When I took American History in high school, the course covered major themes, including civil rights for women and minorities, mainly African Americans. We were taught the negative effects of racism and how the civil rights era gave birth to civil rights for minorities.
However, since 9/11, there has been an increase in racism against people from the Middle East. I remember going to airports and seeing a Muslim in the security line. Eyes would turn, and you can tell people were thinking, “Is he a terrorist?” just because of his race.
My guilty pleasure is the CBS reality show, Big Brother. Week 1, one houseguest called someone a “beaner.” Many of the other houseguests pounded on him like wild animals. The man apologized for his comments, but one houseguest flamed him on the live show. The racist man was voted out week 1.
The same houseguest who flamed the man who used the slur "beaner" on the live show called a Lebanese man a terrorist, because he was from the Middle East. All the houseguests who had turned against the "beaner" commenter kept quiet when the woman called someone a terrorist. She’s done it many times, although CBS has requested she stop. Regardless of how I feel about the Lebanese man, it hurts me that none of the houseguests said a word about the woman’s "terrorist" comments, which she has never apologized for. Whether she means it as a joke, I don’t know or care. It’s unacceptable either way.
What I mean to say is that Middle Easterners are taking a hit for what a few members of that group have done. Just because the man is Lebanese doesn’t make him a terrorist. I can’t begin to understand why people seem to think all Middle Easterners are terrorists.
I am a white woman coming from a privileged background. I can’t walk in the shoes of anyone from a minority who bears the burden of discrimination. Still, I’m disgusted by how people treat this minority.
I don’t know why so many Americans are uninformed about Middle Easterners and I don’t get why people think that Middle Easterners are horrible just because there are terrorists from the Middle East. It’s sad, because in American History class, I was told how our society has progressed and we are no longer (for the most part) racist against minorities. It just feels like we are going backward.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Al Barger
Racism, racism, racism. Boo frickin' hoo. There is in fact no substantial racism in the US against Middle Easterners. In fact, the care with which Americans have avoided victimizing Muslims speaks very well of US.
If people of Middle Eastern descent don't appreciate the occasional suspicious glance, then they should perhaps do better at confronting the wickedness within their own midst. Jihad against Jews and non-believers is racist. Noticing which communities that ugly jihad is coming from is not.
2 - Jordan Richardson
There is in fact no substantial racism in the US against Middle Easterners.
Prove it.
Also, the suggesting that the "suspicious glance" is well-deserved based on the actions of a few individuals and groups of similar background (not all Middle Easterners are the same race, etc.) is ludicrous.
Do you deserve to be looked at sideways simply because you resemble a chubby Foghorn Leghorn redneck? No!
3 - Ruvy
Racism Against Middle Easterners In America Is Strong
Maddy, try suspicion, rather than racism. It's more accurate. Unfortunately, terrorists tend to get their inspiration from the Middle East. You just can't wring suspicion out of people when they read of suicide bombings, hostage taking incidents, planes shot down, hotels being blown up, restaurants and hotels being blown up. The vast majority of these incidents are caused by Moslems who are either from or trained in the Middle East.
In college, you'll get a lot of garbage courses that will try to tell you how right and justified these animals are. They're not. Anyone who tears a child bone from bone in a cave, or slices a guy's head off for a video camera is nothing but an animal. No college course can change the truth - it can only make you ignore the truth and turn you into a useful idiot for those who would just as soon see you dead as see you at all.
4 - Al Barger
Jordan, I don't know that suspicious glances at Arabs are necessarily "well deserved," but they are trivial. And if you're going to be mad about such triviality, then you should be mad at the bad actors who give the whole group a bad reputation.
Plus, I would to some substantial extent hold the Muslim world in general responsible for these suspicious attitudes for not being generally MUCH more active and vocal in confronting these bad actors.
It sure seems like the big majority of the reaction of Muslims in America and the world to acts of barbarism by their own people is to cry racism like in this article rather than any expression of sorrow for the victims - much less doing anything to help stop the madness in their midst.
Also, I don't particularly care if someone looks at me sideways. Plus, I would consider comparisons to Foghorn Leghorn to be a compliment. I said "compliment," son.
5 - Jordan Richardson
they are trivial.
Yes, to you I would imagine they would be trivial.
I would to some substantial extent hold the Muslim world in general responsible for these suspicious attitudes for not being generally MUCH more active and vocal in confronting these bad actors.
