Stereotypes

In response to the article "Arrest made in bombing plot" (Dec. 9) I must say I was surprised, almost offended, by the author's portrayal of Islam. Throughout the article, the conversion to Islam by the suspect in the attempt to bomb a Catonsville military recruiting station was portrayed as bizarre, as if Islam was less a religion and more of a cult. This sort of rhetoric is only fanning the flames of Islamophobia that are burning our country. I, too, am a young convert to Islam, and I'm sure those who know me would describe my shift as nothing close to bizarre.

I read with interest the article "Fight against abuse" (April 5). I applaud any effort to stop the horror of domestic violence. However, I am concerned that the article's content reinforces the old stereotype of men as the aggressors and women as the victims. Men are often the victims of their girlfriends or wives. Ned Holstein and Glenn Sacks ("The violence we ignore," July 16, 2009) cite a 2007 Harvard study that says, "according to both men's and women's accounts, 50 percent of the violence in their relationship was reciprocal (involving both parties)

Ross Singer's recent commentary revealed a truth that so many on either side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict refuse to acknowledge ("Friend or foes? Oct. 17). When we get to know people as human beings, regardless of the side with which they identify, we learn that simplistic generalizations and platitudes about the "other" don't fit. The events leading up the establishment of the state of Israel and its aftermath require a much more nuanced reading than political and religious leaders on either side would have us believe.

James Guyton plays basketball. But skiing? Not so much; especially since it means being out in the cold. When the Chesapeake Ski & Sports Club Inc. invites African-American teenagers to try a day on the slopes, members expect such resistance. It took some gentle prodding from counselors at the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club of Metropolitan Baltimore before Guyton, 16, reluctantly agreed to try snowboarding - which seemed a little cooler. Wrapped up warmly in a red ski jacket and black pants borrowed from the local ski group, he stumbled his way down the bunny slope at the Whitetail Resort in Pennsylvania during the recent visit.

From: David WeeksEllicott CityIn his review of the "Voices from the Streets" performance at theGlenelg Country School (Howard County Sun, "Ex-homeless share raw message at affluent school," by James M. Coram, Jan. 19), Mr. Coram hasperpetuated the kind of stereotypical thinking which school administrators and teachers had hoped the program addressing homelessness andthe urban poor would break down for students.The plight of the urban poor and homeless is symptomatic of the deterioration of our society.

Miami -- The incident troubled me for days.Sen. Alfonse D'Amato was a guest last week on ''Imus in the Morning,'' the syndicated New York call-in show hosted by shock jock Don Imus. In discussing the O.J. Simpson trial, Senator D'Amato mocked Japanese-American Judge Lance Ito as ''little Judge Ito.'' The New York lawmaker spoke in a caricature of a Japanese accent. Judge Ito, for what it's worth, speaks flawless English.Is this, I wondered, what the nation is coming to? I set out to find an answer.

I AM WRITING in response to your May 9 editorial, ''Switzerland's shame'' and the accompanying cartoon. I was appalled by the vitriolic and simplistic tenor of your comments, which do little to encourage honest introspection and inquiry.I grew up in Switzerland during the war years, exquisitely aware of the problems faced by my country.My mother was Jewish. She had met my father, a Swiss journalist, in 1933, while he reported on the infamous ''Kristalnacht,'' the night Nazi thugs destroyed Jewish businesses all over Germany.

Ronnie Hall, a former volunteer firefighter, lost his leg several years ago when his firetruck flipped over and landed on him. But the 36-year-old College Park man hasn't let his disability deter him from taking part in sports such as softball, basketball and touch football. So he was enthusiastic about yesterday's Extreme & Adaptive Sports Expo, held in Howard County. "This breaks down the stereotypes about disabled and helps people to see and understand that we can do the same thing - perhaps even better than them," said Hall, who was among hundreds of spectators at yesterday's event at Glenwood Community Center.

