Quote:
Originally Posted by abaya
I usually can tell if someone is looking for someone to "identify" with, and I don't mind that. I did not get that feeling from this guy, especially when he reacted strongly to ktsp for saying he was "sort of" a Muslim. It was almost a question of, "Are you Muslim?--prove it by saying the Muslim greeting to me" and since ktsp didn't say it, the guy didn't hesitate to make ktsp feel uncomfortable about it within 2 seconds of meeting him.
-----Added 21/8/2008 at 06 : 54 : 38-----
Now, I can understand this as well--and this might have been the guy's approach to the whole thing. But it just felt so aggressive... less about caring, more about judging... nothing about the encounter felt very open or kind.
It also occurred to me that the guy was asking ktsp, not me, this question--and I was standing closer to the guy, and he did not even acknowledge me standing there, who I was, how I was connected to ktsp, or whether I was a Muslim. Again, most likely a cultural thing, but as an American woman living in Iceland--I was thinking, "HEY man, I'm right here, and I'll answer your question too... and you probably won't like the answer!"
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Oh, ok, I see what you are saying now. Yes, that's a bit different.
There's a few things going on over there too I would imagine. Him "ignoring" you may be because 1.) you are a woman, and 2.) you don't look "Muslim" to him. Both are awful answers I know. This happens a lot. It's like when people ignore you because you don't fit their preconceived notion of the group. It's one of the pitfalls of diversity estrangement.