Stereotypes: Products of the Media

Arab people are among the most stereotyped and prejudiced groups in America today. Since the September 11th terrorist attacks, stereotyping of Arabs has increased, especially by the media (Said) and the government (Hassan). This has occurred in conjunction with a large increase in hate crimes against Arabs (Cainkar). Every ethnic group has its negative stereotypes and has experienced hate crimes. But almost every ethnic group also has positive stereotypes associated with it. For example, while Asians are stereotyped as being poor drivers, they are stereotyped as being highly intelligent. While African-Americans are stereotyped as being uneducated, they are also stereotyped as being athletic. While stereotypes themselves are a bad concept, the fact that there are positive stereotypes about certain groups indicates that Americans do consider these groups as contributing something to society, or that these groups are not entirely bad. Arabs do not have any sort of positive stereotype commonly associated with them.   They are labeled as terrorists, or fanatical Muslims (McCarus). Why the Arabs? Why are they singled out as the only completely negative group in America? Arabs are stereotyped against due to their portrayal in the media.
It is a common idea that Arabs are stereotyped against due to the September 11th terrorist attacks. Though tension since the terrorist attacks has escalated, these stereotypes have been in place for quite some time. The Oklahoma City Bombing of 1995 was surrounded by them. Initially, Arab terrorists were the suspected perpetrators of the attack, which led to unjust harassment of Arab individuals within Oklahoma City (Blassing). The first Gulf War created tension as well, and several Arabs were assaulted in America in 1991 and 1992 (Shaheen, Jack G. Part III). There has been tension with Arab countries for several years, escalated by a bombing at the U.S. embassy in Beirut in 1983 and the Iran hostage crisis in 1979 (Shaheen, Jack G. Part...