What tropes and stereotypes of the "Oriental" can be seen in the practices Bald describes?
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Under Jim Crow laws, African Americans adopted various methods and practices to “”pass” in the segregated South” (Bald, 50). Posing as both “Hindu” or “East Indian” allowed them more liberty and gave them access to more opportunities. Despite being seen as “exotic” and the Other, they faced less of the systemic racism and strict racial boundaries that African Americans were presented with. White people saw African Americans and South Asians through two different racial lenses and treated them based on their “perceived” race. Indeed, exoticism is a stereotype enforced on the East by the West. In Orientalism, Edward Said criticizes the West for its view of the East and its portrayal as this magical place full of mysticism. Bald goes on to describe the stereotype of politeness and servility of the Bengali peddlers. This Oriental “politeness” reflects the idea that the East is a submissive entity in need of the West’s help. Travel puts African American individuals’ lives in danger in the context of the Jim Crow laws. Therefore, they strategically took advantage of these stereotypes, changed their identities to protect themselves, and were consequently viewed as harmless and fascinating instead.