I am a Hindu. Why are we getting criticized for 9/11 when we had nothing to do with it ? Just because we have the same color skin doesn't mean we did it.
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Name : Sahil, Gender : M, Race : Asian, Religion : Hindu, Age : 22, City : Columbia, State : SC Country : United States, Nor did most Muslims cause 9/11, or Asians, or Christians. I guess many people in the United States either don't know or don't care about the different ethnic origins or religious affiliations of people of Asian or Middle Eastern appearance. I understand that many Muslims, even those who recognize that the terrorists on 9/11 were acting in a way they see as being against Islam, have suffered similar discrimination. It's ignorance and sloppy thinking
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Name : Margo, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 27, City : Manchester, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Occupation : lawyer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I am SO SO SO sorry yhat you (and many others)are being used as a target for other's anger and vengence. The sad answer, i believe, is a combination of ignorance/racism/ and apathy. It is easy for many in this country to go through life without having to learn distinctions between people who just get lumped into an 'other' category. For the white mainstream consciousness ( i dont mean white people just any people willing to go along with the majority ignorance on issues of race) it is easier = less time and effort, to lump people into categories and define them by those categories eventhough it is inaccurate and inhumane.(My friend said after 9/11 the african american kids at his college were getting beatten up, which is ridiculous as well) Some Americans even cannot/will not make the distinction between middle eastern members of al quida (i spelled that wrong, i think)and Americans of middle eastern discent. Hate crimes went up after 9/11 But i assume (sorry if i make an ass out of you and me) that you kind of already knew that and my answer wont take the sting out of your unjust treatment so i wont pretend it will. I will just express my heartache at the injustice you have suffered and say that it is WRONG and in no way justified. I am sorry. Leanne 100% Bi-racial!!!
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Name : Leanne, Gender : F, Race : I'm a mutt!!, Religion : Christian, Age : 22, City : pleasant hill, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : artist, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, I don't think the type of people that are ignorant enough to castigate all Arabs for 9/11 care about what your ethnicity really is... they are going solely by looks. And to many, Arabs and Hindus look similar. I understand where you are coming from,though, because my father used to receive similar prejudice after 9/11, and he's African American. But people didn't see that... they thought he was Arab because of his nose, how he wore his hair, and his beard.
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Name : Kristina26256, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 23, City : DC, State : DC Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Sahil, I'm sorry you're the object of bad behavior on the part of other Americans. The reason this occurs is because those people don't take the time to inform themselves. Their limited understanding causes them to lump other people into simplified groupings. They let the news media form their opinions and they react without examining the facts in greater detail. In short it's sloppy thinking, if you can call it thinking at all. It's regretable, but it happens.
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Name : Darrell, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Unity School of Christianity, Age : 53, City : Atlanta, State : GA Country : United Kingdom, Occupation : Technology, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, My mother-in-law works for a large insurance company in customer service. She is Hispanic and does speak with an accent, though she is fluent in English and has been in the United States for almost 40 years. After 9/11, she had many unpleasant encounters while taking customer calls. One man refused to speak with her after hearing her voice, stating,'Give me someone who speaks American!' Others were equally as insulting, evidently believing that anyone with a foreign accent was the enemy. Most offensive to my mother-in-law was the assumption that since she was not born in this country, that she must therefore not be patriotic or not hold this country dear.
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Name : Beth23177, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Unitarian, Age : 32, City : Hagerstown, State : MD Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, People's ignorance is the answer. Living in SC is no help to you. You would have less criticism living where people are more traveled and less provincial.
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Name : Walt, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 65+, City : Little Egg Harbor, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Retired, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, Sahil, i think you're highlighting something really important. we're being judged not as hindus but as brown folk. what they don't realize is that south asians and middle easterners can be any religion hindu, muslim, christian, jewish, etc. they also dont seem to realize that you can't generalize all muslims as terrorists. i know it sucks but keep your head up and keep explaining when you're asked questions.
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Name : Naeha, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Asian, Religion : Hindu, Age : 24, City : Detroit/NYC/Atlanta, State : MI Country : United States, Occupation : law student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper class, How wonderful that our comrades in the UK feel so free to step in and explain Americans without actually bothering to live here. In my next lecture, I'll pontificate about why the Brits gave the rest of the world Benny Hill.
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Name : Meredith, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 38, City : Portland, State : ME Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I really think that it is mostly ignorance. The vast majority of Americans are Christian and have very little knowledge or education of other religions. It's probablt easier for them to lump certain people together than to consider people's differences. It's a 'since you look like one, you must be one' syndrome. I'm terribly embarrassed by it. I'm sorry that this is happening. I am trying very hard to raise my sons as tolerant, well-educated men, and all we can do now is try to change perceptions.
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Name : Nikki, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Wiccan, Age : 31, City : Pittsburgh, State : PA Country : United States, Occupation : SAHM, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, No, Hindus didn't cause 9/11. I'm sorry to hear about this, and can only imagine that you've had some bad experiences that made you feel like you were being blamed. I don't think that most people feel this way. There is a problem, in that many people may not be able to recognize a Hindu person from a Muslim person, and so they make bad assumptions, because they don't know better. (And they should not be blaming all Muslims, anyway.) People from all over the world settle in the U.S.A., and we're glad to have everyone, but because there's so many people from so many different areas, it takes some effort to learn the distinctions between, say, a person from Chile or a person from Mexico. Or a Hindu from India versus a Muslim from India. Or a Buddist from Thailand versus a Muslim from Thailand. We need help, in order to educate ourselves. Don't be discouraged.
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Name : Mary Svrjcek, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, City : Annapolis, State : MD Country : United States, Occupation : Professional, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I read somewhere that the I.Q. of a group of people is the inverse of the accumulated total I.Q. sum of the group. The last week's basket ball fight provides a pretty firm example of that theory. When you deal with groupthink, all you can expect is thoughtlessness (Is that a word; it doesn't look like a word). If you browse the AOL message boards, you will still find people who believe that Iraq had WMD, and that they were linked to 9/11. A lot of people seize onto the simplest basis for their attitudes and responses. They don't have to think. In your situation, they see a brown skin, and react in a negative fashion with precision and very little effort.
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Name : Chris Bruk, City : Kemah, State : TX Country : United States, I beleve it is worse than just fuzzy thinking. It is like after the hostages were taken in Iran. Fear, anger, frustration all combine to make people strike out in resentment and ignorance. Just who IS 'the enemy' and to whom? The ethnocentric rigidity of so many people on all sides just leads to abuses of power, extemist positions acting out with reactions to other reactions to an earlier actions... how can we stop this cycle? How can so many people be so easily misled by hateful or illogical propaganda? (How did it work in Germany in the 30's?) I fear that the gulf between cultures, classes, religions, all people is getting deeper and wider. MANY Americans are just sick at heart over the current (and many past) actions and policies that led to this strife, but they can neither understand the use of terrorism, nor an elective war. In fear they stand together for lack of another safe option. Fear rules. I beg the world, help us find a sustainable way to create a peace without any side having to surrender it's identity and it's soul.
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Name : Tommy Shaw, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 55, City : Huxley, State : IA Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 99 percent of the American population can not tell the difference between a Hindu and a Muslim. This is a simple fact. Can you tell the difference between a good Muslim and a bad Muslim? No? Now you know how a vast majority of Americans feel. Unfortunately you are a victim of your looks as is every other Hindu and good Muslim.
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Name : Joe, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 44, City : Monroe, State : LA Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Most people think it's all part of the same eastern religion. They don't know any better.
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Name : David-A26040, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 40, City : Mission Viejo, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Writer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 
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