2008 Woodie Awards
9/11 leaves legacy of hate
Simran Singh
Issue date: 4/21/06 Section: Opinion
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It's been hard growing up here. Even before 9/11, it seemed like everyone would make fun of me for how I looked.
I used to get so upset in elementary school when they used to call me a girl because I had long hair. In middle school, I got in a fistfight when a basketball teammate pulled off my turban. In high school, I was a raghead and a sand nigger. And this was all in San Antonio, one of the most multicultural cities in America's melting pot.
I know now that dealing with all this stuff builds character, and I'm thankful for my experiences. But that doesn't make it right.
During my senior year of high school, Sept. 11 happened. Like the rest of the nation, our school was pretty shaken up by it. We watched the horrific aftermath of the terrorist attacks in every class that day. I'll never forget where I was that day.
But the most memorable moment of the day for me actually occurred later in the day while our seventh-period class watched CNN together.
The anchors began to discuss the man responsible for this murderous destruction - Osama bin Laden. As his image appeared on the screen, my whole class turned around to look at me. At first I didn't realize why. But, when I realized they were relating him to me, I became so uncomfortable that I had to excuse myself from the room.
But that was just the beginning.
For the next week, my parents put us on lockdown. They were so scared that they wouldn't let me or my brothers leave the house. We sat around glued to the news channels while hundreds of thousands of Muslims, Arabs and Sikhs suffered backlash throughout the country. Pretty much anything that remotely resembled Osama was attacked, and, most tragically for me, I learned of Sikh acquaintances that had been murdered in these hate-crimes.
Now this isn't me looking for sympathy. This isn't even about me. I'm just representing millions of Americans who have been attacked twice at the same time - first by terrorists from another country and then by terrorists in their own country.
I used to get so upset in elementary school when they used to call me a girl because I had long hair. In middle school, I got in a fistfight when a basketball teammate pulled off my turban. In high school, I was a raghead and a sand nigger. And this was all in San Antonio, one of the most multicultural cities in America's melting pot.
I know now that dealing with all this stuff builds character, and I'm thankful for my experiences. But that doesn't make it right.
During my senior year of high school, Sept. 11 happened. Like the rest of the nation, our school was pretty shaken up by it. We watched the horrific aftermath of the terrorist attacks in every class that day. I'll never forget where I was that day.
But the most memorable moment of the day for me actually occurred later in the day while our seventh-period class watched CNN together.
The anchors began to discuss the man responsible for this murderous destruction - Osama bin Laden. As his image appeared on the screen, my whole class turned around to look at me. At first I didn't realize why. But, when I realized they were relating him to me, I became so uncomfortable that I had to excuse myself from the room.
But that was just the beginning.
For the next week, my parents put us on lockdown. They were so scared that they wouldn't let me or my brothers leave the house. We sat around glued to the news channels while hundreds of thousands of Muslims, Arabs and Sikhs suffered backlash throughout the country. Pretty much anything that remotely resembled Osama was attacked, and, most tragically for me, I learned of Sikh acquaintances that had been murdered in these hate-crimes.
Now this isn't me looking for sympathy. This isn't even about me. I'm just representing millions of Americans who have been attacked twice at the same time - first by terrorists from another country and then by terrorists in their own country.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Anonymous
posted 4/24/06 @ 2:40 PM CST
I am tired of the whole "woe is me" agenda, nowadays white people cannot have pride without being considered racists or rednecks. I think we all grow a pair, be proud of who we are, and not care as much what others think. (Continued…)
Anonymous
posted 4/24/06 @ 2:43 PM CST
Grow a pair ya majnoon.
-an arab
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