Who Faces the Most Discrimination?

There was a recent survey that came out for the purpose of helping illustrate which race faces the most discrimination in America. The results displayed that Latin Americans face the highest degree of bigotry. 


I don't reside in America, however, I found the results interesting and a bit far from the truth. Firstly, I feel like Americans are always in competition chasing the mystery of who suffered the most misery. Whether it be in the context of history or in current reality, everybody wants to know who experiences the most prejudice. It's almost as though some of them want a pity party. 


In any event, I think in a post-911 world, Arabs and more specifically, Muslims are a group of people that American culture demonizes and is very fearful of. Islamophobia is pretty rampant. That’s not to say that Blacks and Hispanics are not still heavily discriminated against. However, I think it is fair to say many black, white, and Hispanic populations are united in their fear of Muslims. 


There was a piece covering this particular topic in a recent 20/20 report. Americans blindly participated in an experiment where their actions to an actor mistreating a Muslim woman that entered his store was observed. There was a total of 20 bystanders, and from them, only 13 stood up to quiet the store owner whereas the rest encouraged his radical behavior. Some of them even went as far as giving a thumbs up as a reaction to his ignorant remarks. American folks scare me...

The Academy Awards

"I would like to thank the academy for showing that it can be about the performance and not the politics..."
Those were a few of the words shared by Oscar winning actress Mo'nique last night at the Academy Awards. I just have a minor contention to her claim. I feel that her victory was strictly about the politics! Come on...when is it not? I'm not at all downplaying her performance--I really feel it was spectacular but I feel that majority of the exposure that she is receiving has largely to do with the content the movie was displaying. The biggest win of the night is always the lead roles but Mo'nique managed to make all the headlines this morning?! Although very rarely does an over weight woman of colour cover the front page of the newspaper, it is unsettling to discern the real reason behind her praise.


Side Note: I wonder if her victory means she will finally have relevant guests at her late night show...lol


Another disappointment of the night was Avatar's loss to the Hurt Locker in the best motion picture category. Yet another win based on politics! Avatar has unmatched revenues in the box office--making it a historical performance, in line with Titanic! How was Hurt Locker able to triumph over this movie?!! ahhh politics....

The Blind Side

For those of you who know me, you are already aware that I am a complete movie junkie. I think I should seriously consider becoming a movie critic. Not only will I be able to view movies for free but my input will be taken into account, which I think is totally awesome considering my completely objective viewpoints :)

In any event, I watched this particular movie which happens to be based off a true story. It was just so amazing to watch. It follows the life of an African American teen who has been brought up in the ghettos but is fortunate enough to come in contact with a well off Caucasian family who takes him in as their child. It was so beautiful to watch this woman just selflessly help and provide for this strange adolescent. Generosity and altruistic acts are so rare but absolutely beautiful when demonstrated. It kind of brought tears to my eyes! but then again, I'm easily allured emotionally lol.

The Modern Racist Paradigm

This is a documentary that sheds light into the tactics of modern media in setting global standards. The media has been working endlessly at aiming to standardize Caucasians as the "social norm" by propagating recurring images depicting Caucasians in positive roles and as protagonists while usually depicting Non-Caucasians as background characters and antagonists. This causes societies to build perceptive stereotypes and ultimately causing classification and prejudice. 


I applied the insight I gained from this documentary to media today: 


The 'Precious' movie that recently came out strongly reinforces the African American stereotype. It is a movie that follows the life of a young African American female who experiences obesity, illiteracy, abuse, incest and violence. All of which help construct the current stereotype of African Americans as being lazy, immoral degenerates who live in poverty. It is no surprise that 'White' critics viewed this movie as sensible and worth the watch. The African American populous however, sees this movie as demoralizing and have a hard time connecting with it. 


Below is the first section of the documentary. 

The Coca Cola Case

I previously heard about the killer coke campaign, which I interpreted as being a rally organized to end the sales of Coca Cola products. Instinctively, I just viewed their advertisements as a marketing strategy introduced by the products competitors. However, I was proven wrong after having viewed the documentary on this topic yesterday. The killer coke campaign was in fact intended to inform Coca Cola consumers that the company has been involved in various scandals that have left many of the company's employers dead. The workers are very seldom rewarded for their efforts and denied the right to form unions. Many of the lost employers were driven individuals who were hell bent on speaking for their rights, and one of the ways they were determined to execute this was to form unions. Unfortunately, this courageous act cost them their lives. Although the CEO of the company denies these allegations, it is difficult to attribute the loss of all the union leaders to chance alone.


Coca Cola is also accused of the overexploitation and the pollution of waters in the international countries they do business with. They also sent threatening messages to all campaigns that were determined to taint their public image and in turn decrease their product sales. They attempted to silence them with economic means but this is a political issue that raises larger human rights issues and can't just be rectified using an economic bonus. 


I hereby, am ending the use of Coca Cola products! Not only are they nutritionally worthless and play a major factor in the rising numbers of obesity and its related complications, they are also generating income through the immoral laborious mistreatment of unfortunate workers. You can't just expect to step over others just so you can move ahead...

