So by now you must have heard about Ghulam Nabi Azad’s big mess up. I have been following the news on various sites. One of the common comments that I have come across on such site is:
“He is a Muslim, what did you expect?”
And that’s where they loose me. Its just not the comments on the internet, some of my friends make such comments whenever there is a Muslim involved in whatever controversy. These people, for some reason, don’t make similar remarks when we discuss [baba] Ramdev, or Shiv Sena, or Narendra Modi, or Babri Masjid demolition, or Gujarat riots. To top it, their main defense for any arguments against such prejudice:
“I have Muslim friends.”
Honestly! Apparently, having Muslim friends makes it all okay. They can say anything against Muslims because they have Muslim friends.
Coincidentally, I also have Muslim friends. The reason I argue against such stereotyping is because of them. Because I know my friends are far better than that (and the reason they are my friend). Because I know they don’t stereotype me and put me in the same category as Ramdev, or Modi (thank God for that). And most importantly, because they are my friends. No one speaks that way about my friends in front of me, without me jumping in their defense. And yes, when people stereotype like that and make insulting statements about a community, they are insulting each and every member of that community, including my friends and their own friends. Don’t know about them, but I can’t stand by and let somebody insult my friend.
P.S.: 1. I am, by no means, defending Azad’s statement. I am very upset about it as well. He is a complete moron.
2. Yes, I know stereotyping is a common thing and we all do it. I guess its human nature. What I don’t like are people vehemently defending those stereotypes and start making hurting statements. They need to learn the line between doing something for fun and being hurtful.
A better assumption would be "He is a politician!" :) I get your point and it angers me no end too...this kind of stereotype about Muslims is akin to racism where we stereotype certain races with comments like this. As you said, Bal Thackeray, Modi et al are known for their prejudices. Yet, you don't hear things like "Oh well, he's a Maharashtrian" or "He's a gujju" or the like. Having said that, I have heard that from Indians so many times too...the stereotype based on regions and that used to annoy me while growing up...oh well, whole different post.
ReplyDeleteI agree: "He is a politician" would have been better!
ReplyDeleteStereotyping can be fun as long as its not taken seriously or meant to hurt someone. Like stereotyping the arrogance of ivy league-rs, or the breezy behavior of Californians or even simply pointing out amount of butter/ghee North Indians use in their food. I belong to all these categories and never got offended by any of these stereotypes. I think its the tone of the talk and seriousness of such discussions that matters the most.
My problem is when people simply refuse to look beyond the stereotypes and actually believe that ALL people in that particular community behave in a certain way.Or when they use these stereotypes in a serious political debates as a ground truth! They cross the line when they start taking the stereotypes seriously.