Zinn’s chapter, “The 2000 Election and the “War on Terrorism” was extremely interesting for me to read. I think that the elections in the 2000s were similar to this year’s as it was really close as we were waiting for the last few states to announce the winner. Besides, the Democratic Party then, asked for a recount and the issue was taken to the supreme court which was conservative, and thus, Bush was announced as the president of the States. I see a similar pattern of events being followed during this election as Trump is not happy with the results and is trying to call for a recount or take it to the Supreme Court to decide in order for him to win.
When talking about 9/11 which is obviously a horrible attack that should not have happened. I think it is really important for Americans to understand that Muslims have struggled a lot as well after it. In the United States, there is discrimination against them, especially when affiliating them with terrorism. And when looking at the Middle East innocent people are still paying the price with the US bombing the area as we see in Syria and Yemen. People need to start acknowledging that although this issue has affected a lot of Americans, Muslims had a hard time in the Middle East and America especially under President Trump’s rule who “signed an Executive Order that banned foreign nationals from seven predominantly Muslim countries from visiting the country”.
I think that there is an issue with the system that allows people to associate terrorism with Islam. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez mentioned that “white men invoking white supremacy and engaging in mass shootings are almost immune to be labeled as domestic terrorists” however any attack committed by Muslim Americans is always labeled as domestic terrorism which shows a relation of terrorism to one’s identity as a Muslim. I believe that a lot of Americans form an idea about a person as soon as they hear something that makes them related to Islam. Because of my name, I was stopped at the airport as soon as I arrived in the United States and the first question I was asked was about my affiliation with Hezbollah (a terrorist organization in Lebanon) despite the fact that I don’t consider myself a Muslim which they did not even care about. I think that the system itself has allowed such discriminatory and harmful behaviors and stereotypes to be spread among US citizens against Muslim people.
I agree with your point about Americans needing to recognize the struggles the Muslim community has faced in the wake of 9/11. The September 11th attacks were brutal and senseless, but the country as one unit suffered greatly: a country that includes Muslims. The increase in hate crimes and Islamophobic rhetoric creates a very hostile environment for Muslims to live in, and it is unfair of us to label an entire group based on the actions of a few. If we did this, we would have to start labeling all white men serial killers, etc., which obviously sounds ridiculous.
I’ve always been really uncomfortable with the way America as a whole approaches conversation about 9/11. I want to be clear that the devastation associated with the terrorist attacks of 9/11 is completely valid and that the country should absolutely be able to mourn for the loss of civilian lives on that day. However, the country constantly fails to teach about this event in such a way that also recognizes the destruction that followed because of the War on Terror. Not only did the US incite foreign harm through the bombing of Afghanistan, but it also brought great harm to the Muslims and people of Middle Eastern descent in the US. During the War on Terrorism, the US condoned the wrongful profiling of Muslims and has since failed to denounce this, continuing to normalize American Islamophobia.
I think it is great that you mention that “white men invoking white supremacy and engaging in mass shootings are almost immune to be labeled as domestic terrorists.” It is such a powerful statement, and it just makes me think of the fact that the KKK wasn’t even talked about as a terrorist group until this year. It is crazy how just the word terrorism has such a racial/ religious bias to it. Once again, I feel like white supremacy isn’t accounted for.