Oryx and Crake

I usually stay away from science fiction novels simply because they're generally too imaginative and rarely have any realistic component, but since Oprah recommended this particular book, I had to give it a shot. I'm glad I did and would recommend it to anyone who's a fan of this genre, or anybody for that matter. It is the most compelling depiction of the future ever. It has such a surreal feel to it!


Currently reading the sequel 'The Year of the Flood'. 

I'm With CoCo

Everyone is probably aware of the debacle between Conan O'Brien and NBC. The network station is introducing a new program that will be taking the time slot of Leno's show and since Leno receives higher ratings than O'Brien he will be replacing him. The network station gave O'Brien an ultimatum, either accept to have your show aired at a later time or take a payout of $40 million. Being the stubborn person he is, he decided to go with the payout. He has to sign a contract stipulating that he will not deface the network station that has been 'good' to him all these years or he will forfeit the deal. Nobody tells O'Brien what to do and so even before he is "kicked" off the air--quite literally, he is insulting them. This man is such a comedian! I personally think Leno only receives higher ratings simply because of the convenience of the time his show airs. ....SO LONG COCO....

Miracles in our Body

One of the most crucial things in life is our ability to see. The eye is one of the many manifest factors of evidence that living creatures are created. All of the organs involved in allowing us to see is a striking example of a perfect design. This exceptional organ is so exceedingly complex that it transcends even the most sophisticated of devices. 

Science has proved that in order for an eye to see properly, all of its parts need to coincide and work together. For example, if an eye somehow lost its eyelid but all other parts remained, it would be extremely damaged and in a short while, the eye would completely lose its seeing function. It is integral for all parts to be present and even the slightest of changes can lead to a fatal course.

Evolutionists believe that the world and its living organisms came about through a chain of coincidences and randomized happenings. The world started off with simple unicellular organisms and with the help of environmental surroundings and natural selection these organisms were able to metamorphosize into multicellular organisms (i.e. humans).

Here's my problem with believing this theory: if that theory was the actual course of events, wouldn't that indicate that the eye started off with limited parts and it slowly evolved into what we know today? But that would mean it never functioned since all the parts are required for the eye to see? hmmmm....doesn't sound too compelling! Let's hypothetically believe that Evolution existed. But then how did unconscious cells gain a conscious requiring function such as seeing...still not compelling!

I hope one day Evolution and their far fetched theories are remembered in history as primitive and superstitious beliefs contradicting both reason and science. This would draw people to accept that there is a Possessor of superior Wisdom Who has alone created living beings with senses.

Dr. Edna Adan

I was researching famous or well known Somalis in popular culture (not particularly a hobby of mine, but you can imagine my state of boredom) and I stumbled upon this woman. I read her biography and the various activities shes involved with, and she is just absolutely amazing. She's a medical student who through her knowledge, has positively impacted the health status of the Somali community. She has educated and trained unfortunate students and introduced critical health practices by innovatively advocating safer health procedures. Thanks to her tireless efforts, there has been a significant decrease in infant mortality rates and maternal complications and an increased level of health awareness. She has been recently inducted into the Medical Mission Hall of Fame and is internationally known!---she is definitely added to my list of role models---love to see Somalis being represented in a positive light...

       Edna Adan alongside her husband visiting the White House

Trusting Yourself.

Often times we rely on others opinions and insights to learn about the truth rather than discovering it through ourselves. Even if you trust compelling literatures or an influential person, understand that it is you who is trusting them and discerning for yourself if they warrant recognition. If you trust yourself, the universe will teach you all the right lessons required to mature and realize your full potential.

(Muslim philosopher) Ghazali: "Whoever determines truth by people will be lost in the plains of confusion. Rather, know the truth, & you'll know its people."

Inner Peace

I recently listened to a lecture given by Bilal Philips on this interesting topic. Searching for inner peace is an issue not exclusive to just Muslims, but rather a universal quest and is desired by all human beings.There are different channels to attaining this. The global village that we live in promotes its attainment through the rapid production of technology. In reality, however technology has only proven to improve on the convenience of life. If you study statistics, you will notice the numbers display that there are twice as many people dying of suicide than aids and homicides. An increase in suicide rates is a clear indication of a decline in inner peace. This finding rules out technology and other such material riches from our pursuit of internal harmony. We should distinguish between physical pleasure (which is what technological advancements provide) and inner peace. Physical pleasure is a temporal state, whereas inner peace is a sense of stability that carries us through the various experiences of life. 

Strategies of Attaining Inner Peace

1) Identify the obstacles.

2) Recognize them within yourself.

3) Organize these into two categories. Things you can change and others that are not within your range of control. Accept the characteristics that have been destined for you and focus less on these issues. Concentrate on the qualities that you are able to mould and improve upon.

Lesson: There is constant pressure from our surroundings to focus on qualities that are beyond our scope of control, whether it be our physical appearance, financial affluence or even familial matters. These demands are extremely narrow and only expect one desired outcome. Falling short from these expectations negatively affects our well being and prompts the hindrance of our growth. Don't be too consumed on these matters. Learn to accept these circumstances and shift your focus on enhancing qualities that you are able to control.