Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Amar Bakshi looks at hatred directed at America...

I enjoy the perspective that Amar Bakshi brings to his Washington Post articles, and I found this latest one Hate America; Hate Amar Too? to be especially thought provoking. While I recommend reading the whole article by Amar, one part I found especially noteworthy:

In many cases the U.S.’s most vocal “enemies” have never visited America, met an American, or been directly impacted by its policies. However, they do live in social or political circles that bond over a shared animosity toward the U.S. Built up from news clippings, word of mouth, and domestic discontent, professing hatred for Americans can become anything from sport (I saw plenty of this in UK pubs) to a crucial way of demonstrating belonging. Group pressure can also lead individuals to mask their curiosity about the U.S.


Realistically this hatred and fear is not based on personal experiences but based on the fear of the unknown, the fear of the differences in the cultures, the fear that someone will try to force change in a culture has happened before.

4 comments:

Scott G said...

It is the same way with most Americans who say they hate something. They have never been there or actually met someone from someplace in the case of other nations and have never met someone from a different group they may not like. They just know they don't like them and never could

Unknown said...

Exactly!

:-)

Hooda Thunkit (Dave Zawodny) said...

An observation:

Fear of the unknown often disappears once the unknown has a face.

AmarCBakshi said...

Thanks so much for reading Lisa, and I really appreciate your feedback on this project. I'm in Kashmir now, and Pakistan next. Let me know if you have any thoughts and be in touch! Much gratitude, Amar