Racism and Islamophobia in the Individual and the Institution
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Kamal Arora's article and “Benny Lava” by the Swetshop Boys demonstrates how islamophobia and racism can work against minorities at both an institutional level and a personal level.
“Benny Lava” references many instances in which Islamophobia and racism are prevalent in Western institutions. In my opinion, the most shocking one was the example of the Tuskegee syphilis experiments in which African American men were denied penicillin as part of a study of untreated syphilis. What is even more shocking is that, first, these innocent men thought they were thought that they were receiving free healthcare and, second, that they were not even aware that they had syphilis to being with. Another example of institutionalized racism comes in the form of the lyric: “I may not be white, but I know my rights”. Here, we see Heems point out the corrupted police system. People of colour are fully aware of their rights, but still suffer abuse at the hand of the judicial system through things like the NYPD’s “stop and frisk” practice. Furthermore, in a clever play on words, Heems raps: “The devil in some Prada/The pope in some Gucci/Your baby wearing nada”. This is a reference to the hypocrisy within the Vatican, in which Catholics should not be attached to earthly riches and delights, and yet the Pope himself decorates himself with expensive shoes while an innocent child cannot afford to have clothes on their back. The reference to The Devil Wears Prada, in my opinion, is a play on words with the Devil, basically putting the Catholic Church on the same level as someone as vain as the Devil, aka the very person that the Church preaches against. Finally, Riz Ahmed also points out institutional racism and Islamophobia with another clever play on words: “It’s not a toy, it’s not Rhymes-R-Us/But it’s made by brown boys that are tired and f*cked”. These verses are referencing the capitalist abuse found in sweatshops, in which workers are forced to work in horrid conditions for equally horrible wages. The West uses and abuses these sweatshops to procure products like toys (referencing Toy-R-Us). The very name of this group is a reference to this horrible capitalist product.
Kamal Arora discusses racism and Islamophobia on a very personal level as she discusses her very own experiences. She states that the turning point for racism against Canadian and American Sikhs was already boiling before 9/11 but exacerbated afterwards. She recounts the unfortunate experiences of her and hr family, such as the comments about her and her brother’s long hair, and the strange focus on turbans. Arora states that it is visible minorities, such as men and women who wear turbans and hijabs, are the subjects of such hateful attacks. Here we can see how individuals go out of their way to attack people of colour. It is not just an institution, like a justice system, that perpetuates racism and Islamophobia, but members of society as well.
In my opinion, I think the individual and the institution are intertwined. It is the institution that educates the individual of what is and what is not acceptable. By inherently upholding racist and Islamophobic values within an institution like school, for example, the individual starts to live according to the system they are taught. This also works in reverse. It is an individual that brings these intolerant beliefs into the system and shapes the system accordingly so that their own values can be justified.