It's been a bit since I have written, and I've been thinking a lot on the racial divide in this country.
22 years ago, I gave birth to my oldest son. Antony Michael Yousseff Ahmed. I was married to his father at the time. The gulf war was happening, and tensions in the Arab community were high.
I didn't really worry about Antony all that much when it came to his ethnic decent. He was born in America and therefore, he was American. Period. End of story. My outlook was complacent.
Over the years, as America has engaged in more and more conflict with the middle east, I worry more about my son. That conflict has now come to our soil, so as a mother, you can see why I would be concerned.
I've always accepted people for who they are, regardless of skin color, social status, or religion. We are all human, and all have the right to the pursuit of happiness. We, as a people, have taken to stero typing individuals, and putting them into one group. Arab? Yep, he's a terrorist. Black? Yep, thief, rapist and more. White poor? Heroin and drug abusers, Mexican? Illegal immigrant, and so on and so forth. I wonder if anyone has taken a step back and really looked at their own behavior and reactions to each individual group.
When we talk about the racial divide in this country, we tend to lean towards speaking in hostile tones, and pointing fingers, and yet we claim to be a tolerant people. Tolerant of what? A color? A religion? Just what are we tolerant of, and why is that particular word even being used? Why can't this be as simple as "I like this person, but dislike what that person is choosing to do?" Based on character, and nothing else.
From my standpoint, when people view my son as "Arab", and lump him in "that" category, it scares the crap out of me. Is some whack job going to shoot him? Beat him to a bloody pulp, target him in some way? What about our own government? They have now decided that the Arabs are terrorists. All of them? Really? Come on people. Wake up! It's not our place to judge, and by doing so, we are apart of the problem, not the solution.
My son's not Arab. He's American born and raised, educated and an upstanding young man. A productive contributor to our society. Isn't that the goal in this world? To raise productive well rounded children? I'm damn proud of him. I don't know that I can relate to the black man who gets discriminated against for the color of his skin, or the Mexican man for wanting a better life for his family, or the Arab who lives here and get's snubbed, just for being Arab. I'm white. So I do not have the same prejudices against me. But I can empathize, and I can start a conversation that can lead to solutions. I can understand the plight of all people trying to live in peace in this world.
~peace~
