Comments on: Stereotyping Muslims

By: Boyo

Boyo — Thu, 01 May 2008 09:01:19 +0000

Liberal racism. Have you copywrited that term Sunny? I think you should – it says all that needs to be said about so much of the media, and mainstream politics.

By: sonia

sonia — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 10:44:50 +0000

yeah with groups come stereotypes. shitty and encouraging it through these block ideas of group and community and community leader just reinforces it all. And of course broadcast media don’t care or understand individuality since they are precisely about reinforcing crude tribalisms and power structures . People need to be careful how they feed this kind of ‘Othering’…on this sitei would say e.g. posters like Fugstar majorly encourage this sort of thing and make the stereotypers think they are actually onto something. it takes two to tango.

By: dave bones

dave bones — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 09:18:38 +0000

I think most of us on blogs have been saying for years that the media, especially the BBC, fall over themselves to speak to the non-violent extremists and pretty much blatantly ignore everyone else.

Its blow up or shut up. I’ve been saying that for years.

BBC. Liberal racism. Enough said.

Asghar Bukhari from MPACUK who links from your commentisfree article has always come across to me as successfully angry without frightening people.

By: bananabrain

bananabrain — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 10:43:38 +0000

it’s the same with jews. if you’re going to show a jew on television they have to be either a) a hasidic type with fur hat, penguin suit, beard and earlocks, b) a secular/cultural/bagel-eating media type with no visibly jewish attributes other than those legitimised by woody allen, ie self-deprecating humour, neuroses and high IQ or c) an israeli with a grab bag of either an american accent (or that israeli speech pattern that involves going “EEEH” every two seconds), mirrored sunglasses and intransigent political vocabulary. actually, it’s not a million miles off how they portray muslims.

b’shalom

bananabrain

By: MaidMarian

MaidMarian — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 23:01:36 +0000

One of my ex-girlfriends was muslim. Without wanting to stereotype she did not share my taste for a good three rasher bacon sandwich!

That said, and as a slight counterpoint to the article. Burka is a real political satement. If one is going to make a statement, one should not expect it to just be ignored. To dismiss it as someone just, ‘looking to make good TV,’ strikes me as rather one-eyed.

Sorry.

By: Sunny

Sunny — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:01:38 +0000

It must be a hard life cjcjc…

Marvin – true, I said the same about the White Season. It was dripping with condescending attitudes.

By: cjcjc

cjcjc — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 21:29:52 +0000

You don’t get stereotyped, merely vilified.

By: Rumbold

Rumbold — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:58:56 +0000

It seems to be only us white middle-class British hetrosexuals that do not get stereotyped. And guess who makes the programmes in which every other group gets stereotyped?

By: marvin

marvin — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:50:37 +0000

It’s not just Muslims mind

A commenter on CIF says

The media always resorts to seeking out stereotypes when they have a story.

If there is a story about Catholicism there’s usually a Priest or an abuse victim; if there’s a story about Science Fiction they’ll drag in some tit with a pair of Spock ears.

Looking at the BBC’s White Season it all seemed to about about Enoch freakin Powell. Oh lets look at the working class whites! What does that mean to you? Um, BNP sorts, I’d think chaps!

Though, given the current climate, its pretty bad that the media find it so acknowledge the real moderates (i.e the majority of ordinary Muslims) are out there and well, just being normal. I think most of us on blogs have been saying for years that the media, especially the BBC, fall over themselves to speak to the non-violent extremists and pretty much blatantly ignore everyone else.