Loading ...VIDEO: Arab American Uber Driver Called "Arab Terrorist" and "Sand N*****" on the Road #HummusHaters
With all the anti-Arab bashing we see in the news every week, Arab America is determined to expose those who discriminate against our community. We will recognize those who vilify the positive influence and contributions Arabs have made to the fabric of American society. And we will use hummus as our weapon. By naming those who vilify the Arab American community as #HummusHaters, we can express our culture positively while showing intolerance to bigotry.
BY: Hala Atirah/Contributing Writer
The land of dreams is becoming a land of racism for this Arab American who was called a “sand nigger” by a Trump supporter on the streets of Astoria.
The U.S. has always been a diverse land, open to people from different nations. However, racism still exists among the most close-minded, shallow people can still surprise the country with their level of hatred and racism.
Last week, a video went viral in which a white man insulted and verbally abused an Arab American motorist who was called: “sand nigger”, “Arab terrorist”, and “a loser”. The recipient kept calm, and didn’t say a word in return to the insults. Rather, he filmed the incident. The abuser showed no fear or hesitation to stop his tirade after learning that he was being recorded.
The victim, Muhammed, moved to the U.S. from Morocco seven years ago. He did not record the video to report it as a hate crime and is still not sure if he will. He told the Washington Post that he recorded the incident because he was so shocked by the way this man behaved.
Muhammed is an Uber driver, and after telling a client what happened that day, the client published the video to Facebook. Karim Metwaly, an Egyptian YouTube actor, posted the video, which has been shared over 60,000 times, and viewed by over a 5 million people.
Commenters asserted that these hate events are rising and becoming more frequent since Trump won the presidency. However, many of them who elected Trump do not believe that these incidents are a result of his election, even though the abuser referenced Trump’s deportation plans to Muhammed. Muslim commenters, on the other hand, pointed out the scientific contribution they have presented to the world in old times, saying that without Muslims the world wouldn’t have been the same. Others expressed their desire to live side by side with all people, regardless of race or religion.
Hate crimes towards Muslims rose by 67% in 2015, and have sharply increased since Trump’s victory on November 8. Since Trump was elected, over 700 hate incidents have been reported from people of all kinds of backgrounds who have been attacked and called hateful names. The abusers do not fear being filmed or reported, and many back up their hateful actions with the assertion that since Trump is president now, they can do what they want.
The bigoted man recorded in this video is in dire need of hummus to fix his hate problem. With a video this bad, we wonder if it’s even possible for this man to get help.
Warning: The language in this video is extremely graphic.