Ridiculous: why in the world should I feel guilty for speaking Arabic?

[latteromden]

I've noticed this more and more recently. I was at the UN on Saturday, taking a tour like any good tourist does ;) and they were discussing the 6 official languages of the UN. I figured, well, hey, I'm halfway through that list - why not just learn the rest of the languages? I'd always wanted to learn Arabic, anyway, and I'd studied the script for a while a couple months before, so I stopped at a Barnes and Noble in Soho and picked up an Arabic book.

Immediately, I felt uncomfortable. At the checkout counter, at screening for the tours we went to, at airport security. Why? Because I was learning Arabic, and nothing more than that.

The airport, I think, was the worst. I'm of Norwegian and German descent, from Minnesota, a Methodist turned Unitarian Universalist - why should I, of all people, be worried? Well, first, someone in my family (not quite sure who, somehow) is on the no-fly list. We've got a common last name, so it's possible that it's not ACTUALLY one of us, but we're always stopped at airports. Add to that the fact that I now carry an Arabic book with me, and the workers there start to get suspicious. They actually do. It's unbelievable. It's not their fault, either.

The recent experience has really highlighted something for me, although I knew it all along: the Bush administration is not targeting terrorism. They're using the Arabic language, features that look Middle Eastern, the religion of Islam, to create suspicion among Americans when they seem any of these things. I hear quite often, "That guy looks like a terrorist." What does a terrorist "look" like? Did Timothy McVeigh "look" like a terrorist, or can he not be considered one because he was not from the Middle East?

Why in the world should I feel like I have to hide the fact that I'm speaking Arabic to keep myself off some government terrorist watch list? It's so ridiculous. The Bush administration should stop targeting innocent civilians, innocent AMERICANS, and focus on actual terrorism.

[Clark2008]

1. Enshallah

أنا لا أعرف لما أنت تشعر هذا طريق. بما أنّ جزء جيّدة من بلادنا يكون امتلكت ب ال <سودي> ، هو أمكن كنت لغة جيّدة أن يعرف. ي

[jdots]

2. At one time bush slipped and said crusade

He seemed to snap when it came out of his mouth.It is a crudade just ad oil and drugs.

[jmm]

3. Wanna see how to spot a Middle Eastern terrorist

What does a typical Middle Eastern male look like?

Why stop promoting baseless suspicion when that is the only thing letting the Bush administration get away with everything it's doing?

[porkrind]

4. Hey, teach us some profanity!

The best words to know in any language. :)

[The_Mule]

5. Why do you hate America?

A family member on the no-fly list, a desire to learn Arabic, posting on liberal "underground" message boards, from a Blue state - you MUST be an America-hating terrorist in training.

Seriously, your excellent post raises questions that can't be answered by the Bush administration without contradicting their lip-service to freedom and liberty. I believe the overall answer here is that fear and false patriotism are very effective ways to control the general populace. The Bush administration needs the boogeyman of the stereotypical Arabic terrorist to generate the fear and false patriotism.

You ask why you should feel like you have to hide the fact you're learning Arabic. What's chilling to me is that with the continuing errosion of personal liberties that the Bush administration favors, we may end up in a country where you CAN'T hide that fact.

[Ms. Clio]

6. You must be really talented with languages

I envy you.

I think your post is one of the most worrisome I have ever read here, and I'm sorry you have been made to feel like that.