Friday, August 15, 2014

Keeping The Stereotype Going

This 72 year old lady from Lebanon is fluent in Arabic and French and understands quite a bit of English, although she speaks it haltingly.  She has a PhD in pharmaceutical studies and has a wonderful sense of humor.  She enjoys traveling the world and meeting new people from all over.

This lady is a jewel and I was blessed with talking to her and laughing with her on my Celtic Highlight  tour.  My husband and I teased her about her smoking and told her stories about my mother-in-law's similar smoking habits, including a common brand.

The non-Lebanese people on our tour never gave themselves a chance to get to know this remarkable woman.  They bought into the "Arab-Muslim" stereotype perpetuated by our tour guide.  They lost out big time.

The more I think about the events of my trip and the marginalization of these people, the sicker I feel.  It scary how people will buy into stereotypes and cause a lot more danger than not speaking to people on a trip.  This how Nazis were put into power.

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