Post 9/11 Discrimination

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There is rarely any talk about the post 9/11 racism that followed after the dust from the fallen towers had settled. Since 9/11, “increased racial and religious animosity has left Arabs, Middle Easterners, Muslims, and those who bear stereotyped physical resemblance to members of these groups, fearful of potential hatred and hostility from persons of other cultures” After September 11, 2001 there was a new profound nationalism spirit, that many Americans followed, which unfortunately turned into racism. As former president George w. Bush had said “You 're either with us or against us in the fight against terror." This convinced millions that our freedom was worth defending at all costs. This led many people to believe that if they weren’t …show more content…

I never in my life have been afraid to be discriminated because of my race or religion. I can’t imagine being called a ‘terrorist’ just because I might fit a certain profile. Although I have never experienced what it must feel like to have to go through this, I do see it. From the small remarks my friends make about being afraid to be on a plane because someone is wearing a turban, to hearing a stranger call their taxi driver a terrorist, after they exit the car, to hearing my aunt calling telling my thirteen year old cousin that her boyfriend is a ‘towel head’ just because his name is Kumar, and to the many other thousands of insensitive comments I have heard throughout my life. I was only five when 9/11 happened. As long as I can remember, I have been raised to believe that people that fit these so-called ‘terrorists’ description are bad people who support terrorism on America. “The 9/11 terrorists broke numerous laws of Islam and were denounced as mass murderers by Islamic religious leaders. Even so, Islam is viewed as a religion preaching violence.” This is isn’t surprising, since Americans know little about even the most basic tenets of Islam. Islam is the second-largest religion in the world, and Muslims make up more than one-fifth of the world’s population, but Americans continue to know little about the religion.

Al-Qaeda, it should be recalled, has members who are Sudanese, Somali, Indonesian, and Filipino: none of whom would necessarily, by virtue of their appearance or names, touch off suspicion.

Our society has been built on freedom of religion press and speech, but we shouldn’t turn our backs on any pieces of that, or else we risk losing all