I hold the media responsible for choosing to cover the bad actors more than the good ones. Obviously stories about the millions of Muslims who aren't terrorists, have no affiliations, condemn terrorism and terrorist groups, and actually rather like America and Americans aren't all that sexy, so they'll go with the weird fucking guy with a bomb up his ass instead.
The coverage isn't there, but that doesn't mean that the Muslims aren't sorrowful for victims or angered by terrorism or, for that matter, vocal about it.
6 - El Bicho
Jordan, how dare you malign Foghorn Leghorn
7 - Joanne Huspek
I live in the Detroit area with the largest population of people from Middle Eastern descent in the country. They are not all "terrorists," in fact some aren't Muslim at all, they are Catholic. I agree with Ruvy that it's most likely suspicion, not racism.
I am a person of many colors and grew up 40 years ago when there was real racism. It's all in how you look at it. If you keep your eye out for clouds you're never going to find your silver lining.
8 - Kia
Many of you are misinformed and aren't gathering information based on fact. The vast majority muslims, or middle eastern people don't commit lesser jihad or are terrorists, most commit greater jihad(fight within onself, instead of lesser where its a fight against others). That's like saying if a lot of white men have killed people that caucasian men are serial killers. You can't make a judgement of a whole people, based off of some. Not to mention I'm lebanese, I'm not a terrorist and most of the terrorist attacks we're made by Al-queda, which we're people in high power with a substantial amount of money. The majority of the middle east is middle class to poverty. Anyone who says otherwise, you sound ignorant, pay attention to some history.
9 - Kia
Many of you are misinformed and aren't gathering information based on fact. The vast majority muslims, or middle eastern people don't commit lesser jihad or are terrorists, most commit greater jihad(fight within onself, instead of lesser where its a fight against others). That's like saying if a lot of white men have killed people that caucasian men are serial killers. You can't make a judgement of a whole people, based off of some. Not to mention I'm lebanese, I'm not a terrorist and most of the terrorist attacks we're made by Al-queda, which we're people in high power with a substantial amount of money. The majority of the middle east is middle class to poverty. Anyone who says otherwise, you sound ignorant, pay attention to some history.
10 - Rashid
Hello everyone..
please Excuse any mistakes i make.. English is not my first language..
First of all,, before introducing my self.. i would like to thank the author of this article.. it is vert meaningfull what you have said.. and i personally appreciate it .. My name is Rashid .. i am from the middle east.. to be specific i am from Dubai.. i am 20 years old...
The problem you are speaking about is not only outside the country .. beleive it or not .. the media is tooo strong,, we are concidered victims of racism in our own country.. Imagine a government that supports other coming from various caountries.. while the local people are being treated unfairly..
I dont want to keep on talking about this issue .. because it is very emotional ,,
I just wanted to thankyou for this article .. It is something that gives me hope ,,, that no matter what happens to this world.. there are some people that care , some people that still think of others.. people with hearts.. just like you ..
Best regards
[Personal contact info deleted]
11 - Glenn Contrarian
How little most 'Christians' know of history. Those who follow "mainstream Christianity" have killed more innocent people in the name of God than have the adherents of any other religion in human history. How 'Christian' historians could know this and yet remain inside "mainstream Christianity", I cannot understand.
I am a strong Christian - but the Church of which I am a member is in no way affiliated with "mainstream Christianity". The greatest difference between us and "mainstream Christianity" is that we are not trinitarian - we do not believe that Jesus is, was, or ever will be God. In this, our belief is somewhat like that of the Muslims in that "Only God is God" - and Jesus is not God. (and no, we're not Jehovah's Witnesses - they think that Jesus is a 'mighty God', though the Bible (in the Hebrew OT) says otherwise)
However, our belief differs from the Muslims in that we believe that Jesus is our Savior and our only Mediator unto God.
That said, we can sympathize with the Muslims. Like them, we see and feel the cultural pressure on us, and especially on our children at school ("What, no Christmas or Halloween or Easter? Your parents are SO mean!"). My sons love to sing, and both were in the school chorus, and in order to pass that particular minor elective, what do they have to sing? Christmas songs.
For Al Barger - you know so little of prejudice...for you have not walked a mile in the steps of those who faced that prejudice.
12 - zingzing
al, white people have killed more americans than middle easterners have. so, you should be suspicious of yourself. look in the mirror. you might very well be wearing your own skin as a mask.
13 - kay
People in america are very predjudice, they always have been, this i have never understood and i will never understand, they are sad and perhaps a lot of them are spiritually bankrupt.
