Racial Profiling: Deal With It An open letter to Arab-Americans Justin Hartfield
In this current political climate its is difficult to be an Arab-American, especially if you are a practicing member of Islam. With the latest arrests in London, it will be even more difficult. My sincere condolences, but this is fact. There is no way to immediately sway public opinion toward Islam, at least not now.
Please know that we are not singling Arab-Americans out because we hate you. That is certainly not the case. The vast majority of Muslims living in the US are peaceful, hard-working, upstanding citizens. However, there are a few bad seeds which have spoiled it for the rest of you. I wish this wasn’t the case but, again, these are the facts. There is nothing you can do to sway someone whose mindset is already set on intolerance. Like the black Civil Rights movement, the process will take time.
At first, there will be intense disdain for Middle Easterners of all nationalities. Gradually, probably after several generations, the hate will turn to apprehension, which will eventually turn into acceptance. I can foresee that there will one day be a time where a large group of Arab-Americans could get on a commercial jetliner and the remaining passengers would have no reservations whatsoever. But until that day comes, please abide by the following:
Please don’t feel victimized when you are “unnecessarily” singled out in line of the airport for a cavity search.
Please don’t take it personally when a waitress comes off cold to you.
Please don’t feel as if you were the only group ever to be unfair persecuted.
And most of all, please don’t live up to the typical Arab-American stereotypes.
Racial profiling is a method of efficient law enforcement, and its here to stay. It makes no sense to give an 80 year-old grandmother a full luggage search. It especially makes no sense to let two thirty-something Arab-featured males wearing turbans pass through without inspection. Every single al-Qaeda terrorist has matched a similar description to the latter. It would be more egregious not to search them. This reality will remain until nineteen white, elderly women hijack commercial airliners.
The old adage, “kill them with kindness” applies here. The best way to fight intolerance is to be completely cooperative and friendly. By not giving anyone a reason to dislike you, they will slowly lower their guard and become more open to Arabs in general. As a point of clarification, I am not suggesting you roll over and acquiesce when you are disrespected. There is a thin line between impoliteness and disrespect, but the line does indeed exist, and should be minded.
Racial profiling is here to stay, so regard it as an opportunity to change someone's perspective for the better.
