An Anthropological Perspective on “Lone Wolf”: Our Stunning Double Standards When it comes to race and religion by Khaled Beydoun
In the news article, writer Khaled Beydoun argues that the shooting in Las Vegas on October 1st demonstrates how people in America view the act of terrorism when it comes to race and religion. Despite how the shooter, Stephen Paddock, was armed with ten rifles, and the large scale of causalities, Sherriff Joe Lombardo immediately rejected that the crime has any relation to terrorism, categorizing it as an act by an individual isolated from any ideological motivations. This is only one of the many cases of mass violence related to white criminals being considered the “lone wolf” or “insane” with no ties to terrorism, …show more content…
America is also a nation-state since there is a centralized political authority, which contributes to the generalization of other race and religion in America as white seems to be the furthermost dominant and symbolism of the nation. In view of an anthropologist, the article written by Khaled Beydoun is related to cultural relativism as generalization, and accusation of terrorism due to unfamiliarity of religion and race is being depicted in the article. The state and law enforcement are quick to generalize Muslims, brown and blacks in relation to their race and religion, not their identity as an individual. In class we learn as anthropologists, it is impossible to make normal judgments about beliefs of others before we understand the culture which is also applied that we cannot make judgements and generalize a whole race and religion as one. The way the author is portraying America is also related to the concept of ethnocide. As the author explains generalization and how because one’s action, for Muslims it is expected for Muslims Americans to apologize and disavow due to the fact they share a religion with the wrongdoer as if they were part of the crime. The author also describes an anti-terrorism program installed by Barack Obama for the purpose of classifying and arresting “homegrown” Muslim radicals. This in relation disperse the culture smaller as people become more afraid to practice their religion or even flee America. As Americans focus on Muslims being “boogymen” and their legal system points in the direction as a society, that Muslims are the cause of terrorism in America, this is a form of ethnography the state has on religion particularly Islamic. From an etic perspective from this article, it is shown that the author thinks overgeneralization of different races
In the news article, writer Khaled Beydoun argues that the shooting in Las Vegas on October 1st demonstrates how people in America view the act of terrorism when it comes to race and religion. Despite how the shooter, Stephen Paddock, was armed with ten rifles, and the large scale of causalities, Sherriff Joe Lombardo immediately rejected that the crime has any relation to terrorism, categorizing it as an act by an individual isolated from any ideological motivations. This is only one of the many cases of mass violence related to white criminals being considered the “lone wolf” or “insane” with no ties to terrorism, …show more content…
America is also a nation-state since there is a centralized political authority, which contributes to the generalization of other race and religion in America as white seems to be the furthermost dominant and symbolism of the nation. In view of an anthropologist, the article written by Khaled Beydoun is related to cultural relativism as generalization, and accusation of terrorism due to unfamiliarity of religion and race is being depicted in the article. The state and law enforcement are quick to generalize Muslims, brown and blacks in relation to their race and religion, not their identity as an individual. In class we learn as anthropologists, it is impossible to make normal judgments about beliefs of others before we understand the culture which is also applied that we cannot make judgements and generalize a whole race and religion as one. The way the author is portraying America is also related to the concept of ethnocide. As the author explains generalization and how because one’s action, for Muslims it is expected for Muslims Americans to apologize and disavow due to the fact they share a religion with the wrongdoer as if they were part of the crime. The author also describes an anti-terrorism program installed by Barack Obama for the purpose of classifying and arresting “homegrown” Muslim radicals. This in relation disperse the culture smaller as people become more afraid to practice their religion or even flee America. As Americans focus on Muslims being “boogymen” and their legal system points in the direction as a society, that Muslims are the cause of terrorism in America, this is a form of ethnography the state has on religion particularly Islamic. From an etic perspective from this article, it is shown that the author thinks overgeneralization of different races