THE GRIEF of the past weeks has been followed by two convictions shared by many Americans. The first is an overwhelming sense of unity seen through the nationwide display of American flags and the tremendous support behind President Bush. The second sentiment is a hatred and mistrust of foreigners, even those who have been living in the United States for years. This combination of sentiments is dangerous and should not be tolerated.
According to CNN, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has received 310 reports of anti-Arab or anti-Muslim incidents since the attack. Shortly after the bombings, police in Bridgefield, Illinois had to break up an angry mob of more than 300 people who were protesting against a local mosque. The major television networks have helped fuel this hatred as well by showing pictures of Palestinians celebrating the bombings and Afghanis burning American flags.
The fact that all of the terrorists in the World Trade Center case were of Arab descent isn't a good reason to be suspicious of all Arab-Americans. One would think that this kind of misguided distrust of foreigners is only present among a handful of angry citizens. However, it is clear that this wave of xenophobia is part of our culture itself.
The truth is that many Americans label Arabs as "terrorists" or "anti-American" from the beginning. This is simply a result of a cultural bias. Sure, there have been a number of terrorist acts perpetrated by Arab groups - the first World Trade Center bombing, the African Embassy bombings, the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole - but that is only part of the reason that some Americans think about Arabs in this way.
Over the past decade or so, Hollywood consistently has portrayed Arabs as terrorists. Examples include True Lies and Executive Decision, both of which were major hits, meaning that millions of Americans have been exposed to this sort of Arab terrorist stereotype.
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Another factor in this bias is that none of these films have been balanced by the presence of Arabs in positive roles. One can attribute these negative portrayals, in part, to the lack of Arab directors and writers in the entertainment industry. This situation is similar to the plight of African-Americans in Hollywood. During the early days of film, few African-Americans were involved in the production of movies. As a result, there are stereotypical portrayals of African-Americans in many early films. One typical role was that of "Sambo," a peaceful, simple-minded black man. Today we recognize that this depiction is racist and unfounded. Yet for some reason, we continue to accept the negative images of Arabs in television and movies.
As a result, our country is quick to point fingers at Middle Eastern groups when it comes to terrorist attacks. In 1994, the Oklahoma City bombing was almost immediately attributed to Arab terrorists. In the end, we discovered the perpetrator was a white American man, Timothy McVeigh.
Unfortunately, the Sept. 11 attacks have affirmed to some Americans that their stereotypes of Arabs are justified. As a result of the pre-existing Arab terrorist bias in our society, the backlash against Arab groups has been very strong. Think about it: If the planes had been hijacked by a group of Irish Republican Army terrorists, there certainly would not have been the same reaction to Irish-Americans.
The sense of unity present in America today could be dangerous if it is misguided and unchecked. On Sept. 26, President Bush held a conference on religious tolerance in which he said, "We're all Americans, bound together by common ideas and common values." We must remember that nearly all Arab-Americans condemn the Sept. 11 attacks and are in no way a part of the radical Islamic sects associated with these acts.
In order to prevent futher persecution of Arab-Americans, two things need to be done. First and foremost, President Bush should make sure that all the anti-Arab incidents of the past few weeks are treated as hate crimes and that the people who committed these acts are prosecuted to the full extent of the law. This will reduce the number of these crimes by showing people that America does not tolerate hate. Second, we should work to eliminate the negative portrayals of Arabs in the entertainment industry. Once Americans free themselves of this prejudice toward Arabs, they won't be so quick to hate or mistrust Arab-Americans in the future.
The negative stereotypes of Arabs in film and television have led people to direct violence and suspicion toward Arab-Americans. Singling out this particular ethnic group in our country is just as wrong as singling out people because of the color of their skin. Those who have tried to direct the unity of our country down the dark path of hatred and xenophobia do not have the right to call themselves Americans.
(Lee Martin is a Cavalier Daily viewpoint writer.)
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