References
Brittingham, A., and Cruz, G. (2005). We the people of Arab ancestry in the United States. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau
Gallagher, C. (2009). Rethinking the Color Line: Readings in Race and Ethnicity. Boston: McGraw-Hill
Oswald, D. (2005). Understanding Anti-Arab Reactions Post-9/11: The Role of Threats, Social Categories, and Personal Ideologies. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 35(9), 1775-799.
Parillo, V. (2011). Strangers to these shores: race and ethnic relations in the US. Boston, MA: Pearson.