Alsultany HA


Shakespeare tried to understand identity once before. The nature if it, of course, being ambiguous and often intangible. The notion of identity being so complex and nuanced that one, in understanding his or her own identity, sought to understand another’s. The lens through which we view ourselves is through someone else. In the texts we read for today, the Arab and Muslim identities were presented as reflexive and through an interpretative lens. Being in either of those categories meant, for the authors that you saw yourself as according others and as character depictions rather than truthful representations. Alsultany’s piece on the post 9/11 media representations of Arabs and Muslims in American media, goes to further the nuance of identity and cultural acceptance.
            Perhaps being presented in media would do some good, as far as exposure, for a marginalized group. Exposing stereotypes to be false or misplaced and placing those who identify in such prejudiced groups into heroic or sympathetic caricatures in media would, traditionally be thought of trying to promote the shared humanity. However, it would be by those same positive representations that some would find it justifiable to persecute such groups elsewhere. The “sympathetic portrayals of Arabs and Muslims do the ideological work of justifying discriminatory policies” in American legislation. Such representations attempt to quell the notion that the ethnicity is in fact treated negatively. While it may appear in media that the culture(s) is treated fairly, it subdues the fact that discrimination still persists, if not, continues to grow in the daily lives of such individuals.
Such depictions too can offer unjust justifications for interventions into situations under the guise of liberation. The “highly mediated evocation of outrage for the plight of the oppressed Muslim woman inspires support of US interventions in Arab and Muslim countries”, while the nature of that intervention might, in reality, have very little to do with the concern of gender inequality. “It is no coincidence that inspiring outrage” in the American public drives support for US foreign policies whatever the nature of its true motivations. Overly positive or perhaps inherently false representations of Arabs and Muslims perpetuate inaccurate understandings of how those identities currently function in American society. 
            Public representatives and positive depictions of traditionally discriminated against groups perpetuate a myth that all such negativity has been left behind. I believe this “myth” Alsultany brought to light is evident too in the plight of those students in underserved communities. While tutoring at Bridges it has become evident to me that the understanding of students who exist in those communities is that they are in fact being served by tutors like myself. Though my presence and service as a tutor can go undisputed, it does not warrant the term “served”. The service a professional educator provides is an all-encompassing lesson that provides actionable skill. In order to be effectively tutored in a subject, the pupil must in some capacity be familiar with that skill, as the tutor (especially in my case) lacks the ability to instill such skills in their entirety. My service is to provide guidance and suggestions. I cannot teach a lesson, and therefore, when I encounter a student in need of assistance in a certain subject, I find it very difficult to aid in certain areas where the student has been failed in being taught a full lesson.
While I may rack up a number of service hours and appear on numerous social media posts assisting and tutoring those students, it does not conceal the fact that such students still exist and attempt to study in school systems that underserve their academics.

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