I must admit that, I have once had some preconceived bias towards the Middle East. When people mentioned the Middle East I would think of run down communities that surrounded deserts. Additionally, when I thought of the Middle East, Desert Storm and other events like September 11 came to mind. This is what is known in psychology as the availability heuristic: calling up a known event to form an opinion even when the information is atypical (PSU WC OLEAD 410, 2019). Why the bias? I was uneducated and only knew what was shown on the media. North American and European media have been particularly inept, slanted, and at times false in their presentations abut the Middle East and Arabs (Moran, Abramson, Moron, 2014). But, I have seen the light.
Did you know that the sport of Drag Racing was a big event in a certain part of the Middle East? Qatar is home to an elite drag racing facility called the Qatar Racing Club. According to the QRC, In line with the vision Qatar Racing Club and Al Anabi have created a solid platform to support and develop our future generation (QRC). The vision is built upon parameters that promote Motorsports in the State of Qatar, by providing them with (QRC);
– A safe and secure environment for racing.
– A platform to harness their enthusiasm for Motorsports.
– Fair and equal opportunities for participants to compete.
– An educational platform that aids the local’s to hone their skills.
This racing facility is a high quality establishment which is far from the run down villages in a desert I once thought of being the Middle East. The Qatar Racing Club is lead by HE Sheikh Khalid Bin Hamad Al Thani who is a member of the ruling family of Qatar, who set a goal of promoting the domestic and international awareness of motorsports in the state of Qatar (QRC). With his Excellency’s vision the QRC is a world figure in drag racing. Even NHRA drivers current and past race at the QRC.
In conclusion, I learned something from taking the blinders off. Once I removed my bias I learned that there are good things in the Middle East that we can learn some key skills from. The Qatar Racing Club is unlike any other motorsport governing body, in that the events they create are specifically catered for the people of Qatar (QRC). Personally, I think this vision that is dedicated to the people of Qatar and not personal agendas makes the QRC so successful. His Excellency’s leadership ways of thinking about the customer, in this case the people of Qatar have and continue to be a success.
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Vincent Anderson says
I enjoyed reading your post very much, and could not agree more in that there is a lot of stereotyping that occurs when an American thinks of the middle east. One of the questions that I have is regarding when you say, “This is what is known in psychology as the availability heuristic”. What exactly does this mean, because I do not believe that the terminology of “psychology” has anything to do with why these groups are being stereotyped? I would think that this would be more largely termed as socialization through the news and culture. When you speak of the “Qatar Racing and Al Anabia Club”, how exactly are they developing the future generations? One would assume that they are inspiring future generations to gain knowledge and creativity in the area of “Drag Racing”, but this is unexplained? Is the “Drag Racing” industry in the middle east the only example of a built up community? Are there other areas in the middle east that are well established? What caused these villages that you speak of to become destroyed?
I believe that you gave a solid example of an area that the media in the American countries has neglected to give attention to, but I believe that there are better examples out there that relate to the strength of community efforts in the middle east. Have you ever wondered how Arabic and Chaldeans’ have so much money? Where did that come from? Why are they in the USA, when if you ask them what their homes look like back in Syria, and they show you a picture of the exterior and interior of a home that they own that is the size of a football field and well done? It is important in understanding culture to truly understand the why behind their presence in the US. One of the things that interests me about Syria is that it is illegal to have money in this country, did you know that? Women also have less rights than they do in the US, but did you know that it is not as bad as the media has socialized us to think of these restrictions?