Why do white Americans hate Arabs?

Answer 1

Contrary to President George W. Bush's announcement "They hate us for our freedom", this is certainly NOT the reason for Anti-American sentiment.

Any person who has been to a foreign country can tell you exactly why Americans are disliked in most countries, including the Middle East. Our foreign policy is very problematic in a lot of places. These acts cause resentment. There are some places in the world that would stop hating the USA if the policy were reversed and there are others for whom the damage is already done and the USA would be unable to recover. Major grievances against the USA include:

Economic Imperialism: The United States has an incredible amount of power to shape the economies of other countries. For example, the United States has completely destroyed the endemic Jamaican chicken market by dumping all of its surplus dark meat on Jamaica for prices far cheaper than any Jamaican could produce it. Although such activities are illegal according to the World Trade Organization, the US power in this organization effectively prevents the raising of this claim. Jamaica is not the only recipient of this unequal treatment as the United States engages in over 200 dumping activities annually.

Additionally, as the largest stakeholder in the International Monetary Fund, the United States has an important role in designing the loans that the IMF gives out to developing countries. In many cases, the IMF pushes for an end to trade barriers, which prevents industries from developing in-country and makes those countries import-dependent. Also, many domestic interests cannot be funded such as education and medicare, forcing the country to remain in the same position perpetually. Many African countries have been directly affected by the strings attached to IMF loans.

Support for Certain Countries: There are two parts to this. Firstly, the United States helps to prop of states that other countries vehemently oppose. Some such countries include: Israel, Taiwan, South Korea, East Timor, Turkey, Georgia, etc. Arab hatred of Israel, Chinese hatred of Taiwan, North Korean hatred of South Korea, Armenian hatred of Turkey, and Russian hatred of Georgia, lead to the citizens of those countries disliking American policy. Of course, this is not to say that the American action is illegitimate or incorrect, but the USA has chosen a side and naturally the opposition will feel anger.

Secondly, the United States has supported numerous brutal dictators in various countries, especially in Latin America, like Pinochet (Chile), Noriega (Panama), Batista (Cuba), the Samozas (Nicaragua). About Samoza, FDR famously said, "Somoza may be a son of a b****, but he's our son of a b****." However, the citizens of those countries were less than pleased that mass-murderers were in power over them with the guarantee of US protection, effectively preventing the viability of any resistance. In the Middle East, the United States supported Hosni Mubarak and continued to Mohammed Morsi until the Egyptian coup d'état took him down, two individuals who have consistently attacked and demonized the citizens of Egypt.

CIA Activities and Coups d'État: The United States did not just protect governments that were sadistic to their own citizens. In several instances, they helped install them as well. In the case of Pinochet in Chile (in 1974) and the Shah of Iran (in 1953), the CIA actively caused revolts in the country, toppling legitimate governments to put violent dictators in power (Allende in Chile and Mossadegh in Iran). The idea that the USA can replace leaders around the world with impunity is very angering to many individuals.

Cold War Activities: During the Cold War, the United States engaged in numerous proxy wars with the Soviets with many third-world countries as the battlegrounds. Angola was in civil war from 1975-1992 because of the US-Soviet proxy war. The Arab-Israeli Conflict was similarly based as was the Korean War, the Velvet Revolution in Hungary, the Cuban Revolution and the Cuban Missile Crisis, and of course the Vietnam War and the Afghanistan War of 1979-1989. These proxy wars resulted in millions of dead civilians around the world.

Military Bases All Over the World: The United States maintains military bases in over 100 different countries. If this is not a projection of military might, there is nothing that would be.

Unilateralism: The United States consistently avoids working within the bounds of the international community. The USA typically only negotiates with other countries when it suits them. They are more than willing to "go it alone" when everyone disagrees with them. The clearest example of this was the Invasion of Iraq. When US Secretary of State Colin Powell presented the cause to go to war to the United Nations, the other nations refused to go along with the United States. Therefore, instead of backing down and clarifying their research, the Americans invaded Iraq. Callously disregarding someone else's view will certainly anger them.

Aloofness: Many American citizens know almost nothing about other countries and have no desire to learn. They believe that their culture and way of life are so clearly superior to everyone else's that everyone should just aspire to be American. This sentiment is not well-received abroad.

Answer 2

To quote Perry Mason: "Your Honor, the question presupposes facts not in evidence!"

The question is faulty, as there is no factual basis for making the claim that white Americans hate Arabs.

Some Americans (of which some are white) may dislike, distrust, or even hate some Arabs. But, since "Arab" is a hugely generic term, and includes peoples from over two dozen countries, it makes it easy for people to have differing opinions about those from different countries. Also, note that hate is a very strong emotion, one which most people will not express about anything.

As to the tiny minority of white Americans who really do hate (as opposed to dislike or distrust) Arabs, here are some possible reasons:

• Racist attitudes - this is common among White Supremacist organizations, which look down upon all other non-white peoples. Such organizations don't consider Arabs white (though, many actually are).
• Ignorance - a common response to things one does not understand is fear, and fear often drives hate. Many white Americans have no personal exposure to Arabs, and little if any exposure to ANY Arab culture, and base their attitudes off of mass media perceptions, which is highly distorted, narrowly focused, and not interested in providing an accurate overall picture.
• Religious Animosity - certain groups (particularly radicalized Jews and Evangelical Christians) view all Arabs as a threat to their sacred Holy Land, and thus, categorize them as an enemy. It is easy to transition from seeing someone as an enemy to hating them.
• Personal Negative Experience - some Americans who have had direct contact with some Arabs have had a very negative experience, which biases them against similar people. This can be common amongst those who fought in the US Military against Arabs, or in families with direct ties (and relatives) in various Arab countries whose members have been mistreated.
• Intellectual Laziness / Political Opportunism- this category of people tends to project the attitude of hate, though it's often not genuine. This is often a result of pandering to a politically-advantageous group of people, in hopes to gain financial wealth or political power. In others, it's more than mere ignorance (which results from a lack of information), it is a lack of will to make the intellectual effort to understand events and the circumstances that cause them. This kind of laziness results in the mindset of: "oh, the people who caused 9/11 were Muslims, and all Muslims are Arabs, and the Arabs are always causing problems for us (or so certain sources say), therefore I just hate Arabs."