Sponsored: Arab-Americans See Similarities Between the Pandemic and Post 9/11 Hostility

posted on: Dec 9, 2020

Virtually every American citizen would agree that 9/11 changed everything in this country. Stringent pre-flight security checks became the norm. The Patriot Act enabled police and government bodies to monitor citizen activities in a previously unprecedented way.

Many Arab-Americans felt like outcasts at that point. They felt as though the police and FBI were unfairly targeting their communities. Even those with no suspected terrorist connections knew that they were under surveillance, and it was hard for them not to feel nervous about that.

Some of them also experienced racist attacks. Enraged US citizens assaulted Arab-Americans or perceived Arab-Americans. They yelled slurs at them in the streets, especially in New York, where the terrorist attacks occurred.

In 2020, the pandemic year, many Arab-Americans see similar behavior, and it brings back bad memories. This time, US citizens are targeting Asian Americans. It is because scientists believe Covid-19 originated in China.

What Asian Americans are Experiencing

It’s going to be winter soon, a time when most people worry about dangerous road conditions and putting their snow tires on. However, Asian-Americans must worry about something else: walking down the street and becoming a violence victim. Statistics show that:

• Asian-American attacks are way up this year
• All Asian-Americans are subject to them, not just Chinese-American citizens

President Trump’s behavior has not helped matters. He has repeatedly used racist slurs when talking about Covid-19, calling it the “Chinese virus” and “Kung-Flu.” He probably thinks he is being clever, but this sort of talk riles up his fan base. They leave his rallies and look for Asian-Americans on whom they can vent their spleen.

9/11 Comparisons To anti Arab-American Sentiment

In the years after 9/11, Arab-Americans reported feeling anxious. They had higher stress levels because:

• They were sure that various law enforcement agencies were targeting them
• They got dirty looks on the street, and they knew that a racially-based attack was probably not far behind

Many of them understand what Asian-American communities are going through now. They know the fear, the anxiety, and the uncertainty.

It’s a hard way to live, especially if you were born here in the United States. Some Arab-Americans have never even been to the Middle East, just as there are Asian-Americans who have never visited the Asian continent.

Their parents came here, or perhaps their grandparents did. In some cases, they might be fourth or fifth-generation Americans. However, because they still have Asian features, some US citizens regard them as “other.”

This is jingoism, or excessive patriotism. It’s embracing your country while also projecting a warlike foreign policy. It’s trying to repel outsiders, or those who you feel do not belong.

It Goes Back Further Than Either 9/11 or the Coronavirus

The thing is, though, this country has jingoism ingrained in its DNA. It did not start with 9/11, nor did it begin with the coronavirus. You can see examples of it throughout our history.

Think about World War II. When the Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, the US responded by questioning its Japanese citizens. They arrested many of them who possessed traditional Japanese weapons or outfits.

They decided that wasn’t enough, and they rounded them all up and kept them in detainment camps. The government felt like they couldn’t trust even US-born citizens with Japanese ancestry.

It seems as though each generation, something happens, and those who consider themselves “ordinary” or “real” US citizens respond with flagrantly racist attacks. It’s a form of tribalism. It’s a way to try and get back at those who certain US citizens view as the enemy, even though there’s seldom any evidence that is the case at all.

What Causes This Anti Asian and Arab-American Sentiment?

Often, it is government figureheads who stir up these sentiments. There are frequently at least some in powerful positions who use inflammatory rhetoric to stir up anti-other emotions. Whether it’s Arab-Americans, Asian-Americans, or whoever else, they use racist dog whistles to get their followers to respond. Usually, they do so gladly.

The reason is that it feels good to contextualize existential dread. If you can see the enemy or those you perceive to be the enemy, you can call them names, throw things at them, attack them, etc. You feel united for the common good.

The issue is that there was never any evidence during World War II that Japanese-Americans felt more loyalty to Japan than they did to the US. There was never any evidence that Arab-Americans agreed with the terror attacks or held anti-US sentiments.

Some people look at the anti-Asian-American attacks that are happening right now in an even worse light. Asian-Americans did not create this virus, nor are they in any way responsible for the deaths and the havoc that it’s causing. Those who attack them can’t even claim for a second that what they’re doing is anything else other than flagrant racism.

What Is the Answer?

There is an answer to all of this, but it happens to be a deeply unsatisfying one. The Asian-American community will have to hunker down and wait it out. This is what the Japanese-American community did during World War II and what the Arab-American community did in the years after 9/11.

America won World War II, and Japan surrendered. Years passed after 9/11, and after a time, anti-Arab-American sentiment calmed down as well, though it never completely went away.

The same thing will happen with the pandemic. Vaccines will come out, and we will get the virus under control. Time will pass, and anti-Asian-American sentiment will die down as well.

That’s not exactly a helpful thought at the moment, though. It doesn’t much help the six-year-old Chinese-American who faces bullying because of what he looks like, although he had never been to China in his life, and probably his parents haven’t either.

Humans have short memories, and as we know, if you forget history, a repetition occurs. Some people haven’t forgotten, though. They’re just willing to submit to their ugliest impulses whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Please note that this post was paid for by a third-party and does not necessarily reflect the views of Arab America or its employees. These posts help allow Arab America to produce our wonderful original content, thanks for your understanding.

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