Ignorance towards the new Miss America

Marissa Villarreal

On Sunday, Sept. 15 24-year-old Nina Davuluri, Miss New York was crowned the winner of the 2014 Miss America Pageant. Davuluri was the first Indian contestant to win the title of Miss America. It was not too long after, that viewers took to Twitter, furious about the ethnicity of our new Miss America.

“And the Arab wins Miss America. Classic,” said one angry tweeter, @Granvil_Colt. “Congratulations Al-Qaeda. Our Miss America is one of you,” said @Blayne_MkltRain, and most offensively, “More like Miss Terrorist.”  said @_AudreyAnn.

Not only were there ignorant racist tweets but others proclaimed that “Miss Kansas should have won because she loves her country, loves hunting and loves tattoos,” tweeted @Ria_1693.

Apparently this is what the “real” Miss America should be made up of but I beg to differ. I do not see how tattoos, hunting or having white skin makes one more American then the other and I definitely do not believe it is American to put down a person because of their ethnicity or culture… Oh wait, maybe it still is.

Did we not learn anything from our history books or are we still so thick headed that we must bully a beautiful woman such as Davuluri because of the color of her skin? I thought America was passed this racist phase, but clearly after all these years, ignorance and racism are both very much still alive.

In an interview with NPR, Davuluri speaks out about the ugly tweets.

“It’s a difficult situation, and that was something I experienced even as Miss New York. That being said, for every one negative tweet or comment that I have seen or received, I have received dozens of positive words of encouragement, support and love.”

It is a huge win for Davuluri being the first Miss America of Indian decent just as it was 30 years ago for Vanessa Williams, who was named the first African American Miss America in history. Although the win shows just how far America has come, it also reveals just how far we have to go.

In my opinion, those who criticized her win are blind to what it means to be American today. Her victory only challenges those closed minded individuals to see that whether you like it or not, America truly is a melting pot, meritocratic society and the stereotypical Miss America doesn’t hold true anymore.

“I have always viewed Miss America as the girl next door, but the girl next door is evolving as the diversity in America evolves. She’s not who she was 10 years ago, and she’s not going to be the same person come 10 years down the road.” said Davuluri

  • Mesa Legend Staff

    These are archived stories from Mesa Legend editions before Fall 2018. See article for corresponding author.

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