Final Post

          This book focused on the experiences that arab americans have in their daily lives. Some were traumatic while others were uplifting. It all varied based on the person. Arabs are in the spotlight a lot now with the media and the public. It all started with the 9/11 attack and kept escalating because of all of the wars in the middle east. At this moment, arabs do not have a positive view associated with them. Although it is not fair, everything that the media has presented would make an average person not feel very well about arabs in general. In my opinion the media is the main contributor to racism about every race. They only cover the most extreme stories that constitute some sort of attack or the 1% of a race that has lost their minds and the public depicts an entire race based only on those few. This has been a pattern and I don't think it will ever stop because that is really how the media gets a majority of its viewers.
          Being an arab american myself, I can relate to a lot of the experiences in the book. There have been times that I have been denied opportunities just because of my race and it hurts but I learned that I just have to move on from stuff like that and let it go. Some people just aren't mature and feel like they have to put other people down to make themselves feel better. One just needs to ignore that and realize that just because one is a certain race never means one should be ashamed by that. Your race is something that you can identify with and something that you should really be proud of no matter what the circumstances. In regards to rascism, as long as you are always the bigger person and avoiding it and confronting people when the situation calls for it, it should be something that is easily brushed off.
          By being an arab american I have gained strength from all of the prejudice and all of the adversity I have faced. It also is a large part of my identity and who I truly am. This book was easily relateable to and sometimes it really pushed my emotional buttons. I realized that instead of just sitting by and letting it happen I need to be a voice that resists racism and do everything I can so that people don't have to go through what the people in the book or what I have went through.