14 - A. DIAZ
This article is completely, 100% percent right on target. It's a hate crime if someone spews a racist remark at a black man. It's frowned upon to make jokes about the hispanic culture. It's okay to think of any one from Middle Eastern decent as a terrorist? No, no, no this is not right. Why is this okay? Is it because we still have troops in the Middle East? Is it because men and women are still dying over in the desert? I think it's because of the media and the perception that they cast over all people of Middle Eastern decent. All we here about are all of the terrorist attacks worldwide and what do we think of when we hear the word terrorist? A Middle Eastern man with a long beard and a turban. This surely cant be true because I know that Timothy McVeigh was white and he was considered a terrorist for his infamous Oklahoma City bombings. Is it right? No, of course not. We as a nation and as members of human kind must get passed this mental roadblock. We must embrace the Middle Eastern culture as a vital part of our society. We must get passed the point where every Middle Eastern man gets patted down at the airport. It's a stereotype, no doubt about it, and it's no different than assuming that every black person is good at basketball or that every asian is intelligent. It's nothing more than a stereotype, and a harsh one at that.
15 - Malika
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much!! I am an Afghan American girl, 23. Born in Afghanistan, came to US when I was two. My family (along with millions of other Muslims) have been good peaceful US citizens all their lives. They never commited a crime, always paid their taxes, and cared about the society. Made donations, abided by the law. Everything a good citizen does. Yet we were/are harrassed and insulted constantly after 9/11 FOR NO REASON.
Can I just note. The whole "Obama is a Muslim" thing really really hurt my feelings. As if "Muslim" is a derogatory term. As if being a Muslim is so bad. What if he was a Muslim anyway???? Does that make him a horrible evil man?
What has happened to people? What has happened to our media? It is a shame. We have always stayed peaceful and been good and dispelled all stereotypes, when people meet us, yet we are still ridiculed in the media, harrased in the airports, looked at badly when we are near a mosque or wearing islamic attire. And no one says anything.
No one admits that it is racism, discrimination, racial profiling. No one wants to admit that but that is what it is. The media is biased and discriminating. More and more people are becoming that way as well.
I have heard so many hate crimes agains Muslim Americans, yet none of them is covered long enough or even covered at all in the media. No one investigates further. NO ONE CONDEMNS THE ACTION!
When A man pulled a knife at a Muslim woman and her baby, in my hometown. No one condemned it. This is sick and wrong and backwards. We need to educate ourselves and stop the hate crimes and discrimination.
Most of us have left our home country to find safety and refuge here. To be treated as equals. To avoid persecution in our own country. This is our refuge. This is a refuge for so many immigrants of all backgrounds. How can our own refuge turn against us ? The nation that the whole world knows as equal, liberal, and just? When we have done nothing but be good citizens? When all we want is to raise our kids, give them an education, and live in peace? We are human beings too !
I am heartbroken....I never expected such educated and liberal people to be like this.
16 - Afsheen
I am a Middle-Eastern sophomore in high school, and I can't even begin to tell you how racist society has been. There is no one I hate more than the Iranian president, but people look at me and see a radical Muslim who is striving for the downfall of America. I am pretty much the opposite. I hate the majority of the government in the Middle-East, I am atheist, and I enjoy being in California a lot more than the two weeks I spent in Iran. I am starting to grow more and more disappointed in our society for the way they are treating people like me. I am sick of being called a terrorist, I am sick of people telling me to crash a plane into (insert building name here), and I am sick of seeing people like me experience the same thing.
There is a girl in my school who wears a head-scarf as her own decision, and I can't believe the way people talk about her. Two days ago, a guy came to her, pointed directly in her face, and laughed as hard as he could while calling her "scarf-face (like Scarface)." I would expect people to be appalled by what he was saying, but instead they laughed. The entire hallway filled up with laughter, and the girl ran to the attendance office with a face full of tears and she called her father to take her home. I couldn't clear my head about what happened, I couldn't forget her face or the way she ran like she was being shunned by society and that going home would be her only hope of peace and a shelter from her embarrassment. What hurt me the most was that I didn't do anything about it. I wanted to tell off that punk, but I just couldn't. I was afraid of being made fun of.
