Let's Make History, Not Repeat It

People stereotype others from different backgrounds/cultures/nationalities. What is the impact of stereotyping or false assumptions on the individual and the society he/she lives in? Support your ideas with examples from the readings discussed in class, along with your personal experiences.

For decades, the ongoing debate concerning the Lebanese identity has not died down. Some say Lebanese are not Arabs, while others claim Lebanon is an Arab state, and by consequence the Lebanese must be Arabs. The Lebanese constitution complicates matters further, since it merely states that our nation's official language is Arabic, thereby leaving us the choice to decide whether or not we are Arabs (Raphael, 2002). A recent study completed by a professor at the Lebanese American University, revealed that the Lebanese genome has traces which are linked to the Phoenician blood line. The latter adds to the arsenal of arguments against the proclaimed Arab identity of Lebanon. Some even go to the extreme of removing the term Lebanese altogether, since they consider that Lebanon is a just a city which is part of Greater Syria. However, what have these implications led to? The answer is the integration of countless pieces of different cultures into our own pool of Lebanese identities. Religion even adds more richness to the heterogeneity of the Lebanese culture, since many Lebanese identify themselves by their religion. Therefore, due to these abundant sources of values, norms, beliefs and even languages, the Lebanese culture is considered one of the most diverse in the world. Be that as it may, the only place where people with so many dissimilar views can co-exist peacefully is nowhere. If history has taught us on thing, it is that diversity and dissimilarity ultimately lead to conflicts. One of the key causes of conflicts amongst Lebanese is fueled by an interlinking of religious, and cultural stereotyping. Many people in Lebanon are immediately categorized once they pronounce their names, since most of them have religious roots. Others are immediately categorized once they start talking, since many Lebanese prefer speaking French, English or have secular accents. Unfortunately, the latter leads to the formation and isolation of different groups; each one generally incorporating Lebanese who share the same norms that they have integrated into their culture, and religion to form their identity. In Lebanon, the most infamous and influential type of these groups are known as political parties, each one having its own set of values, norms and even "proclaimed" religion. Nevertheless, as our country's history has taught us, stereotyping created by our "innate" association of identity and religion with political faction, can only lead to mounted tensions and conflict amongst us. It is important to point out that individual Lebanese have not deliberately chosen to form these groups, but rather a society driven by stereotyping and prejudice has been the underlying cause for it.

Stereotyping in Lebanon is commonly implemented in job interviews. Depending on the employer's values and beliefs, a candidate's suitability for a job does not depend on his degree or years of experience; but rather to which extent he can relate to his employee on a political scale. For example, if a boss opposes a political party linked to a particular religion, it is very unlikely for him to hire someone who is of the latter religion. This is because in the employer's mind, for some reason, all of the followers of the religion in question share the same views and ideas of its "designated" political party. This type of stereotyping has cost many deserving people a lot of potential jobs, and has even lead to their dismissal from their duties. Firoozeh faced the same challenge when she applied for a job after graduating from Berkley University. Normally, an Honors graduate from this prestigious university would have no trouble finding a job, but because of her ethnic background, she was apparently deemed not suitable for many job positions (Dumas, 2004) . The ultimate expression of this type of stereotyping is incorporated into the Lebanese constitution. Since the Taef agreement, the Lebanese president can only be a Maronite Christian, the Prime Minister can only be a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of Parliament a Shia Muslim. Amongst us Lebanese, we find this normal since we know the causes of its implementation. However, any other normal human being would view this as a type of stereotyping.

Another type of stereotyping that occurs most often is based on names. In Lebanon, many names have religious backgrounds. Therefore as soon as many Lebanese mention their name, their religion is revealed. This somehow allows many people to label individuals directly according to their religion, and they feel confident enough to "assign" them to their supposed political party. In some mysterious way, the intertwinement between name-religion-political faction is so engraved into the Lebanese society, that it is even manifested in the way kids interact in playgrounds. I remember as a child that, as soon as I pronounced the name Omar, I was labeled as a Sunni, and somehow I took an active role in the activities of the Future Political party. Even as an adult as I shared my thoughts about politics with others, somehow I represented all the Sunnis in Lebanon, and I was still assigned to the Future political party. This type of discrimination also surfaces in the "F" word, when as soon as Fayroozeh mentions her name, she is labeled an extremist who is a supporter of the Iranian cultural revolution (Dumas, 2004). Stereotyping is the main reason why the popularity of these types of names has been on the decline, since all they seem to do is further complicate one's life This may be the reason why we don't encounter many Osamas, Saddams, and Adolfs anymore...

Perhaps one of the most despicable acts of stereotyping occurred during the Lebanese Civil War, which lasted fifteen years. At road blocks, many Lebanese were innocently slaughtered due to their religion. Not only that, but the whole war was based on the different views Muslims and Christians had about each other. For some reason which is humanly impossible, all Christians and Muslims had different engraved ideologies, and views which were shared by all their followers. This stereotyping cost Lebanon Billions of dollars worth of damage, and thousands of lives lost. This "logic" also surfaces in Edward Hall's (1975) work about the Arab world. In his case, he blatantly labels all Arabs as jerks trying to steal his place on a bar, and for what reason? This rash generalization is justified by the fact that one Arab obnoxiously tried to steal his seat.

According to this scholar's way of thinking, and my personal experiences, all Arabs must be thieves, all Srilankis must be maids and all Syrians are janitors. Some may find the latter statement appalling and demeaning, and that's exactly the sentiment I want ignited within you. I want people to stand up against stereotyping, I want this primitive perspective to be abolished, so we can all help in stopping the pain and even bloodshed that this is causing. No more should an African die merely because of a Tutsi stamp on their I.D. card, caused by the fact that his ancestors, to whom he may have no recollection of, were accused of treason for helping Belgians. No more should Lebanese be categorized as Sunni, Shea, Maronite, Druze merely because they are Sunni, Shea, Maronite, Druze. From a biological point of view, none of us are identical to one another. The same holds true for people who share the same ethnic and religious backgrounds. Stereotyping in Lebanon, caused by such a diverse community, inevitably leads to conflict (again). However, by broadening our perspectives, and viewing each person as an individual, rather than an ambassador for his ethnic background , we can help fight this invisible enemy which is the product of our own imagination. For once, lets make history, nor repeat it.

References

Dumas, F. (2004). Funny in Farsi: A memoir of growing up Iranian in America. Broadway, New York: Random House Publishing Group.

Hall, E. (1975). The hidden dimension. Broadway, New York: Random House Publishing Group.

Raphael, M. (2002, March 25). The identity of Lebanon. Retrieved November 5, 2008, from: www.amalid.com/articles/Lebanons_non-Arab_Identity.htm