re: #45 eff

I dont think I’m dignifying xenophobic bigotry. Most people were aware of foreign events on 9/11 and the hours/days/months that followed.

No, they really weren’t. They didn’t suddenly get an understanding of what the Sunni and the Shi’ite are. They didn’t suddenly understand that Iranians are Persian and not Arab. They didn’t suddenly gain the ability to actually locate those countries on a map or know the first thing about them. They didn’t suddenly realize what a Sikh was, or a Zorastrian, or a Coptic Christian, or a Druze.

Most people are quite ignorant of Middle East affairs. If all you’re saying is that people saw pictures of Arabs celebrating after 9/11 and that is the sole explanation for most anti-Arab bigotry, I’m going to have to ask you if you’re being serious.