Feline Warrior

The discussion in small group about Islam and stereotyping of Muslims brought back some strong memories. On September 11, 2001, I had been a 16-year resident of Washington, DC. At that time, I lived in Northwest DC, worked at George Washington University, and as a regular user of public transportation (and the sidewalks), considered myself a city girl.

I was at work when the planes crashed into buildings and the earth. It was devastating to be so close to the Pentagon and some of the major government buildings in Washington, DC, and no doubt, my fear and horror were matched by people around the world.

In the afternoon of that terrible day, as my mind began to clear just a bit, I started to have some other fearful thoughts: What if people in the United States began to assume that this was the act of Middle Eastern terrorists? What if people began to eyeball others who might be from Middle Eastern nations with a suspicious eye? What if racism was to take a twist, and include anyone with brownish skin in its grips?

My fears were realized by the next morning. Sure enough, students from Iran, Iraq, Africa, and Pakistan – anywhere that bred people who might look Middle Eastern, by physical appearance or by dress- were calling the university to find out if it would be okay for them to come to school that day. At first people wondered, “Why wouldn’t it be okay for them to come to school?” Then the students explained: They were afraid of retaliation by fearful American students.

Through the rest of my time in Washington, DC (until the end of October 2001), I took what I called random, spontaneous surveys. I asked cab drivers - those who were brown, wore turbans, or otherwise might fit the “terrorist” bill- how they were being treated. Was business affected at all? Cab drivers who wore turbans or who had dark skin but did not “look American” told of fares that would nearly get into the cab, then see the driver, and back out of the car. They were losing fares, the cab drivers were. Some reported verbal abuse by passengers who did get into their cabs. Students at the university told of receiving “mean looks” and being afraid to travel the streets alone. Of course, within a few weeks, mosques around the country were being damaged, and I recall that there were other acts of violence. Americans were lashing out at people who looked like they might be of Middle Eastern descent.

About a week after the attacks, I was in a store shopping and noticed that I was being followed by a security guard. That was not something that happened in the city - I had been followed by security guards in the suburbs of Northern Virginia, if I happened to be shopping alone and not dressed in work attire. But never in Washington, DC! On this day, however, a guard followed me and then, with his watch clearly showing on his wrist, asked me the time. Once I began to speak, the guard went away, not even waiting to hear my complete answer. I asked one of my cab driver friends for his opinion, and he concurred that the guard wanted to see if I had an accent; when I did not, he had no reason to follow me.

Something that troubled me all throughout this time (and still does, frankly) was the immediate assumption that the person or people responsible for the September 11th attacks must be Middle Eastern. Especially troubling was a refreshed hatred and distrust of anyone who might be from that region. I even argued with people, reminding them of the Oklahoma City bombings, and that those responsible turned out to be a couple of white American guys. I would ask, “Does that mean we should distrust all white guys from now on? Should we treat them with suspicion first?”

This line of questioning did not ever meet with much acceptance, and of course, nobody ever saw the parallel I was trying to draw. Nevertheless, it became clear to me then that there is a double standard, even in the case of horrific violence. People assumed that those responsible for the September 11th attacks must be of Middle Eastern descent, and once the images of the terrorists hit the media, people’s suspicions were confirmed. End of story: Anyone with a turban, headscarf, or brown skin (but not African Americans, who already have a set of stereotypes to deal with) became a potential terrorist.

Is it that a terrorist is in the eye of the beholder? Certainly stereotypes and racism existed in terms of people from Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, India, Africa, and a hundred other places, yet the day of the attacks, there seemed to be unleashed a new brand of racism and stereotyping. There’s nobody to whom I can say, “Told you so,” and frankly I would not want to, in this case. But I can say that I saw it coming as the fires were still burning in Manhattan, at the Pentagon, and Sommerset County, PA. I saw it coming yet I wish that it were not so. I wish that we could learn to hate hatred, not people.