A black man was injured on the job. He sued his employer for damages. The employer's lawyers used peremptory challenges, which do not have to be justified, to keep two blacks off the jury. This apparently was because they believed black jurors would not be impartial with a black plaintiff. The injured party, after getting a disappointing award, sued on the grounds that the Constitution requires courtroom activities to be "race-neutral." He pointed out that the Supreme Court had previously ruled that in criminal trials prosecutors could not use peremptory challenges for racial purposes.

"I worked for the government but I'm not a bureaucrat."That's how one former federal worker began his speech at a conference for entrepreneurs. Having left the Small Business Administration, he was at the meeting to sell his consulting services. With a candid opener, he put the audience on notice that he was about to upset some popular misconceptions.This clever fellow overcame the sort of negative stereotypes that job hunters face every day. Rightly or wrongly, a stereotype may stem from a bad experience with one individual.

I was flying home with my kids a few days ago, and we stopped at Subway in the airport. After answering all their other questions -- "What kind of bread? Which cheese? Toasted or not? What toppings?" -- one of the questions floored me. "Girl or boy?" I was confused because Subway's kids' meals aren't usually as polarized as some -- where, say, at McDonald's, the Hot Wheels must be for the boys and the Hello Kitty for the girls. Never mind the fact that the time my son found a cat toy in his dinner bag, he was thrilled, or that plenty of girls love cars, too. "Huh?"

A few months ago, during my first trip to Houston, I did what anyone whose knowledge of Texas is defined almost entirely by movies and television might do. I bought cowboy boots from a man with a handlebar mustache, went to a honky tonk, got thrown off a mechanical bull and mastered the "Boot Scootin' Boogie. " If I hadn't gone back to Texas last week, this story might have ended right about there, but during my second trip, with my cowboy itch already thoroughly scratched, I paid closer attention.

I turned 50 last month. As expected, I received many of the handshakes, high-fives, and other celebratory gestures befitting such a milestone. I also received a few of those special birthday cards. You know — those "humorous" cards that poke fun at presumed maladies that come with aging and which tend to focus on difficulties in the sexual and cognitive realms. These types of cards are plentiful at local card shops and drug stores, even my own hospital's gift shop. A presumed decline in one's physical and mental capabilities is built into these funny messages, which are designed to make us laugh at our situation.

In his first two seasons at Virginia Tech, Tyrod Taylor was a threat to score with his legs more than he was with his arm, totaling six rushing touchdowns against five passing scores in 2007 and seven rushing touchdowns against two passing scores in 2008. But the quarterback flipped those numbers in his final two years with the Hokies, registering 13 passing touchdowns against five rushing scores in 2009 and a university single-season record 24 passing touchdowns against five rushing scores in 2010.

If Dan Rodricks had made an effort to meet the dog dressed as Batman at the March for the Animals, he may have encountered a highly intelligent, affectionate and fun-loving animal ("Pit bulls: Own at your risk," May 1). With dogs, as with people, discrimination and profiling is unfair and does not advance a useful dialogue. So kudos to the Maryland SPCA's Aileen Gabby and other local and national organizations who do not "distance" themselves from pit bulls, as Mr. Rodricks does.

Susan Reimer 's recent column ("For lacrosse parents, a tragedy too familiar," Feb. 23) points, once again, to the unfounded argument that somehow the sport of lacrosse is to blame for the senseless tragedy of Yeardley Love and George Huguely. Ms. Reimer goes as far as to say, "How could those players have possibly thought that was an OK thing to do? Privilege and the pack mentality of an elite sport might explain it. " The common reaction by many outsiders to a tragedy such as this is to call out the sport using generalized themes regarding money, privilege, race and alcohol to rationalize such an extreme situation.

Using music, poetry, dance and art, the Black Male Identity Project has been striving for the past year to overturn negative stereotypes of African-American men. "We know that Baltimore City has a lot of problems, but we wanted to celebrate the role of artists, of storytellers in producing narratives that can help us discover solutions," said Fanon Hill, a musician and co-director of the project. On Sunday, the project concluded at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture, but organizers say the program's positive message will carry on here and elsewhere.