This morning in my economics lecture, the professor discussed The Great Depression and how it shaped modern Canada. He said that although factories were ready to produce goods, they were empty due to high unemployment. He mentioned how workers marched outside of the factories, and even though they wanted to work, nobody would hire them. My professor labeled this phenomenon as the Paradox of the Depression.
He then went on to talk about how certain conspiracy theories arose in order to explain this phenomenon. At this point, he somewhat digressed and began to talk about modern conspiracy theories. He mentions 9/11, and says that even though the Muslims were responsible for 9/11, one conspiracy suggests that the CIA was behind it.
Um, wait, did he just say, Muslims were responsible for 9/11?
Ok, granted, the people who claimed responsibility for 9/11 were Muslim. Whether or not they were good Muslims is questionable. But, I couldn't help but feel the need to interject during this lecture and give my professor a piece of my mind.
But I didn't. This man does have my final grade in the course in his hands after all. I thought about it, but couldn't think of a way to phrase my thoughts, um... nicely.
Ok, but let's say, for some strange reason, I happen to own a gun with bullets, and I decide to shoot a tree. I'm sure the news reports would have a headline that says, Muslim Girl Shoots a Tree. But I'm sure if my professor shot the tree, the headlines wouldn't say, Jewish Guy Shoots a Tree. When was the last time you read someone in the news being identified by their religion when they aren't Muslim? Rather, the newspaper headline would probably read: Man Shoots a Tree.
Um, bias much?
11 comments:
You should have interjected! Profs think they know what's up but they're just as susceptible to err. And while they inevitably do have a say on our mark, I like to think that challenging them reflects the student WELL as it suggests a deeper engagement with the material. Maybe not be belligerent and interrupt them, but I usually go after class and critique the hell out of them =)
Sometimes -- more times than not -- they've listened too! It's all about delivery. Frame it as a question, not really as a challenge....
you should have at least talk to him after class. easier said then done.
Sadly, I have been noticing a lot of prejudice lately. I am not saying all people, but a lot of people have prejudices. I was sad to find out some of my friends whom I know for a long time, had prejudices about muslims themselves.
Something like this happened to me in one of my summer classes. My professor was talking about diversity in schools and mentioned a girl she met a long time ago who wore hijab. Someone in the class asked what religion that was and she said Islam. Then she went on to explain that the hijab was something that 'Islamic girls wore that has something to do with virginity.' I was thinking to myself 'Whoa!' that is not true, it has nothing to do with virginity but with modestly and fulfilling a requirement of the deen. I wanted to interject but didn't. It was bugging me for the rest of the period so I talked to her about it after class. Luckily she's one of those educators who is very open to opinion and she thanked me a few times for letting her know. And she asked, "So are you Muslim?" Politely I said yes, in my head I was thinking 'Don't you see my jilbab and hijab!' But yeah, that just goes to show that something that's so obvious to us may not be so to our professors. If I could go back I would have interjected as soon as she said that so that I had a chance to clarify in front of the 100 other students, instead of just later to the professor. But I guess even changing the mind of one person is worth the effort. After this I told myself that in the future I'll try not to hesitate and make my point right away so that it has it's effect.
Sorry for the long comment, nice blog by the way. :)
well IMO, bias has been there and will always been there. heck even muslims are biased against one another...nice article anyways!
will always be* there, mistake:)
Salam Y,
I've always felt such subtleties, such tiny pockets of disinformation, cause more damage then a full on blow. They remain in one's subconscious and come back at the most appropriate time. In this case, since it is a matter of your grades, it would have been better if you had talked to him after class, so the next time he doesn't go accusing the ummah of such a crime.
I don't know why I'm pissed off :-S
-croissont
ur proffs a jew? who's the proff?
...i will literally cry if its GunZ
I don't think he meant anything by it. I mean, we do live in the West after all. In your example, had you shot down that awful tree in say Saudi Arabia, the headlines wouldn't read "Muslim girl shoots down tree." Now, had some Jew or Christian shot down that stinkin' tree, it's conceivable to think that the headlines would have read "Jewish man shoots down tree" or "Christian man shoots down tree."
I don't think he's biased at all. It's all about location location location.
:-)
Aleks, a bias is a bias. Whether biases change based on where you are in the world doesn't change the fact that they're still biases.
Not true.
My point wasn't that biases can be different depending on where you live. Although, I completely understand if what I said came off that way. Location was only an example. There is a much bigger picture behind the scenes: Understanding someone's position.
So many factors play into biases, and location is just one of them. Race, religion, likes, dislikes, the list goes on. One shouldn't judge another person whose views are different. Often, they had no control over these views, and are just a product of their culture. For example, take a look at America. There are STILL people who are afraid that Obama might be a Muslim. And even if he was, which he isn't, why would they be afraid?
The answer is simple. They didn't choose to be afraid. Their views came from the media and other moral values instilled in them from birth. When you think about it, no one is really at fault for holding the values that they do. BUT! People can BE at fault. How? I think this is pretty controversial, but if someone doesn't have an open mind, and isn't willing to entertain new ideas, then you can blame the person for their biases. Because only then can you make the claim that this person is truly ignorant and isn't willing to put effort into correcting their mistakes.
But you cannot blame the professor of the original post. He made one politically incorrect slip up. It's really a non-issue.
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