Ahh...the Hispanic vote

I know that they "can't tell us apart either", but even our votes have been given a singular term as if all hispanics, legal or illegal, mexican or puerto rican, rich or poor, Central American or South American, (OK you get the point) meet up, select a candidate and set a time when they all walk to the polls in unison to "tip the balance" of the votes.

Obviously, it's not just hispanics that get categorized; almost every ethnicity gets the same treatment from the press. I never had a problem with it until Professor Reisner brought it up in our class discussion, then I read an article from the ABC News site - Could Hispanics Tip the Balance in Key Races?

The article analyzes every important election going on all over the country by demonstrating poll results and comparing them to hispanic vote history. Needless to say, it makes reference to "THE HISPANIC VOTE" or "THE LATINO VOTE" several times. It also examines key issues that can influence THE HISPANIC VOTE such as immigration. Here is a good one:

 

The article mentions this ad in its analysis because evidently we are all creeping behind fences with our flashlights trying to get across to the US and take jobs away from people. Many hispanics, even the illegal ones, didn't get here through a fence. 

Although I have to admit, seeing that ad does sting a little bit. However it's not because I'm hispanic, but because I can't imagine how hurtful it must be to be for illegal aliens to be portrayed as a pest to society.

So back to the original subject, THE HISPANIC VOTE. Does the term really bother me? Not really, and I don't know why. Something about it sounds off, but I think there are instances in which it is appropriate and others when its not. 

I don't think the article is deliberately trying to be offensive and for the most part it's not. But maybe it's because I am different than all those other hispanics, and I have different interests and issues that I care about. Maybe someone else might feel a bit offended by the statistics and conclusions that this article draws. 

I guess it's every hispanic for himself.

My take on the Juan Williams scandal

As most of you know, my listening post is a mosque. I am slowly becoming very acquainted with the muslim community of Miami Gardens and I totally understand why William's comments would hurt the feelings of a Muslim. It definitely hurt my feelings a little bit.

It just seems to me that people in this country still haven't learned how to differentiate the terms terrorist and Muslim. My mother had been working in the World Trade Center for many years when the awful 9/11 attack occurred and she lost a big part of her life that day. However, she has never blamed Muslims or made reference to Muslims as being terrorists, and neither have I.

So honestly, I just don't understand William's mentality, even though I know a lot of people share it. When I read his quotes, my first reaction was to feel instantly offended. But I realized that most people seem to almost agree with him on some levels and defend him. So maybe there is something going on that I just can't see.

Some people argue that it was just his honest opinion and firing him from NPR was violation of his constitutional right of freedom of speech. Others argue that it was unfair and our society has gone too far in an effort to be politically correct. And others argue that it was just an honest opinion and it is a sentiment shared by many people throughout America.

But I also feel that had it been white man/woman expressing a similar fear about a black men (which we all know is a sentiment shared by many people), the backlash would've been 20 times worse, and 99% of the population would have agreed with NPR's decision in that case.

So what makes it ACCEPTABLE for Muslims to be publicly discriminated against and not others?

I don't know if I agree with him getting fired either. But I do believe that if we don't have to be politically correct when it comes to Muslims, then we shouldn't be politically correct when it comes to other ethnicities or religions either. It's only fair.

Muslim Mosque Round #2

I called Nasim, the wife of Muhammed Hasain at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday. My plan was to visit Majid Miami Gardens on Sunday, and Nasim seemed like a very nice and knowledgeable lady. So I was hoping she could really show me the ropes the next day and introduce me to people.

Thankfully I got in contact with her and she told me that they have Sunday School from 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. and at 2:00 p.m. they did a prayer before they were off to go home. Nasim and Muhammed are both volunteers for the Sunday school which gives classes to children of 4 years of age to 13.

I showed up the next day just in time for their 2 o' clock praying session. This time I went straight through the back where the women hung out separate from the men. First person I encountered was a tall young woman with an adorable blond and blue-eyed baby in her arms. I asked for Nasim. She spoke to me in Arabic, and somehow I understood that she was asking if I spoke arabic. I shook my head, and she asked me if I spoke english. I said yes, which I thought was redundant since I had already approached her in english.

Nonetheless, she wasn't sure who I was asking her about, but she took me inside. Once inside everyone was praying on the floor, however, as soon as a woman inside saw us, she pulled out two chairs for us to sit.

The young mother I was with asked me if I was muslim. I said no. She looked confused, which to me was a compliment because I felt like I was blending in. I told her that I was form a non-muslim family and I was there to learn about Islam. That's when she told me, in very well spoken english, that she had come from Palestine a year ago.

I looked all around for Nasim but she was nowhere. She pointed at a lady who she thought could help me, but the lady was praying with her back towards us. While the women and children prayed, the young mother explained to me the names of the five daily prayers and times. I had already studied them, but I wanted to keep conversing so I let her explain it to me.

After the praying session was over, the lady who was praying turned around and it was Nasim. Nasim saw me immediately and came over and hugged me. She told me that they were done for the day, but her husband wanted my email so that they can send me more information about the religion and their practices.

While this was happening, the young mother I was with disappeared and I never got to ask her for her name.

I asked Nasim if I could attend Sunday school next week and she said it was no problem. I also found out that although this mosque allows muslims from all sects, it's majority are Sunny's.

I was happy with how my visit went, but I was disappointed that I couldn't get to know the young mother better. I'm praying that she will be there next Sunday because she must have a fascinating story. Her baby is 8 months old, which means that she was pregnant when she left Palestine. I have so many questions for her and I can't wait for this week to pass.