We defined ethnocentrism in class as being the “tendency to judge other cultures by the standards of your own culture” (Notes Chapter 3) and I believe that is one of the many reasons behind the boys unpleasant behavior towards me. I believe the boy had took the limited knowledge he had of my ethnicity and determined that rather than accepting the differences that lie between us, he felt threatened and unnaturally obligated to constantly remind me of his unwavering opinion. It is almost as if he was dehumanizing me as a means of making his actions …show more content…
219). Discrimination may very well be the primary reasoning for a young white boy, who grew up in the suburbs of Westerville to immediately single out one of the only African American muslim girls that attended the school. Such discrimination did not just simply arise from our differences, but from the social change that has been rapidly occurring in society. Social change that has altered the manner in which the world views muslims and allowed for the sentiment Islamophobia to flourish. The term Islamophobia existed long before the 9/11 terrorist attacks, however only after that horrific incident did the whole world take notice of it. The terrorist attacks unified the whole country in a time of panic and brought back a sense of patriotism. While on the other hand, fear and distrust of all muslims was being instilled in the masses by those in power who believed Islam should be held responsible for the heinous acts done by a few extremists. Thus, leading to the exclusion and discrimination of all muslims in a macro-level, which lead to the naive little boy to have such a vulgar reaction towards my