Evidence
Attorneys in Detroit have filed a lawsuit against Huntington National Bank on behalf of Arab Americans. Accounts of Arab Americans were suddenly closed without explanation. The Arab-American Civil Rights League filed the lawsuit. This organization claims that hundreds of people in the Detroit area said their accounts were closed without reason. “Huntington informed Arab American account holders by letter that the accounts were being closed but gave no other explanations” (Williams, 2013). The bank was not able to provide any reason for closing these accounts. The lawsuit claims that Huntington “engaged in racial, ethnic, national origin or religious discrimination against its customers who are Arab and Muslim” (Warikoo, 2013). The lawsuit wants to issue a temporary restraining order to stop the banks from closing the accounts of plaintiffs. The Patriot Act was passed after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. “The U.S. Treasury Department and other agencies have placed heightened scrutiny on banks to make sure they are not dealing with money that might be related to terrorist” (Warikoo, 2013). Some complaints have also been received from people living in Ohio, Texas and California.
Causes
The cause of this conflict between Arab Americans and Huntington Bank is their bank accounts being closed without explanation. When Arab American account holders asked for the reason why their accounts were closed no reason was given to them. The extra security with bank accounts is there because of the Patriot Act. People still need to be given a reason as to why their accounts are being targeted. Arab Americans and Muslims feel that they are being judged unfairly simply based on how they look.
Solutions
If there is a reason that Huntington Bank decided to close all these accounts, the account holders need to be told the reasons. I think there should be a law that explains that banks need to give account holders reasons for closing accounts. There should be laws about discriminating against account holders without cause. If Huntington Bank had no reason to close all those accounts, they need to come out and apologize for their mistakes. They also should give the Arab Americans the opportunity to reopen those accounts if they so choose.
Warikoo, N. (2013, July 11). Suit alleges bank discriminated against arab americans. USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/07/11/lawsuit-alleges-bank-discriminated-against-arab-americans/2510833/
Williams, C. (2013, June 11). Arab group files bank account closures lawsuit. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/m/story?id=19644629&sid=81
Contact Hypothesis
The contact hypothesis states that close and sustained intergroup contact can promote tolerant attitudes. Contact between groups can eliminate prejudices. There are four attributes to the contact hypothesis. The first is that both parties must have equal status. The second is that both groups must be working towards common goal. The third is that there must be interdependent effort competition. The final attribute is that there must be social sanctions from those in authority.
A solution to this problem might be to have account holders that are not Arab American demand rights for those whose accounts have been closed without cause. Both account holders and Arab Americans would have to see each other as having equal status. They must value one another the same. They would fulfill the second attribute of this theory because they would be working towards a common goal. They would both be working towards making sure that Huntington Bank treated all of their customers equally. There would also be interdependent effort competition. Both these groups would be working together to make sure they could stay customers at this bank. The fourth criteria would also have to be met. There would be social sanctions from those in authority if laws were broken. Both groups would need to make sure that they were treating others fairly.
Attorneys in Detroit have filed a lawsuit against Huntington National Bank on behalf of Arab Americans. Accounts of Arab Americans were suddenly closed without explanation. The Arab-American Civil Rights League filed the lawsuit. This organization claims that hundreds of people in the Detroit area said their accounts were closed without reason. “Huntington informed Arab American account holders by letter that the accounts were being closed but gave no other explanations” (Williams, 2013). The bank was not able to provide any reason for closing these accounts. The lawsuit claims that Huntington “engaged in racial, ethnic, national origin or religious discrimination against its customers who are Arab and Muslim” (Warikoo, 2013). The lawsuit wants to issue a temporary restraining order to stop the banks from closing the accounts of plaintiffs. The Patriot Act was passed after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. “The U.S. Treasury Department and other agencies have placed heightened scrutiny on banks to make sure they are not dealing with money that might be related to terrorist” (Warikoo, 2013). Some complaints have also been received from people living in Ohio, Texas and California.
Causes
The cause of this conflict between Arab Americans and Huntington Bank is their bank accounts being closed without explanation. When Arab American account holders asked for the reason why their accounts were closed no reason was given to them. The extra security with bank accounts is there because of the Patriot Act. People still need to be given a reason as to why their accounts are being targeted. Arab Americans and Muslims feel that they are being judged unfairly simply based on how they look.
Solutions
If there is a reason that Huntington Bank decided to close all these accounts, the account holders need to be told the reasons. I think there should be a law that explains that banks need to give account holders reasons for closing accounts. There should be laws about discriminating against account holders without cause. If Huntington Bank had no reason to close all those accounts, they need to come out and apologize for their mistakes. They also should give the Arab Americans the opportunity to reopen those accounts if they so choose.
Warikoo, N. (2013, July 11). Suit alleges bank discriminated against arab americans. USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/07/11/lawsuit-alleges-bank-discriminated-against-arab-americans/2510833/
Williams, C. (2013, June 11). Arab group files bank account closures lawsuit. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/m/story?id=19644629&sid=81
Contact Hypothesis
The contact hypothesis states that close and sustained intergroup contact can promote tolerant attitudes. Contact between groups can eliminate prejudices. There are four attributes to the contact hypothesis. The first is that both parties must have equal status. The second is that both groups must be working towards common goal. The third is that there must be interdependent effort competition. The final attribute is that there must be social sanctions from those in authority.
A solution to this problem might be to have account holders that are not Arab American demand rights for those whose accounts have been closed without cause. Both account holders and Arab Americans would have to see each other as having equal status. They must value one another the same. They would fulfill the second attribute of this theory because they would be working towards a common goal. They would both be working towards making sure that Huntington Bank treated all of their customers equally. There would also be interdependent effort competition. Both these groups would be working together to make sure they could stay customers at this bank. The fourth criteria would also have to be met. There would be social sanctions from those in authority if laws were broken. Both groups would need to make sure that they were treating others fairly.