America has been this haven for me and shielded me from prejudice for the first 15 years of my life, but that tolerance faded. It faded so far away that I question if it was ever there in the first place. Tolerance, equality, and the trust I had in my fellow peers faded away and I feel as if our society is digressing back to the days where racism was okay or even encouraged. It pains me to say that I don't trust society to keep me safe from racism anymore, and worst of all, I have even grown a little spiteful of those who I thought were my equals. I have become subordinate to them, and I fail to see the progress that society has made in terms of equality in race. What happened to the America that I grew up in? There is nothing more for me to say other than I am disappointed.
17 - Cindy
Afsheen,
Thanks for writing that comment. I found it illuminating.
18 - John Wilson
Americans are racist because their own immigrant status (or their parents) makes them feel insecure and they are happy to belong to the All-American crowd screaming and chasing some black guy so they can lynch him. It's great to belong! Even if it's just a lynch mob.
19 - GG
"Most of us have left our home country to find safety and refuge here. To be treated as equals." But some of the middle easterners in the United States and Canada just simply don't treat others as equal. For example, middle easterners frown upon families of mixed cultures, such as marriages between Asians and whites, or blacks and whites. Middle easterners despise modern women who are outgoing, indepedent and strong. Middle easterners hate Asians. Middle eastern guys who want to completely control their daughters and commite honor killing.
20 - just you
It is well known that terrorists tend to fit a certain profile. And that profile is this: male of middle-eastern descent between the ages of 16 and 35. I speak Arabic, and have many Muslim friends who are wonderful people. However, the majority of Muslims are not moderate and are not reform minded. What they are saying in Arabic is very different than what they are saying to Western media in English. In case everyone forgot, when 9/11 happened, the Arab world danced in the streets. Not everyone from the Middle-East is a terrorist, but those who wish harm on America and the West in general are more than a few. Informed people should be suspicious.
21 - Robert
America is a country of many races, the sooner people stop making a big deal out a few snide comments, the sooner everyone will forget about the whole thing. Here, if we don't find something or someone to laugh at, ridicule, discuss and argue about we feel less "important" about ourselves, these messages themselves are perfect examples.
I personally could care less about being called a cracker or whatever else people are calling whites now. There are those who do care a lot about what people call them though, in fact there are some who will blow up buildings, maybe the answer lies in not doing that instead of bickering about racism. If you can't handle a little ridicule then you need to find a way to before you make yourself so upset you do something stupid. Everyone experiences embarrassment and shame sometime in their life, especially those in high school. We learn and change from it, then we grow up and get over it just like we have been doing for ages, its part of what has got us here in this unique position in the world, we are a country suited for adaptation.
Americans (Born here and refugees) need to remember that the freedom we enjoy is, in fact, not free. We work and give our sweat and blood to make it that way, don't forget about it, because the life we enjoy can slip away in an instant and then the last thing you will think about is racism.
You said it yourself, on that show the guy who simply said the word "Beaner", was completely ostracized by the group and experienced the individual equivalent of racism. What more do you want? The death sentence? This society corrects itself on issues like that, let it be. Also, one child calling another "Scarface" will never be illegal in this country, so don't look forward to him be stoned anytime in the near future, until he goes to college at least.
22 - Ari
As a Middle-eastern Jewish person who is not a zionist!!! I found wide spread racism includes everyone from the middle-east. Arabs, Iranians, Israelis all seem to suffer from this. I admit that Iranians and Arabs get the most of it, but I was amazed to see how racist my college professors were. I guess I am not shocked that some people in America racist, but I am shocked that people with Ph.D's are racist. It made me very very upset. There is little middle-eastern people can do since we are not black. I guess it is just mob mentality and we will have to endure like black people did.
23 - STM
"Racism Against Middle Easterners In America Is Strong".
That's what happens when a group exclusively made up of "middle-easterners" decides to hijack jets full of passengers and fly them into iconic American landmarks in NYC and Washington, killing 3000 people in the process.
Then there's all the other atrocities committed around the world since then.
Going backwards? Not sure about that ... trying to work out who the lunatics are who might do this stuff seems like a good idea, really.
Provided no one's civil rights are trampled on, that is ...
As for so-called racial profiling? Tell me Maddy, how else are you going to do it?
Why waste time stopping everyone else? It's hard enough as it is to get through an airport in the US right now.
Imagine if they were stopping everyone.
24 - STM
Although it's true that the border security people could probably benefit from a large dose of commonsense.
25 - MUSLIM
I am a 20 year old egyptian who has lived in the US for over 10 years old. I am a muslim and proud, if anyone doesn't like it I want nothing to do with them, I suggest all other middle easterners in a similar situation do the same. There will always be racist ignorant people.
“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” - Dr. Suess