Will the Perception Ever Change?

When I first stumbled upon the course, East and West in Global Literatures, I felt as though I had an immediate connection to the class. Having a name that derives from Islamic origin has made my life in America especially unique. The stereotypes that come with my name are endless. On the first day of class, Professor Akman exposed many labels that have been attached to the East for many years; the West tends to perceive the Middle East as an older country with no sense of civility or evolvement. While growing up, people tended to connect their perceptions of the East with my name and assumed that I was a turban wearing, threatening individual, but when people got to know me on a personal level, they seemed pleasantly surprised that I appeared “normal”. Where did these negative views on the Middle Eastern countries come from? Will they ever be completely eliminated? I believe that this course will educate me on the reasons why the East and the West are at such odds today and even help me cope with the constant bias that I endure due to my name and my religion.

It seems as though the West has had low expectations of the East since the beginning of time. The far West never had the first hand experience with Eastern counties that Europe did. Since before the 16^th century, Europeans, such as Napoleon and his army, had the idea to invade Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries but not only with troops; Napoleon was insightful enough to bring scientists, mathematicians, painters, sculptors, etc. along with him to explore and document the Orient. The data and knowledge extracted by Napoleon and his men would go back to the European countries and make their people less ignorant about this “foreign” land. American’s knowledge on the East, for the most part, comes from the stories and interviews of the media. The media is heavily under the influence of politics; therefore the news could be inaccurate. The American government, being in cahoots with Israel, tends to portray the other Middle Eastern countries negatively: showing riots as well as incivility and barbarism. This is unfair to American civilians; we cannot learn the truth of the East. This barricade put up by the U.S government makes it very difficult for American citizens, like me, that have roots or religious preference that come from the Middle East to be treated equal and unbiased.

In the third video, out of four, on YouTube, Said expressed that if humanity transformed from an identity with extreme variances to an identity that is uniform and includes suppressing the many differences is the greatest goal that human kind can reach. The idea of worldwide equal rights sounds flawless; but if one were to take Said’s statement radically, humanity could evolve into an alien world without the uniqueness of culture. I agree that the human race should not only tolerate differences between people throughout the world, but also understand and grow from one another. Said’s idea of a better world can be reached but with caution.