Ashley Webb

An American Crisis

            For my research, I examined how Americans treat other Americans during a time of crisis. I a country that claims freedom from persecution, bill of rights, and equal opportunity, I was very disheartened to see that my belief that Americans come together after tragedy to support each other and our country was wrong. In times of sorrow, many Americans banded together to segregate or discriminate against people who had any affiliation with the ethnic group involved in the incident. I must admit that as I researched treatment of Japanese-Americans and Muslim-Americans during Pearl Harbor and 9/11, I could not help but cry.

            Prior to December 7, 1941, Japanese Americans were drafted like anyone else. They were expected to fight, and sometimes die, for our country like any fellow Americans. Yet in an instant, our entire country turned on them. It did not matter whether they were American born or simply supported America one hundred percent, we gathered them up, slapped them with the term “4-C--enemy alien” and sentenced them to live in internment camps often compared to those used during the Holocaust (Bai).

            It is often said that history repeats itself. Though the unjust retaliation of Muslim Americans is not quite as harsh as it was for Japanese Americans, the government has learned little from its mistakes. After 9/11, a survey was conducted and the results “found that nearly a third of respondents said they would favor the detainment of Arab-American citizens until their loyalty could be proved” (Bai). Not all were taken into custody, but nearly 6,000 Arab men were recorded in a registry and alerted to the FBI simply for being of Middle-Eastern decent. Many of these listed were detained and questioned for weeks, treated like a criminal for having any connection to those who actually did participate in the attack. A “Special Registration Program” was initiated for men from several Middle-Eastern countries, in order to keep tabs on possible enemies (Activism). Many of the people interrogated, detained and monitored were 2^nd and 3^rd generation Muslim-Americans.

            The most heart-breaking part of my research is reading about the children affected. These are innocent children confused by the sudden hatred being displayed against them. One Muslim-American father describes the injustice done to his family after 9/11:

“I cringed when I saw the pictures from Ramallah," says Christopher's father, Sandy. "I rushed home to try to prepare Christopher and his sisters, but they had already been taking grief all day. My heart sank when Christopher told me what it had been like. One kid even called him--and he didn't understand it--a 'sand-nigger.' That's a tough one to explain to your son. I'm furious that these terrorists did what they did to America and that they've done what they did to my children. (Yeager)

The father goes on to argue that neither he, nor his family has ever even been to Ramallah. His kids grew up just like any other American children. Before the attack, Christopher, a junior high student, was a popular football quarterback for his YMCA team. Yet as soon as other children made the connection between Christopher’s heritage and the terrorists responsible, their attitudes toward him changed dramatically:

Nobody wants to hear that I was born here, my parents were born here. I'm an American. I'm Christian. But because I'm proud of where my family came from, I'm now the terrorist, the suicide bomber, the crazy Muslim. I try to tell them I'm as upset about this attack as they are. I've cried like everyone else. But it gets hard. It makes getting up every morning pretty tough. (Yeager)

In another article, the same commander from the Japanese Company K, also known as the Purple Heart Batillion (Activism), tearfully commented, “[I] saw a boy who looked to be Arab-American holding an American flag out in front of him as he walked down a street in Ithaca, N.Y. That poor kid… has to hold on to an American flag so that some kid doesn't pick on him. He has to carry a flag down the street as a safety guard.' Suddenly, Foote, a 13th-generation Connecticut Yankee, began to cry.”

            It is important to remember that not all Americans participated in this discrimination. Many, like me, share similar reactions as Robert Foote. I chose this as my research topic because after 9/11 I was shocked to see the poor treatment of Muslim-Americans. I could not understand why some Americans would treat fellow Americans like the enemy. In connecting my research to objectives in the class, I am enlightened to how mistakes like these can be made. Stage 5 of Objective 2 mentions that immigrants often partially rediscover or reassert their ethnic identity (Syllabus). After tragic attacks, the dominant culture feels obligated to determine where immigrants’ loyalty lies, the old country or the new. While this is no excuse for the actions against the Japanese or Muslim-Americans, it expresses a lack of understanding America, a nation of immigrants, has for its own ideals.

On the website “The American Muslim,” there is a section entitled, “Racist Outlook Dressed in Patriotic Language.” It discusses how as Americans are called to protect their country, they are forced to balance the thin line between supporting our country and discriminating against others (Safi). According to the article, many people feel that in order to protect their country, they cannot trust the enemy, or those of its race.

I have heard several white Americans complain at the airport, making comments such as “Do I look Arab to you?” as they are required to take of their shoes or are chosen for the special baggage check. Not only do I believe the only fair way to tighten security is to apply the same suspicious eye to everyone boarding a plane, I believe it is also the only truly safe way to guard against attacks. While it can be a hassle to deal with all of the extra security, I am glad the airport staff takes the time to check everyone in line. Anyone of any ethnicity can affiliate itself with a group against America. Anyone can attempt to bring a bomb on a plane.

            Beyond just a personal interest, there is also a need to learn about these instances in history so that as a teacher, I know how to deal with situations like these. Just because it has been over half a century since the Pearl Harbor attack, and nearly a decade since 9/11 does not mean that as children learn about these events or are reminded of them by a moment of silence, that all feelings of them versus us have disappeared. And other tragedies may happen during my career as a teacher. Some kids may make an inappropriate joke, others may intend to offend, but regardless of the form of injustice I want to be able to talk to my students about the events and use what I’ve learned from my research and this class to provide a chance to learn from history to these students.

Works Cited

“Activism Against Racial Injustice in Times of War.” Asian American Policy Review 13 (2004): 1-7.

Bai, Matt. “Hyphenated Americans.” New York Times Magazine. 151.51920 (2001): 21.

Safi, Louay M. “Will the Extreme Right Suceed?.” The American Muslim (TAM). 11 Jan. 2006. TAM. 12 Nov. 2007

http://theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/
will_the_extreme_right_succeed_turning_the_war_on_terror_into_a_war_on_isla/.

Yeager, Don. “Born in the USA.” Sports Illustrated. 95.12 (2001): 90.