First Reactions

Even before the dust of the World Trade Center settled, people began reaching out to help. Donors lined up at blood banks around the country to give blood in the hope of helping survivors (unfortunately there were few). Celebrities, aid agencies, and grade school children started fund raisers; and the money poured in - $1.2 billion and counting. So much money that it has been difficult to distribute it all. Around the country people attended memorial services, sobbing for the loss of people they did not know, and mourning their own loss of innocence. And everywhere, there were flags. American flags hung from freeway overpasses, office towers, car antennas, lapel pins, and mail boxes; they showed solidarity with the victims and represented a determination to stand firm for freedom in the face of terrorism.

But amidst all of this generositythere existed overwhelming fear. Fear of flying, fear of leaving children, fear of visiting public places, fear of another attack. These fears resulted in vacation plans being canceled, school and work absentee rates increasing, and calls for massive security reforms. And occasionally, they resulted in an attack on an innocent American who had the “wrong” profile.

In these days following September 11, hate crimes against Muslims and Arab Americans increased dramatically. Bomb threats were made against mosques, Muslim school children were taunted, and a Sikh gas station owner, mistakenly thought to be an Arab, was shot and killed. When arrested, the gunman who killed the gas station owner declared, “I am an American,” implying that his actions were somehow justified because he was protecting his country.

The difficulty with that argument is that Muslims and Arab Americans are American too. And despite the actions of a few individuals who let their fear consume them, the majority of Americans recognize this reality.

(From: The Times, 2001.)