Are there any similarities between the treatment of German Americans during WWI and the treatment of Islamic Americans and Arab Americans after 9/11?
Yes, there are similarities between the treatment of German Americans during WWI and the treatment of Islamic Americans and Arab Americans after 9/11. One way was the propaganda used to persuade the country to believe that Germans and Arabs are the enemy of the world and must be fought in order to save the world. The government can take actions in order to “protect” the country. For example, the American government took away thousands of American citizenships from Germans and put thousands in internment camps for no probable cause other than they being German. They also intensively searched
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For example in WWI, the Germans were put in internment camps and put under constant watch as the Americans were scared they would turn on them in the war because they would be loyal to their origin country of Germany. Germans who were citizens of other countries than the US were classified as aliens by the US government. About 250, 000 were to register at their local post office. They had to carry the registration card at all times and to report any change of address or employment. About 6, 300 aliens were arrested while many of them were interrogated and investigated. 2,048 were incarcerated. After 9/11, anyone who looked Arab or had the same skin color as them were suspicious to the US government. Arab, Muslim, Sikh, and South-Asian Americans have been a target of that. Like the Germans, they were thoroughly more investigated at the airport than say a non-muslim caucasian and of African origin. They were kept longer at the airports and many have been interrogated and arrested. In 2006, six Muslim priests were ordered to leave their flight after flight attendants and passengers reported they were doing suspicious …show more content…
The treatment of Germans during WWI and Arabs and South Asians post 9/11 are perfect examples of the mistreatment in America by the public. During WWI, the country was trying to wipe the German culture clean out of the country. One action was change names of places and streets named after a German place or German name to non German name or place. For example, the town of Berlin, Michigan, was changed to Marne, Michigan to honor the soldiers who fought in the Battle of Marne. Many schools had stopped teaching German but the City College of New York continued teaching German courses, but limited the number of credits students get for them. In Cincinnati, the public libraries asked to remove all German books from its shelves. German vocabularies were changed as Sauerkraut was hanged to "liberty cabbage", German measles changed to "liberty measles", hamburgers changed to "liberty sandwiches" and dachshunds changed to "liberty pups". Like the Germans, post 9/11 Middle Easterners and South Asians had been victims of too many to account vandalism, arson, assault, shootings, harassment, murder and threats as the two groups were perceived to be Muslims. Sikhs were victims of various hate crimes due to many Sikh males wearing turbans, which are stereotypically associated with
The difference between the two topics is that the aftermath of 9/11 is sudden change in circumstances. Little to no names is known. No death sentences and it were based on race of the Muslims. Ethnic profiling is still known today. Racism towards the Muslims in the United States was based off the event 9/11. They stereotyped Muslims in all parts of America including other countries as well.
...changed after the World Trade Center towers collapsed. Sikh truck drivers have reported people violently cutting them off and calling them "ragheads." Congregants at Gurdwara Sahib in Fresno had racist graffiti spray painted on their temple. However, "With the passage of time, people have become informed about Sikhs, and the situation has much improved," says Amrik Singh Virk, temple secretary at the Sikh Center of the Pacific Coast in Selma. (Orozco) Unfortunately this change took three years in the Fresno community for the public to finally realize not all Sikhs are terrorists. Although the racial tension has eased with the passage of time,"It has gotten a little better, but, as a minority group, we're still smarting," says Poonia, a Fresno doctor. "There still is ignorance, misunderstanding and prejudice. Color lines have eroded, but they have not been eliminated."
Hijacked planes were purposely flown into the twin towers in New York and killed about 3,000 innocent people. This was one of the most disastrous incident to ever occur during the era. After the release of who caused the attack, lots of people from the Islamic culture were the center of attention right after the event. They were falsely accused of being called terrorists without little to any evidence. It was mainly because of their appearance and beliefs. It was more like racism and stereotypes towards them. Society has painted them to be these terrorists because they were feared and immediately got the wrong idea when they approach them. The day the terrorist attack happened, it sparked a new beginning for their culture. They not only felt scared when they were around them, but they felt like they were going to become a part of a violent attack that they’re going to cause without them acknowledging it. It can be disrespectful and rude to assume they’re terrorist but they didn’t care. It was “[society] [who] feared what [they] don't understand. In a frenzied state of irrational behavior [they] will point fingers and name names and accuse the innocent because [they] are afraid” (Garcia). Society was terrified for their lives. They made them feel unwelcomed and unwanted. The fear exponentially rose and became a problem when they wanted to fly to a destination. Lots of “Americans became paranoid
During the Second World War, the Japanese suffered great embarrassments because of their race. A law in 1948 provided reimbursement for property losses by those imprisoned, and in 1988 Congress awarded compensation payments of twenty thousand dollars to each survivor of the camps; it is estimated that about 73,000 people will receive this compensation for the violation of their liberties (2009). This topic is of significance in today’s society because of the War on Terrorism in Iraq. The same topics have come up in discussion during present day, making these past events significant when terrorism and counter-terrorism tactics are topics of national-security issues. The only difference is that Arab-Americans are not forced into concentration camps.
Sherman Alexie’s Flight Patterns, which discusses racial stereotypes, relates to the effects of 9/11 on American citizens, who tend to inappropriately judge Muslim and other cultures in the world today. Although 9/11 was a horrible day, it still should not be used to categorize and stereotype people. Stereotypes do nothing but harm to the people who receive it and to the people who dish it out.
