Section Stereotypes of Persecution in the Book Entitled the Scapegoat - Assignment Example

Teacher Scapegoat Writing about scapegoating from the perspective of an Arab studying in the United s might not sit well in the popular narratives of west since our narrative about the topic is different and could even be diametrically opposed from each other. Except in the section of the book Stereotypes of Persecution in the book entitled The Scapegoat where many of the concepts are universal such as concept of persecution, many of our point of views may not reconcile with the prevailing view of the west. Scapegoating is traditionally defined as being used as being singled out by a certain individual or group of people of being treated negatively by another individual or group of people. Let me begin with the points in the book which are universal and to some extent we could agree such as collective persecution. So as not to be misquoted, I will lift directly from the book about collective persecution which “acts of violence committed directly by a mob of murderers such as the persecution of the Jews during the Black Death. By collective resonances of persecutions I mean acts of violence, such as witch-hunts, that are legal in form but stimulated by the extremes of public opinion”. There is no question that persecution is an act of violence committed by a mob murderers and even if the examples of the Jews are used during the Black Death, I still totally agree with it. Indeed the Jews were persecuted during the Black Death and even during Second World War in Hitler’s concentration. While I agree to this example in persecution, this examples reveals the bias of the book in the narrative of a certain people – the Jews. It is important to note however that in citing the prejudice of the example, I am not belittling the suffering of the Jews during the Black Death and I even added during the Second World War. It is just that my experience as a male Arab Muslim, the example of Jews who were oppressed run counter to my experience. In my eyes and in the eyes of Muslims, the Jews had morphed into tormentors from being the victims. In the eyes of the Muslim world, they have transformed into a modern Hitler that persecuted another group of people which are the Palestinians. It was not so long ago that we saw Gaza turned into a modern day Auschwitz where civilians, including children were killed during the bombing of Israel under the pretext of self-defense. This pretext of self-defense is consistent with the books assertion about persecution which are acts of violence which are “legal in form but stimulated by the extremes of public opinion” in Israel. Imagine Netanyahu getting more than 90% public approval from his constituent to bomb Gaza that emboldened him to do so. I got friends in relatives there who experienced the bombings of Israel and according to their accounts, being actually inside Gaza during the bombing run of Israel where everything is cut off from water to electricity is different from what we saw in TV. It is more horrific and more dangerous. So in this aspect my cultural background met the criterial of scapegoating of being treated negatively by another group of people which are the Israelis which ironically, in the book that was used as reference in the class was also an example of a group of people that used to be tormented. Now, they have evolved as tormentors lending credence to an old cliché that the slaves of today will become the oppressors of tomorrow making Gaza as their version of Auschwitz except that they now play the role of Nazis. The same thing is the case in the book Hatred where the Israelis was used as a victim of hatred by another group the Nazis. The book also discussed the circumstances that made some of Palestinians as suicide bomber arguing that the environment makes a person and that Palestinian camp sites may be a breeding ground of suicide bombers. The book was not explicit but it implied that the hatred that permeates in those camps against Israel may have caused certain individuals to become suicide bombers. Before proceeding further, I must clarify that I am condemning suicide bombing and that there are other ways to carry out the fight against the Israelis. The narrative however is incomplete and one sided because it only talked about the resentment of the Palestinians against the Jews without discussing the injustices that Israel had committed to the Palestinians. Without mentioning the occupation of Israel on Gaza that marginalized and rendered many Palestinians homeless and desperate will make the Palestinians appear as natural suicide bombers or terrorists. It did not mention that atrocity that the Israelis committed to the Palestinians that made some of them to carry out such actions. Of course the audience in the US and most parts of the worlds may have difficulty understanding the injustice and marginalization one will feel when an individual is kicked out by another group of people unless one experiences it directly. As Willard Gaylin would say in his book Hatred “All of us are more capable of distancing ourselves from hatred when we are not bound to the victims in a community of identity” (pg. 7). Unfortunately, Mr. Gaylin inadvertently helped the world to distance themselves from understanding the plight of the Palestinians by only giving the narrative of the Jews while making Palestinians as an example of terror. I may not have directly experienced the pain and sufferings of the Palestinians as the scapegoat of the Israelis but as an Arab Muslim from the Middle East, it is my cultural background that is being persecuted by another group of people – the Israelis. People are not naturally haters if they were just treated justly. If only people are also considerate that when they occupy another land as theirs when it belongs to another, they inadvertently persecute another group of people as they render them homeless and marginalized. This realization may have prevented them from occupying Gaza and bombing the civilian population that caused so much deaths. Works Cited The Scapegoat Gaylin, Wilard. “Hatred”. Read More