Misconceptions

Misconceptions… Yet another thing American’s are superb at. Always creating ignorant labels, judging, and applying stereotypes but in actuality, it’s just building upon the growing misconceptions that travel throughout the country.

Although, everyone has misconceptions along with misguided perceptions and impressions.

Within Dave Eggers’s Zeitoun, the misconceptions just travel and follow one after another. The story follows Abdulrabman Zeitoun, a Muslim, Syrian-American and his wife Kathy, a recently converted islamic Louisiana native, as they ride out Hurricane Katrina. In the aftermath of the storm, Zeitoun adopts a canoe and paddles around the city, rescuing fellow victims and being a good citizen. But while relaxing one afternoon, Zeitoun and three others get pinned for looting and instantly become the target of a classic American misconception.

While in prison, Zeitoun gets accused of being a member of Al Qaeda and the Taliban (212), yet why am I not surprised. America is notorious for misconceptions, especially when there’s a “terrorist” in question. It’s awful, it truly is, and it’s one of the worst things about the egocentric America. Trust me, as an American, I’m aware of how nationalistic America can be. Hopefully one day the government and Americans will have some sort of epiphany  and finally realize that ethnicity doesn’t have a link to terrorism.

Although, it is not necessarily American’s faults, it’s becomes rooted in our upbringing. Regardless of how accepting and opening any American can be, there will still be those ignorant, misguided thoughts and misconceptions. Kathy, who has been completely converted to Islam still “…later admitted, an antique idea of Syria. She’d pictured deserts, donkeys, and carts — not so many cosmopolitan cities…She’d assumed Syria was entirely Muslim, but she was wrong about this, and about so many things (192).” Her ignorance is only built upon the media’s representations of the Middle East, with America as a highly developed country and all other countries as less developed. And sadly but surely, the Middle East get’s it’s own special portrayal (from the United States) as completely undeveloped desert.

It really is ridiculous how ignorant American’s can be. Of course, not all are like this, not even close, but unfortunately,  there still is a large handful of those oblivious SOBs. But maybe one day we can have peace and acceptance across the lands. Maybe one day.

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