Are we a nation of racial and religious profilers? Do we (the American people) look at life through a racial lens, constantly making assumptions of other people based on skin color and religious affiliation?
We are a country that mass produce, generalize most things, and make quick assumptions on just about every decision. We like things quick. So, might we like to figure out who or what a person might be as fast as possible? Well, maybe, but I’m going to assume not all of America is as narrow-minded as that. Though, I can say with certain confidence that everyone has had a moment of racial or religious profiling in ones life, however innocent it may have been.
The reason I introduce the issue of racial and religious profiling is that I have just finished the book “Zeitoun”, by David Eggers. In this narrative nonfiction Abdulrahman Zeitoun -- a member of the New Orleans community during the catastrophic natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina -- is taken in to custody for suspicion of looting. With out giving up too much of his fabulous story, Zeitoun is wrongfully detained and later accused of being a terrorist.
Zeitoun is Muslim, an immigrant from Syria, and a native of New Orleans for over 10 years when Hurricane Katrina hit.
Since the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centers in New York City, better known as 9/11, it seems our nation has taken a drastic turn on how we view the Muslim religion and Islamic culture. Zeitoun’s story speaks true to this sentiment. Understandably, immediately after the attacks airport security was heightened among other security issues, but what may be a harder to understand is how religious profiling and discrimination against Muslim’s took on a new rage. Muslim’s living in America prior to 9/11 went through their daily routines, work lives and family responsibilities seemingly unfazed. Yet, after the attacks these same Muslim’s live in a nation where the people they have daily contact with hate or fear them based on their religious affiliation and looks.
As I scoured blogs and articles around the web searching for more insight on this line of thinking I came across a common theme.
The belief that while not all Muslim’s are terrorists, most terrorists are Muslim.
This is of course a fear-based assumption, and indicative of our thinking today, mainly from 9/11, but these assumptions are simply false. In fact, Islamic Extremists make up only 6% of terrorists attacks on America. Yet, the Muslim-American community is wrongfully thrust in to this category and the assumption that ‘they’ are behind every attack on America.
10 years later we are still dealing with the issue. To put it simply, America is still not completely comfortable with the Muslim-American community. One such example is the backlash of the possible construction of a mosque near ground zero. I use the word mosque because that is how the media has spun it to me, but what is really being built is a community center.
Let me say that I do not mean to use “10 years later” as a statement that we should be moved on from 9/11. America should never forget the lives lost that day, and honoring those lives every year is something that should happen.
Rather, I say “10 years later” in reference to the drastic line of thinking that continues to this day. A line of thinking that should not keep continuing to pigeonhole an entire community based on a small group of extremist who affiliate with the same religion as them selves. The issue of the mosque (or community center) is a sensitive one that has radicals on both sides. Clearly the greatest issue is the location of the project, though there is some controversy on how that is being portrayed. I’m not here to get in to the details or the pros cons of the community center -- that is for another argument (click here if you would like to see some pros and cons). Instead, I’m trying to point out that America is still sensitive (61% oppose the mosque construction) to the Muslim-American community, and wrongfully take a small group’s horrific actions and blame it on the entire Muslim faith, and anyone who represents it.
I mentioned the heightened security post 9/11, in airports and other facilities, as a first step in making America a safer place. You remember the heightened security at airports don’t you? Waiting in lines for hours just to get past that metal detector. It still happens today, in fact, airport security in the past year has taken some heat in its approach to fully-body scans and invasion of privacy.
Recently questions have arisen about whether or not airport security should choose to limit who they search, using racial and religious profiling (singling out young male Muslims coming from the Middle East) to target the people who ‘should’ be searched.
Clearly this has its issues, there are obvious flaws to this approach: it invites terrorist’s who do not fit the profile to easily surpass security, but the major issue is the seclusion of a people based race and religion.
America is split on whether or not racial and religious profiling should be relied upon to further inspect a passenger.
Each side has its reasons why there should or should not be: catching a potential terrorist from causing harm to the United States is a positive. Stopping useless passenger scans and searches, like the women who did not want her breast milk going through the X-ray, would be swell as well.
Yet, the argument being made seems a bit contradicting. For the people who do not fit the alleged profile, having to be stopped for silly reasons may be an inconvenience.
But, think of the people who are going to be stopped, searched and most likely violated, who are not terrorists, because of their race or religion.
What seems worse?
You’d think it would be ridiculous to be stopped because of the size of your toothpaste container, imagine being searched because you happen to be Catholic.
These issues are disheartening.
America can’t seem to find a common ground with its own people. Such is life these days, though, as we must force our selves to sway to the extreme of one side and completely disregard the action of the other.
Topics such as the community center and airport security are sensitive subjects, but subjects that should be addressed.
With us, it seems there must always be a right and wrong, and while some are right and others are clearly wrong, there are just some subjects where a middle ground is needed. Where right and wrong go out the window. Because with both nothing will move forward.
There has to be middle ground, whether or not we come to one is a different story.
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