On the Road in Morocco -- March 9th - 10th

Yesterday, I was unable to post due to internet problems at the hotel. They have internet in the lobby and first floor only, and my room is on the third floor, so I have to come down to the lobby every morning to post before breakfast. But yesterday, the man who was supposed to turn on the internet was late, so I was unable to post before breakfast. They other thing that I am doing each morning is talking to my wife and daughter via Skype. This is a free internet service, and I am calling them at 6:30 AM, and it is 10:30 PM the previous day in LA. So it is already Thursday morning in Morocco for me when I am talking to my family Wednesday night in California.

We've spoken to many students during the past two days. When I asked them how they found out about the US, they always tell me about the movies they've seen. That is how they think that Americans are all rich and the we have lots of crime and murders in our cities. I explained that this was not the case most of the time, that while murders and violent crime do happen, most days go by with students just going to school and parents just going to work, and everyone just living their lives.

Most of the students ask about US students. I tell them that they wear the same tennis shoes, and clothing as US students. They have cell phones and text, and play video games. They watch soccer on TV (except they call it "football" -- the game that we call "football," they call "American football") and watch movies, The Simpsons, Oprah and Dr. Phil. Apparently the big news this week in entertainment is that Justin Beiber got a haircut.

I was more concerned with other questions that many of the students asked. That question was, "Why do Americans hate Muslims?" "Why do Americans think that all Muslims are terrorists?" I explained to the Moroccan students that just like they had stereotypes of Americans, many Americans had stereotypes of Muslims and Arabs. Do you know what a stereotype is? A stereotype is when you think of people as a group, not as individuals. So if someone says, "People in Los Angeles are laid back," or "Kids are not responsible," they are using stereotypes. Maybe some people in LA are laid back, and maybe some kids are irresponsible, not not everyone is that way because that is a stereotype.

Each of us answered in a different way. I told them that some people in the US were afraid, and that when people are afraid, they often did not make good decisions. I told them that in US history, many different groups have come to our country, and that many people were afraid then, too. I said that Germans came in the late 1700s, Irish Catholics and Chinese came in the 1800s, and Italians, East European Jews, and others came in the early 1900s, people were afraid that they would ruin America. But that didn't happen, and each group that came to the US brought culture and new ideas, and adapted to American society. And the people who were fearful began to accept the newcomers, and become less fearful. Now we have immigration from Latin America and there are more Muslims in the US, and that I have no doubt that those Americans who are fearful will eventually become more accepting and tolorent, but that sometimes it is a slow process. Ms. Skarsten pointed out that one of the ways that people become more inderstanding is by getting to know each other, and that international exchanges like this one are one way that things will get better, and misunderstandings and stereotypes. I wish that some of the political leaders in the US could have heard the questions that the students are asking. If they had, they would know about the hurt that they are causing, and how wrong they are to think that Muslims are bad people. As I told one student, there are Muslim terrorists, Christian terrorists, Jewish terrorists, and terrorists who are non-believers. The one thing that they have in common is that they are murderers, not heroes. I said that a hero would die for his country, but would rather live and help his country. I terrorist is just a murderer.