Howdoes it feel to be a problem? – Moustafa Bayoumi. Summary analysis
TheAmerican society has been criticized on many occasions for being tooharsh on non-American communities living in the country. A lot hasbeen said about racist behaviors that have been common among someAmericans, which has prompted a lot of writers to express theirdispleasure at how non-natives are finding the going tough in thiscountry. In this book, Bayoumi has taken time to examine theconditions of life that Arabs and Muslim – Americans are facing inforging ahead with their daily lives. He takes a closer look at thelives of about six Muslims, seven Arab-Americans as well as aChristian too. The kind of life being faced by these groups of peoplehas evolved to be a key subject of discussion in the Brooklyncommunity today. In this book, Bayoumi discusses about the kind ofstereotypic behavior that is shown to these people, making it hardfor them to live descent lives in Brooklyn. He explains thatAmericans tend to think that Arab and Muslim-Americans are terroriststhat do not deserve a place in the American society (Bayoumi53).
Bayoumiexplains that there is a lot of surveillance that the government hasput in place to monitor every move that Arabs and Muslim-Americansmake with the intention of getting accusations against theirunfounded fears. This understanding makes it hard for them to getjobs in Brooklyn and beyond for those that get jobs, they face a lotof discrimination, making their living most indecent (Bayoumi97).Despite these harsh conditions of life, these people have alwaysmanaged to through setbacks and played a role in weaving the tapestryreminiscent of a changing society that is purely American.
WorksCited
Bayoumi,Moustafa. HowDoes It Feel to Be a Problem?: Being Young and Arab in America.New York: Penguin, 2008. Print.