As I walk through the halls of AHS with a hijab, a headscarf, nobody seems to treat me differently. There is no doubt that something like this would be expected and that is one of the many reasons why AHS is a culturally open and an amazing school. But when I walk on the streets I always get looks of discomfort and uneasiness.
For years we have completely moved our focus on having people show openness when it comes to race. We have now moved into an era where color is not the only big problem. We are at a point in time in which wearing a hijab or a burqa is a symbol of a Muslim extremist or even a terrorist.
I can personally say this from experience. I was walking around Tyson’s Corner with a friend whom was wearing a long black veil: a burqa. We were having a great time waiting in line for our order; that is until the unexpected happened. Specifically, a Caucasian women looked at my friend and in a loud dramatic way said “uggh” and then kept walking. At first it was in total surprise and we overlooked it. I didn’t realize the impact, but now once I really think about it. Have we as Americans not changed at all, have we actually learned anything from our past history?
The truth is that this all makes a big difference and in all honesty we haven’t changed. At that moment when you see the women wearing the full black veil, you are probably thinking of a funny racist comment. I am not saying everyone at AHS is like this, but reality is that there is a whole world out there after high school and the majority of them will be racist. Because AHS is such a diverse school, everybody knows the ins and outs about most of the different cultures represented, but that’s not the case for the general public.
We might think we have removed all racist laws and thought that because there are laws banning anything against segregation our job is done. Laws shouldn’t have to be the only thing that changes people, we actually need to change and teach people.
We are blinded from other races and religions and have only been focusing mainly on African Americans. Not pointing fingers, but the laws in effect have done nothing to really change the people, we need to dig deep into the minds of the people change their thought process. We may have laws defending African Americans going through the bad effects of racism and slavery, but we have now moved on to another group of people and we need to change our mind and adjust to those certain groups.
I am not at all going against African Americans or their rights. I’m solely saying we need to broaden our mind and take into consideration that there are other people going through not physical, but mental racist pains still in the 21st century.
A white friend of mine was stopped and checked at the Metro. They did a full backpack check and you’re probably wondering why was he, out of all the people picked? He had a full grown beard. He obviously looked like a Muslim-not a terrorist, but only because the police officers inferred he was a Muslim, even though he wasn’t. It has come to the time in which people are not discriminated for being Muslim, but also for looking like Muslims. What were the police officers looking for exactly, a bomb or a book? With all the recent stream of news, I can see how Muslims are targeted, but can’t a Caucasian or an African American also be carrying a gun? Why has America: the land of the free, singled out Muslims to be the ones that have been associated with guns, bombs and hatred?
If we weren’t judging people then how come every time a Muslim person does something bad or inhumane, we categorize them as a terrorist and make sure everyone knows the person is a Muslim. We make it such a big deal that a person is a Muslim and have to inform the world the person’s ethnicity and religion. But when a Caucasian person has done a horrible thing, likewise the recent LAX shooting, race nor religion played a part? Fox, NBC nor CNN even mentioned the fact that the person who went on that horrible and unnecessary shooting was a Caucasian male?
Looking at statistics, according to the FBI’s new national hate crime statistics; hate crimes against perceived Muslims jumped to 50% in 2010, remaining a relatively high for the second year in 2011. The bureau also reported that there were nearly 157 anti-Muslim hate crimes in 2011, just three down from the recorded date in 2010. This may seem small, but this number only takes into account the hate crimes that have been reported to the police. The Department of Justice conducted two major studies reporting the level of hate crimes in America is actually 20 to 30 times higher than the recorded data by the FBI.
I’m not saying everyone is bad or hates Muslims, but outside of our AHS boundaries we are living in a world where racism evidently exists and has become something we are slowly overlooking. Luckily AHS isn’t part of the statistics, but just because we aren’t living it, we will be coming face to face with it sooner or later and we need to change.