Racial Stereotypes In Sherman Alexie's Flight Patterns?

Sherman Alexie’s Flight Patterns, which discusses racial stereotypes, relates to the effects of 9/11 on American citizens, who tend to inappropriately judge Muslim and other cultures in the world today. Although 9/11 was a horrible day, it still should not be used to categorize and stereotype people. Stereotypes do nothing but harm to the people who receive it and to the people who dish it out. The first thing that every person says when you mention stereotypes being mean or hurtful to people is that stereotypes don’t really affect anyone or the way that people act towards them and treat them. However, after 9/11, Muslims in America quite often felt that the people around them were constantly judging them. This however is true for in the story

Though recent studies have shown that this is not just in the U.S. but worldwide (el-Aswad). In Flight Patterns William is always describing and joking about the many different stereotypes and unfortunate events that can and might happen to him since 9/11. He talks about the way his skin, eyes, and hair look, also how, “[he] should have worn beaded vests when he traveled…and maybe have brought a hand drum and sang” so people will know that he is Indian and not judge him (60). But when the taxi driver questions him on his nationality he is slightly offended but he moves on because he had racially profiled him because of the scar on his neck earlier. Things like this occur because though it might not be the original intentions, “Ideas and images circulate in media frequently enough to then have effects, such as producing fear, in viewers” about the different minorities in our country, especially Muslims in this post 9/11 world

Several people in these cultures that are constantly watched or people are scared of try their hardest to fit in and look more Americanized. This includes them dying their hair, trying to appear lighter or darker than they are depending on their nationality. Some will even try to change their facial features or eye color so you won’t know what their true nationality is. On the other hand some try and make their actual nationality be more noticeable to separate them from the stereotypes. Similarly, William seems to want to change the judgment people make when they look at him and hear what his nationality is, which can be seen when he talks about being a Spokane Indian and wearing the beaded vest and carrying around drums. However, the media and press in the U.S. are making it rather impossible for them to be accepted equally; “The biased and distorted media coverage that misrepresents…Muslims has recently been discussed by [American] scholars. The extreme stereotype[s] assert that all Muslims are terrorists, although it is said that terrorists are the minority of Muslims