I am going to begin by looking at
the man in the mirror first.
When 9-11 happened, I was on a
cruise in the Mexican Riviera. When it was time to fly back home, I was a
little nervous and on edge, as I think most of the people I saw in LAX were. I
was looking at everyone wondering about their intent. And to be perfectly
honest, I was looking for people who fit the profile.
Even with a short flight, there was
no direct flight. We had to fly back via Portland, if memory serves correct. On
the LAX to Portland leg of the trip, there were two gentlemen who were of Middle
Eastern descent. It was a very tense flight, and the eyes of everyone on the
plane seemed to be on these two gentlemen. They seemed to know each other, but
they were not sitting together. I was sitting in an aisle seat. At some point
in the flight, the gentlemen who was sitting some rows in front of me, went
some rows in back of me to talk to his friend. As he was making his way back to
his seat, I sort of stuck my head in the aisle to make sure he sat down. And
this was not my finest hour.
But what brought me back to myself
was when I looked up and saw that the man who was sitting across from me was
doing the same thing. We made eye contact, and then we both sort of relaxed and
started laughing. Like what are we doing? We had let fear override any sense of
vetting guilty vs. innocent. We had decided that they were guilty simply
because of their descent. The flight had been so tense, and I think we
startled/scared those around us with the sudden laughter. In retrospect, the
conversation these two men had was probably asking each other, “Do you fear for
your life?”
Furthermore, as a black person, I
know how it feels to be judged and treated for nothing simply other than the
color of my skin. I went shopping with a coworker who happens to be Asian. We went
somewhere in Bellevue, and on a side note, I don’t do eastside simply for this
reason. We went into several stores, before she turned to me and said,
“LaTonja. They have followed you in all of the stores we have gone into.” She
was so indignant for me. She was even more indignant when my response was a
shrug and an “I’m used to being followed.” She assured me that it was “not
right.” And I assured her that I agreed but it was reality. I could digress
into more examples, but I am tired.
I say all of that to say this. I am
so tired of the hate that is being sown into the world. I am so tired of the
political rhetoric of people like Trump calling to “ban all Muslims.” And there
are people who agree with him. I know how it feels to be stereotyped and treated
because of the color of my skin. You will never find me in that number, I am
saddened by those who follow along.
What would the ban do? Would the
world be safer? No. It might make you feel better, but it goes back to that
feeling of if I do A, B, C or if I do not do X, Y, Z nothing bad will ever
happen to me. Furthermore, it would only serve to cause more division. I am
tired of the divide based on race, religion, politics, etc. We have more in
common in our basic humanity, and I am wary of those who constantly try to find
ways to divide (and conquer).
There have been white male
“domestic” terrorists, but I don’t hear a call to ban white males from
anything. But wait, it was “mental illness” that caused these actions. I am so
over double standards. To me the equivalent of banning all Muslims is the
equivalent of me assuming every white male I meet from the South is a member of
the KKK. It sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? What has the higher probability? A
white male I meet in the South being a member of the KKK or a Muslim person I
meet being a terrorist. Regardless, both assumptions are equally asinine and
without merit.
So Trump wants to close the borders
to keep “the Mexicans” out. Close the borders to keep “the Muslims” out. He has
plenty of people nodding in support. I would caution these people. Today it’s
“the Mexicans.” Tomorrow it’s “the Muslims.” But guess what? Your number will
be called next week or next month and then that martial law the extreme right
seems to be so paranoid about will come to pass.
All because hate was allowed to be
sown unchecked.
I will take you back to pre-WWII.
Germany’s economy was in the tanks. Then a charismatic speaker stood up and
explained just why the economy was bad. Just why hardworking Germans couldn’t
get jobs. Sound familiar? It should. And it has nothing to do with an evil
boogie man coming to take your job.
I refuse to silently sit back and
watch this happen.
Look at Trump’s rallies. Violent. We
can debate whether protesters or attendees are the instigator. I don’t really
care. I am more interested in putting out the root cause, which is the
unchecked sowing of hatred that is all around us. Sowing the wind, reaping the
whirlwind.
