Do Desparate Times Call for Racist Measures?

Being an actor/musician means you meet ALL kinds of people. People that the average person doesn't get to meet, or at least not with any frequency. It takes a certain personality to be an actor or musician and truthfully at times I fear I don't have it. If i'm at a party with a room full of actors I am usually the quietest person there because most times i'm not actually interested in attention. (When i'm in front of a camera or on a stage it's a different story) In any case, now when I go to actor parties i'm almost expecting to be annoyed. I'm expecting people to be 'ON' and loud and at times overbearing.

So what the hell is my point? Basically that everyone has some preconceived notions about people or certain groups of people. (I suppose in this case mine arent exactly preconceived.) Whether or not you choose to admit it is up to you. Growing up my best friends were White, Latin and Black. As an adult my best friends are White, Latin, Black, and Indian. I have friends of nearly every nationality you could think of. So as far friends go in terms of race, i'm pretty color blind.

What I find slightly upsetting is that when President Bush announced that several U.S. ports would be controlled by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) I was fearful. I was fearful that weapons (bombs especially) would be easily transferred into the country. Obviously a good amount of people agreed with me, hell it was the one issue that actually brought together Democrats and Republicans. My apprehension had to do with the fact some of the terrorists involved in the attacks on 9/11 were from the UAE. If this hadn't been the case I don't know that I would have been so fearful.

Had it been Saudia Arabia I still would have been fearful for the same reason. (except in SA's case it wasnt 'some' of the terrorists, it was 'most'.

The fact of the matter is terrorists are now being bred and trained to 'HATE' the United States. And the fact that some of our attackers came from there means that there have to be others there with the same thoughts and predilections. Simple sociology teaches us that environment has a part to play in our upbringing. If those terrorists were raised there, obviously other people were exposed to the same environmental factors. No it doesn't mean that everyone in the UAE is a terrorist, it just means that the factors that caused those men to attack us could have affected more than those few.

Many Arabs called us racist as a result of the public upheaval. And to a certain extent they were right. There is a general mistrust of Arabs now in this country. I can see it in people's faces. I heard a latin comedian once say that the only good thing that came out of the attacks is that latinos and blacks are no longer on the bottom rung in this country. (Only he said it in a much more funny way.) It's definitely the truth though.

The dictionary says Racism is "The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability." Also "Discrimination on the basis of race."

My heart believes that my thought process is not racist. My brain can quantify my beliefs with science. Based off of the first definition I am not racist. I do not think race accounts for any differences in character or ability.

Based on the second definition it isn't as clear. I do not trust UAE or Saudi Arabia for that matter. As a result if I heard someone was from there I would be apprehensive. Is that racist if mistrust is applied to countries and not a race? Probably not but it could easily be mistaken for that.

The sad part about this is President Bush is only worsening the situation. He is breeding a contempt for this country the likes that only Israel could relate with. Because of his policies, Iraq, Afghanistan, and possibly Iran are going to be next in line to train people to bomb our country, if they aren't already.

It tooks several generations to teach this country that humans shouldn't be owned and that equality for all Americans is a right, not a privilege. Ultimately I can only hope that people in this country realize that Arab does not equal Terrorist. Otherwise it could be decades before we see peace again...