I like to make friends--that's why I'm a communications major. I also like to learn about other cultures--that's why I'm an international studies major. I like to help people--that's why I'm Vice President of a service organization.
Each of these roles that I play allow me to have a different perspective on every issue I face and every decision I make. I've learned that these attributes may make up my resume, but offer only a very slim view of who I am.
Knowing only what can be seen on a Facebook profile is not the same as knowing someone. You could research every statistic about me, but that won't tell you how I look when I'm laughing or what makes me smile.
Unfortunately, we all make judgments before we actually get to know someone, and we do it every single day. We'll find out what we believe to be key facts about someone (ones that may not even be true) but we decide that because of that we could never be his or her friend or we could never have anything in common with them.
Tonight in a lecture called "The New Religious Intolerance: Overcoming the Politics of Fear," University of Chicago professor, Martha Nussbaum discussed how France is passing laws outlawing burkas (the covering that traditional Muslim women wear). She disbanded every argument the supporters of the "burka ban" provided.
It's a safety concern having people's faces covered--what about surgeons? What about American football players? What about average citizens fighting the cold? All of these people walk around in society with their faces covered and we do not feel threatened.
Wearing a burka makes women only be shown as objects-- Aren't women objectified all over society? What about Playboy centerfolds?
Burkas are unsafe because it is too hot to wear that much clothing. How do stilettos affect the feet of today's women?
Our disconnect with those who are different usually does not stem from a sincere belief that he or she is wrong. It usually starts with a thought--an uncomfortable one. What if this person who is different talks to me? What could I possibly have to say?
When I decided to come to UAB, I did not realize I was basically entering the melting pot of the Southeast. When a Bengali girl in my English class befriended me, I never expected her to be my closest confidante or my . It turned out, however, that she liked fashion and astrology and John Green books just as much as I did. Her roommate was also a Bengali Muslim and she wore a hijab.
The truth is it is very intimidating to speak with someone who is different from you, someone from a background you've never encountered or do not understand.
We do not always know how to act around these people, but is that their fault? Should we persecute them or ignore them for being different just because we do not understand their culture? Should we not be educating ourselves about our neighbors next door and around the world? Or should we continue to separate ourselves from the physically disabled or those whose minds work a little differently?
As late as the 1970s, Chicago (and many other cities in the United States) had "ugly laws" prohibiting aesthetically unappealing people from appearing in public in fear that they might disturb the average passersby. People were unable to leave their homes because of a circumstance they had no control over.
Maybe this doesn't mean much coming from me because I'm Aryan, Protestant, and American-born. Most of the people I was raised around fit this same description. Then again, maybe this makes me the poster child for overcoming cultural and personal differences because I am part of the majority.
The majority decides the status quo, and only we can decide how and when the status quo should change. If we took a minute to realize that maybe those who cover up or do something we don't agree with or can't apprehend are not so different from us, maybe we could learn something. We can call it activism, but what could happen when we decide to step outside of our comfort zones.
What would our world look like if we stopped making excuses and started making connections?
*Definition found at Dictionary.com
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