In America, Muslims Are the New Jews
Posted by Ted Hopton on April 20, 2008
I just heard an amazing statistic on NPR. A survey found that only 34% of Americans say they do not have a negative bias toward Muslims. Do the math: that means a whopping 66% of Americans are biased against Muslims. By contrast, 74% of Americans claim not to have any bias against Jews.
So, 26% of Americans are anti-Semitic, and that’s nothing to be proud of, but I’d guess that’s a lot better than past percentages in our history. What struck me in the statistics is that we’ve replaced bias against one religion for bias against another. Muslims are the new Jews in America, the country where freedom of religion is enshrined in our constitution. You can practice whatever religion you wish, but many of us will assume you’re up to no good if you do.
I’m not even going to waste any time on the specious argument that the 9/11 attackers were Muslim, etc. Prejudice is prejudice, period. It’s the refuge of the ignorant and lazy. Rather than learn about people who look and behave and worship differently, prejudiced people jump illogically to the conclusion that they need to suspect and fear an entire group. That’s easier for them to process, as it requires less thinking and reasoning.
Even better, it makes them feel better about themselves, because it gives them an entire group of people to look down upon and feel superior to, while bonding them to their ignorant neighbors in a false feeling of fellowship. It’s us against them, and the boundary lines are painted in bold red, white and blue — all the better to obscure the subtle shades of reality that they choose to ignore.
