|
|
|
|
The casting of the suspected terrorists as villains along with repetitive images and descriptions of the hijackers as Arab Muslim extremists might have cultivated a general suspicion of all Arabs among the American public—that all Arabs or Muslims were terrorists or somehow linked to terrorist networks. A number of incidents that occurred shortly after the tragedy would seem to lend some credence to this notion. In Arizona, a man was gunned down outside his gas station by a drive-by shooter simply because he looked Muslim, his turban and beard perhaps appearing similar to those worn by terrorists such as bin Laden (Van Biema, 2001). Similar incidents were reported in Ohio, where a Ford Mustang was driven through the front entrance of a mosque, and in Texas, where a pilot on a Delta Airlines flight had a Pakistani American removed from the plane shortly before takeoff simply because the crew didn’t feel comfortable with the man on board (Van Biema, 2001). In the month after the terrorist attacks, 45 people were reportedly assaulted and four murdered because they appeared to be Arab or Muslim (Van Biema, 2001). Van Biema, D. (2001, October 1). As American as.… Time, 158(15), 72-74.
|