After 9/11 many people thought, people that come from Middle-Eastern decent or people that practice the Islamic region were looking to harm America. It changed these people’s lives and their futures. When someone is looking to get a job, housing or even education, first impressions are crucial. Since people look at them differently they can be denied all of these necessities. If someone is not granted these necessities, it is not fair but more importantly it can be hard to make an adequacy living. In
American society, like that of Germany, was tainted with racial bigotry and prejudice. The Japanese were thought of as especially treacherous people for the attack on Pearl Harbor. The treachery was obviously thought to reside in ...
Targets of suspicion: the impact of post-9/11 policies on Muslims, Arabs and South Asians in the US. (2004, May 1). Retrieved from http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/special-reports/targets-suspicion-impact-post-911-policies-muslims-arabs-and-south-asians-us
Before the September 11, 2001 bombings, not much social psychological research had focused on Muslim-Americans. As a result of the attack, Muslims quickly became a salient group in American society. At the unfortunate expense of prejudice towards Muslims, 9/11 also led to an increase in research regarding Muslim-Americans (Amer and Bagasra, 2013). Therefore, in analyzing the intergroup relationship between Muslim-Americans and White-Americans we will use 9/11 as the origin of group conflict. Before discussing the driving theories behind the intergroup relationship, it is important to note a certain level of ambiguity in the definition of these groups. We are aware that some Muslim-Americans may in fact also be White (mainly due to religious conversion). Therefore as an operational group, when referring to White-Americans we mean to indicate non-Muslim White Americans.
Major social events can have an effect on how various groups of people are viewed. For example, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, where several individuals of Arab decent brutally murdered hundreds of unsuspecting American citizens. The terrorist hi-jacked several aircraft carriers and set them on a crash course for various national landmarks.
Throughout America’s history, there have been numerous incidents of unnecessary incrimination of certain races, perhaps most evidently the internment of Japanese-Americans between World War I and World War II. Not only did public opinions shift towards illogical discrimination of the foreigners, degrading propaganda, discriminating laws, and segregation/separation began taking over the nation. Mainly due to the idea of national safety, irrational fear of the Japanese quickly arose and the government saw internment as a reasonable response, which only led to the Americans feeling superior to the so-called “inferior creatures.” During the gap between the World Wars, the American population took drastic measures in order to make it clear that they are superior to the Japanese and the United States truly is their country.
Americans felt rage towards those with Middle-Eastern decent, especially after the September 11 terrorist attack. The audio of Shirley Jahad in Anti-Muslim Hate Crimes, reports of people who have faced acts of force and threats the early weeks after September 11, because they appear to be Arabic or are Arabic. There are scores of reports of violence who are or who look Arabic. For example, in San Diego a Sikh 51 year old woman, Sorhan Balar was stopped at a light when a man opened her car door and said “this is what you get for what you people have done to us.” She was hit on the head. Even though she ducked, she still received a cut on her head. The backlashes towards Arab-Americans were a way for Americans to vent. Some have taken patriotism to an excessive level after the terrorist attacks that brought down the World Trade Center towers.
African Americans may be the most targeted race but other races are targeted as well, such as Hispanics, Chinese and after the recent September 11 attacks on the world trade center Arab Americans have become an increasingly alarming target in the United States. And in addition to racial hate crimes there are crimes that involve religious discrimination, gender discrimination, homosexuality and in some cases people with ...
September 11, 2001 forever changed the landscape of the generalized view of the Muslim community in the United States; these acts created a defining stereotypical image that all Muslim’s are extreme terrorists, or condone such behavior. Although this view of the Muslim community was not necessarily new, it was not widely acknowledged in America until the events of September 11th as it was continually thrust upon the public by print and news media. This study will discuss the dichotomy between representations of the Muslim community held by many in the Western culture as well as the psychological cause and effect of such depictions. The sociological “norms” as determined by popular American culture, the development of “terrorist” stereotypes through modern media, and the cause and effect postcolonial literature has had on the subject are all topics that will be evaluated. The objective of this research is to provide enhanced comprehension of the situational attitudes held by Muslims and Americans alike. Also, this will offer an educated understanding of the gap between what is believed and what is factual, in hopes of creating emphasis for the need of a new approach in creating a discrimination free partnership with the Muslim community while maintaining awareness and security.
Throughout Americas history, there has been prejudice, discrimination, and segregation. The prejudice, discrimination, and segregation of African-Americans and Native Americans are well known and often portrayed in movies. The group that is less exposed in movies is the prejudice, discrimination, and segregation of Asians. Mine is about a minority group that has seen prejudice, discrimination, and segregation that is now recognized universally deplorable the Japanese American. The incarceration of the Japanese by the United States during World War II is now considered unjust. After “Executive Order 9066 the army moved 40,000 long-term immigrants, and 77,000 United States citizens of Japanese descent.” (Miksch and Ghere, 2004 p. 212) Although, at that time “Most people thought internment of enemy aliens was a normal precaution in wartime situations.” (Miksch and Ghere, 2004 p. 211) “The practice of internment of enemy aliens is normal practice in Canada, Australia, United States, and European countries.” (Miksch and...