The immediate aftermath of the Boston bombings revealed tales of unparalleled heroism. Tales of ordinary civilians running towards thick walls of smoke to help those who fell victim to the bombs flooded the news. However, a much darker narrative has since plagued not only our country but the entire world. That narrative is a perpetually racist, accusatory sentiment coming from Americans and non-Americans alike. A stark us vs. them mentality only serves to perpetuate a cycle of racial prejudice and hatred. Despite the fact that the two bombers were actually of the Islamic faith, it was asinine and bigoted of some to automatically assume the unknown bombers’ religion seconds after the attack. Likewise, it was also unjust to post 10 hateful tweets or Facebook statuses as support for claiming that the whole country is awash in racist sentiment.
I truly believe there is a fundamental social problem across the globe, a problem first made clear to me by a play I saw last summer. The musical, “Avenue Q,” is essentially an R-rated version of the Muppets. One song, “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist,” explains how everyone harbors some type of prejudice but as long as it’s not malicious or hateful it is pretty harmless. The more I thought about this message, the more I found myself agreeing. Like it or not, you have stereotypes you assign to certain groups of people — but this doesn’t mean they need to be founded in hatred.
The only way we’re going to break down these barriers is if we are honest with each other about the prejudices we hold. This holier-than-thou mindset can best be fought by looking in the mirror at our own stereotyping prejudices. Can any of us honestly claim to be a model citizen who casts no judgment on anyone else? By learning about ourselves, we can tear down this supposedly impermeable wall that stands between cultures and learn about other groups of people. People hate what they don’t understand — I say it’s time we stop hating and start learning.
Brandon Jacobi is a contributing columnist. Email him at [email protected].
