American Q & A
Two days ago, a highly-educated American man in his early 60’s asked a group of Jordanian youth:
“Do you know what a circus is?”.
“Do you have Barbie dolls?”.
Then added:
“I have not seen a camel yet!”.
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September 21st, 2006 at 1:33 pm
10 years ago i remember chatting with a guy from texas, when he asked "Do you have a camel in the backyard?". I said No. :)<br /><br />
September 21st, 2006 at 2:36 pm
Hialrious :)<br />And Sad :(<br />
September 21st, 2006 at 3:39 pm
<p> Ah, the stereotypes. Americans are amazed when they learned that cell phone ownership in the Middle East is higher in some areas than the USA. They are surprised to learn that all people do not live in tents, that everyone doesnt ride a camel, and that satelite TV is everywhere.</p>
<p> Arabs, by in large, have a much better and accurate picture of the USA than the other way around.</p>
<p> They should have asked this guy where his cowboy hat was, where his six gun was, and how many times a week he goes to the saloon to hangout with the "cowpokes". Sad thing is, I think the irony would have been lost on him!</p>
September 21st, 2006 at 3:47 pm
Well, when I still lived in Canada, I used to hate visiting the USA because I’d always get asked if I have a polar bear in my back yard. <br />("Oh yeah…absolutely…and he’s got his own little igloo and everything…")<br />
September 21st, 2006 at 4:26 pm
It is quite sad … Americans (a relatively vast majority of them at least) tend to have the desert/camel/primitive image of anything connected to Arabs. I remember when I was in high school, I used to have a lot of discussions about Arabs, where I am originally from, and what it really is like ‘back there.’ … I recall one time in which one my classmates asked if Arabs have camels in their homes … I said, ‘Of course … in fact, my family has a 3-camel garage…’ <br /><br />keep in mind, these were about 16-17 year olds at the time…so I didn’t really blame them for their ignorance, but for a grown man to ask such questions?!?…I am not sure what to say, really. There are many to blame! Media being one major force! <br />
September 21st, 2006 at 4:55 pm
<p>Ah, the joys of cultural stereotypes.</p>
<p>I live near Chicago. I cannot tell you how many people from other countries ask me about Al Capone and other gangsters. I have relatives in Texas who get odd looks when they dress "Corporate" because they are not wearing a cowboy hat.</p>
<p>Cultural ignorance can be fun - if you make up your mind not to become "offended" by it, and instead take an active role in teaching those other people what your country and culture are really like.</p>
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September 21st, 2006 at 8:15 pm
I am angered and offended by this grievious insult to my culture, so in response I’m going to go burn a mosque and assassinate an imam.<br /><br />Oh wait. That would be completely immature and insane. I think I’ll go to work instead.<br />
September 21st, 2006 at 8:29 pm
Well, far be it from me to desire to insult or offend anyone, I just thought it was really, really interesting the way this man shaped his questions. I honestly believe this is a major reason why more effort should be exerted to encourage dialogue, and generally enhance people’s knowledge of other people’s cultures and what not.<br /><br />Vincent, and to think I was merely quoting the man…tsk (smile).<br />
September 21st, 2006 at 9:10 pm
230 years, is it enough to be said a culture? Maybe yes. But the question is what the bold lines of this new culture are?<br /><br />It came into existence by an absolutely savage way, they destroyed a whole culture, and can you tell me where the Amerindians are now???<br /><br />The education system and the media formatted the nation minds to follow a certain guide lines, and one of the major lines stands on "ignoring the other", the American citizens think that they are the best and all other people on this planet are shit, heh…
September 21st, 2006 at 9:14 pm
<span class="commentBody"><span id="comment-3366"><i> Arabs, by in large, have a much better and accurate picture of the USA than the other way around.</i><br /><br />Really? Last night, my best friend (an arab muslim) asked me what I meant when I said not all white people were "anglos". She was quite serious. All of her life she thought all European whites were the same. I think she gets it now, even to the point that she knows she is using a tribal name to refer to all whites, but she doesn’t *really* get it. <br /><br />And any arab who gets their opinions of the US from you, Abu Sinan, is very getting a very warped view. Wouldn’t you agree? You aren’t doing anybody any favors broadcasting yourself as an American white man.<br /><br /></span></span>
September 22nd, 2006 at 5:28 am
Tololy: All in good fun, all in good fun. I do hope my own point was taken, however, as I think it is important and illustrative.<br />
September 22nd, 2006 at 8:18 am
<p>I can tell you where the American Indians are, they are all over the U.S., unless they choose to stay on their reservations. Incidentally, there are still towns in America where people wear six-shooters and cowboy hats and ride horses (Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, etc — where all the Indian reservations are).</p>
<p>People outside of America are more aware of the U.S. because movies(which don’t really portray America how it is) are shot all over the U.S. and, for whatever reason, America is in the news more than say… Mongolia. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been asked if America really is a non-stop orgy of sex, booze, drugs, etc — many Middle Easterners have a VERY distorted image of the U.S.!</p>
<p>Even before coming to the Middle East I was very aware of what life was like: no camels, no tents, etc. Many Americans "jokingly" ask about such things, which I believe is misinterpreted by people unfamiliar with American sense of humor. There are some ingnorant fools in the U.S., and everywhere else on the planet, but by in large Americans aren’t nearly as uninformed as people think.</p>
September 22nd, 2006 at 1:12 pm
I understand where you’re coming from, Vincent, but the two situations are not equal.
