I William Wiser wrote:
>
> There are terrorists living in this country.
> Many terrorists may belong to a particular culture or "race".
> The situation is similar to driving a car of the same type
> recently used by a bank robber in your community.
> We do not want the bank robber to walk around unquestioned
> and we do not want to hassle innocent people.
> Here is a simple solution.
>
> Befriend the people you are suspicious of.
> Be nice to them. Get to know them. Invite them to dinner.
> If you spend enough time befriending someone you will
> eventually figure out if the are friend, foe, or neutral.
> Sometimes you will find out that your suspicions were silly.
> Other times you will find your suspicions reasonable but wrong.
> Keep getting to know them until you feel comfortable or scared.
Similarly, my advice to muslim Americans of middle eastern descent in
dealing with suspicious Americans: be proactive and introduce
yourselves, where you live and work, etc.... suspicion feeds on
ignorance. If you act defensive and closed, you are lending to the
suspicions of others. If you are open and freindly, people are less
likely to treat you with hostility. You may not turn everybody into a
friend, but enough will become so that those few who insist on being
stupid are more likely to be stopped by others who do know you.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Fri Oct 12 2001 - 14:40:57 MDT