Wow

While her story is a terrible one, the truth is that it is not even remotely close to being the first story of that nature that I have ever heard. And, I highly doubt that Sophia and Caitlin were shocked by what they read or that this was the first time they have ever encountered the horrors of the post 9/11 backlash against a multitude of people that it didn't make sense for America to target or relate to Osama Bin Laden.

Since I was a sophomore in high school I have been learning about the horrors of female circumcision and about the way the innocent suffer, often at the hand of the government designed to protect thier rights, because of racism. While reading such accounts or watching documentaries on them I always used to be disgusted by what I was learning. However, the reality of it never quite hit me. Promptly after finishing a reading, documentary, or discussion about what was happening in the world my brain would start to be consumed by topics more close to home such as my school work or my love life. Knowing about these stories wasn't enough to truly come to terms with the fact that they are not a part of a far off place that doesn't effect my life and the people around me but rather a series of disasters that is happening in my own backyard to people that I might have passed on the street at some point.

For me, it was the mention of Varick Street that suddenly made me feel like someone had hit me in the chest. I walk back and forth on that street to get to and from places. I sneak into clubs on Varick Street. I go on dates on Varick Street. I show my friends from out of town Varick Street just to try and show off how I know cool spots in the city that they as tourists most likely won't know about. I do all the typical college shenanigans that college students do and a series of immature shenanigans to attempt to look cool on Varick Street. Suddenly, I couldn't help but think back to every moment I've ever spent on that street and picture myself lying against the wall of a building while a 16 year old girl is being strip search and forced to open her butt cheeks for a 30 year old FBI agent.

This left an eerie feeling in my stomach in a way that I have never felt before. It made me truly see what is happening around me for the first time. And, what I took away from her story was a simple realization. When I hear people around me make comments like "The terrorist are from Afghanistan and the Middle East." or "The terrorist are Muslims." or the words Arab and Muslim being used interchangeably it really is my duty to correct them. While these comments aren't hatred infused comments and while they aren't on the same scale as a 16 year old girl being forced to be strip searched, it is the ignorance behind such lines of thinking that lead to the acts of cruelty Adama suffered. Every single day such comments need to be shut down in regular conversation because together these ignorant comments shape the mindset of a society which inevitably leads to the dehumanization of certain people and therefore the abuses that Adama faces.

If the government creates such practices of abuse clearly it is not afraid of the risk of exposure. Which must mean that the government is confident that the people will not oppose these measures enough to oppose the government itself. Therefore, the mindset of the people must be addressed first!