September 22nd, 2006 at 3:11 pm
<p> People around the world, including the Middle East, are more aware of the US because they watch American news, they watch American TV, they read American publications, American things dominate other cultures in a way that hasnt been seen since the Roman Empire.</p>
<p>I remember going into a cafe in Cairo a few years back and being completely surprised that the TVs were tuned to C-SPAN. That’s right, the TV channel that most Americans find far too boring to watch.</p>
<p>In talking to these Egyptian guys, well a couple of Libyans and Sudanese guys too, it was very clear that they had a pretty firm grasp on American electoral politics. They knew the basic differences between the Republican and Democratic parties. We were discussing whether or not the electoral college system in the US is outdated and whether or not it needed to be changed. This was after the presidential debacle.</p>
<p> I was floored by how much knowledge these guys had about the American political system, they knew the details of the system, names and personalities in the American political process.</p>
<p> So yes, many have a very good view of American politics and a lot of knowledge. I had a better conversation with them about American elections and procedural issues than I would have had with most Americans. This coming from a former Poli-Sci major turned Electrical Engineer.</p>
<p> There is a basic reason for this, American politics directly affect these guys’ lives. What happens in DC, who becomes president, what bills are passed, can and do affect the lives of these people and their countries. </p>
<p> I hope, now that we are involved in a global conflict, that Americans get as equally involved in the politics and history of other countries. Ask the average American anything about politics in the Middle East and they will be lost, yet our future as a nation in part relies on what happens there and our policies to the area.</p>
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September 22nd, 2006 at 10:41 pm
You are right, Tololy. the situations are not equal. But that doesn’t make assassinating nuns in response to yet another "grievance" any more justifiable.
September 23rd, 2006 at 1:25 am
By the way, Tololy, you do realize you are stereotyping AMericans with this complain about stereotypes, right?<br /><br />Abu SInan, I did not read what you wrote, because your opinions are unimportant.<br />
September 23rd, 2006 at 12:42 pm
Really now, Craig, I think you are mistaken. I said "an American man", and not "the American people". <br /><br />You may or may not agree, of course, but it is quite evident that I am not stereotyping a whole nation.<br />
September 23rd, 2006 at 10:05 pm
Tololy, I don’t think you did it intentionally. But what would you think if I made a blog post called "Arab Q & A" and listed a bunch if silly things I heard an arab say?
September 23rd, 2006 at 10:28 pm
I would think you are highlighting a serious glitch of communication and understanding between different people. I might actually consider publishing a post under that title, if that’s fine with you (I don’t want you to sue me, I can’t afford that) - Oh and I found it "<span class="commentBody"><span id="comment-3373">really, really interesting the way this man shaped his questions", not silly.</span></span>
September 25th, 2006 at 4:12 am
Hi Tololy,<br /><br />Tacism and Bigotry is not illegal, even in the United States :) So don’t worry about me or anybody else trying to sue you, if you were serious.<br /><br />Violating somebody’s Civil Rights is a federal crime, but only for Americans of course. Some kinds of speech are considered Hate Crimes (varies by local law) in the US. But simple bigotry… no, not illegal. Not even here. But we are hyper-sensitive about racism here in the US and I think that’s good. We have so many different types of people here living and working together, rampant racsim could be a real problem.<br /><br />
September 25th, 2006 at 10:21 pm
I have deleted the last two comments on this entry, as they do not contribute to the ongoing discussion and are largely irrelevant to the post.<br /><br />I respect Abu Sinan’s opinions as well as Craig’s, and while I may not agree with their opinions at certain points, this does not have me dub them as unimportant or silly. I expect everyone to demonstrate the same amount of respect and decency in their comments.