Racial profiling not right road to recovery
by Udochi Igbokwe, reporter

    The tragedies that occurred on Sept. 11, have deeply affected the lives of people in the United States, as well as other nations, through the tremendous loss of lives in New York, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania.

    Following these events, over 700 incidents of hate crimes have been committed against people of the Muslim religion, citizens of Middle Eastern countries and American citizens who resemble Middle Easterners.

    On Sept. 13, in New York, a 75-year-old drunken man tried to run over a Pakistani woman in a parking lot of a shopping mall. Then he followed her into a store, threatening to kill her for “destroying my country. ”

    In Dallas on Sept. 18, a Pakistani Muslim grocer was shot and killed.

    On the same day in San Gabriel, Calif., an Egyptian grocery store owner was shot to death.

    In addition to the long list of hate crimes and discriminatory behavior committed against innocent people, the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) has reported that passengers who appear to be Muslim or Middle Eastern have been removed from planes on several occasions either because the pilot did not feel comfortable flying or the passengers and crew felt threatened by the presence of the individual.

    My question is “why the hate?” Is it because we have been told that the terrorists are of Middle Eastern descent? Or is it because the people attacked and profiled looked like terrorists? We should not take the law and the lives of individuals into our hands.

    Most of these innocent victims have resided and established a good portion of their lives in the United States and have adapted to the American way of life. As acts of prejudice are perpetuated against Muslims and Arabs, we should all bear in mind that neither race nor religion was taken in to consideration when terrorists attacked our country.

    Racial stereotyping is a very superficial and ignorant way of life. Most importantly, it will be an obstacle to the economic growth of our country. Looking back in history, we should learn that past mistakes should not be repeated. We need to look toward the future in positive light despite the grief and anger we may feel in the present.

    We live in a country where freedom and liberty are the necessities of life for every individual. Do we want to take away the freedom and security of our fellow human beings because of their nationality or religion?

    Destroying people’s property and gunning them down will not capture Osama bin Laden and the network of terrorists supporting him. Rather it will add salt to injury and lead us into a vicious cycle of hate and bigotry.

    In this time of confusion and grief, we should show sympathy toward people in general and not let the acts of a few endanger the lives and rights of many.