911 Terrorist Attacks and Discrimination

On September 11, 2001, I distinctly remember walking into my ninth period English class and seeing the look of horror and disgust on my teacher’s face. I asked, “Mrs. Hogan, what’s the matter?” She replied by walking over to the television set and turning on the news. My classmates and I were filled with astonishment as we watched the horror unfold before our eyes. Feelings of hatred and vengeance floated in the pit of my stomach. I went home that day enraged and filled with prejudice.

That night I begun reading an article my teacher had assigned for homework. The article was about the religion of Islam. I learned that there was an ultra orthodox minority in the Islam religion, which believes, violence is the only way to draw attention to their cause. As I continued to read, I learned that very few Muslims believe terrorism is the answer. I was ashamed of how naïve and ignorant I had been earlier that day. That night my outlook on the issue changed entirely.

I went to school the next day and overheard a conversation some of my friends were having in the hallway. They were talking about “bombing those towel heads,” I interrupted the conversation and explained to them how narrow-minded they were being. I tried to impact some of the knowledge I had learned the night before, and I think it worked. They haven’t made a racist comment in my presence since.

The level of discrimination taking pl...