A:

First let me assure you that you are not a bad person. You are a frightened person. You are a worried person. You are a confused person. But you are not bad; in fact, you are very normal. Most people are finding that their world-view has been dramatically changed by the events of 9/11. You are not alone. Will you ever be normal again? It seems to me that you already are normal. I assume that what you really want to know is will you ever again be the same as you were before 9/11. The answer to that question is "probably not." As you go through life you are always changing; people never stay the same. The way that the events of 9/11 have changed you seem dramatic because the things you witnessed that day were dramatic. Whether you watched events unfold on TV or whether you saw it first hand from the streets of Manhattan or the grounds of the Pentagon, what happened that day signaled the end of the world as you knew it and the beginning of a new and uncertain future.

The reality you once knew has been shattered and you are now forced to face a new way of life - one in which you no longer feel safe and secure. When people feel unsafe they become protectionist. They begin to think and act in ways that make them feel safer; even if these ways are irrational. They seek out others who they perceive as being "the same" and reject those who are different or who represent a threat. Since the men who orchestrated and carried out the 9/11 assaults were militant Islamic Arabs it is natural for you to feel fearful of anybody who you perceive to be a part of that group. When your country is at war in an Arab nation, when Islamic militants are shown on the news saying it is their "duty" to kill Americans, when the U.S. government is asking citizens to be on the look out for suspicious activity, and when there is talk of future terrorist attacks as being "likely" rather than "impossible", it is natural for your fears to take control. You feel threatened because your country, your culture, your very way of life, has been threatened. Your emotions are on high alert.

You feel powerless and the changes that you have noted in yourself are indications of your need to regain a sense of control. The media and the government have made it clear that the terrorists are militant Muslims from Arab nations; this is where your sudden intolerance of Arab looking people is rooted. You have been given a clear target to blame for your sense of fear and loss of control. The feelings and actions that you describe are normal given the circumstances. They are normal, but this does not mean that they are "OK." I sense that you already know this and that is why you are feeling so bad about how you have changed since 9/11. If you are serious about regaining a semblance of your former self you will need to come to terms with the irrational feelings that you are having. You will need to face down the fear and let go of some of the stereotypes that are so prevalent in this post-9/11 world. You need to accept how the world has changed while holding true to the many ways that it has stayed the same. While you will never be the same as you were before the tragic events of 9/11 you can feel good about who you are again. You do not need to feel guilty about your reactions; you need to pull them in to line with who you are and who you want to be. You can start to do this by refusing to be held hostage by fear and by rejecting the urge to group all Arab looking people in to the category of "potential threat." You know on a rational level that not all people who have the same religious background or cultural heritage as the terrorists are a threat. You need to remind yourself of this fact every time you find yourself thinking or acting racist. Do not be suspicious of somebody because of who they are; be suspicious of them because of what they do. Actions are what should concern you, not appearances.

Some important things to remember:

• Most Muslim-Americans are appalled and outraged by the way that the Bin Laden extremists have corrupted the message of Islam to fit their political agenda. Islam is a peaceful religion that preaches tolerance, love and unity. It is not a faith of war and vengeance.


• Arab is not synonymous with terrorist; Arab-Americans are Americans and they too were attacked on 9/11.


• Not all Arabs are Muslim and not all Muslims are Arab; it is an oversimplification of a complex situation to view all Arabs or all Muslims as potential threats to the American way of life.


• No good has ever come out of racism; even "reactionary racism", like that many otherwise Liberal people have reported since 9/11, causes real harm.

We want to know...

Poll: Have you been subjected to more/sudden racism since 9/11?
Poll: Have you felt or acted racist since 9/11?

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