Fear has had a long history in dictating our treatment of others. The less we know or understand about a particular people and their culture, the more inclined we are to be mistrustful. When that fear is based on actual events however, and escalates into a blanket condemnation of an entire society, it is far more dangerous.

History threatened to repeat itself in the aftermath of the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center. For so many New Yorkers, this was an incident without precedent; we were being attacked on our soil. Following these horrific events a debate arose as to the building of a Muslim cultural center and school in an area just north of Ground Zero. The arguments against were almost entirely based on the race and religion of the people that would be making use of the facility. People were deeply fearful that this was too close to that hallowed ground and that to allow this establishment would be to court another attack. Muslims have, since that dark day, been looked upon with mistrust and suspicion, an entire people blamed for the actions of an overzealous sect.

Decades before, during World War II, fear again took hold of the people after the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. Persons of Japanese descent, even those who had become citizens, were interred in camps, the rationale being to prevent another attack. It was believed that they were spies capable of getting information to their homeland or just inherently disloyal because they were Japanese. Again the idea that every Japanese person at the time was made to be responsible for the attack on Pearl Harbor seems ludicrous, but we seem ever content to forget the lessons that history has to teach us.

The Klan has long been a symbol of racism. While known for instilling fear and intimidating blacks, they were born out of a fear of a changing world. It was the Reconstruction Era and slaves were now free. The fear of what would happen as the former slaves gained more and more freedoms and rights, combined with preconceived notions of their general lazy and untrustworthy character, led to an ongoing racist attitude toward black people, which exists even to this day. The Klan was even celebrated as the liberator and salvation of the white race in D.W. Griffith’s infamous film “The Birth of a Nation”. A sadder commentary would be that in many places the Klan was revered as the saviors of the race, stalwart knights to defend the people. And so they and their hatred live on.

Today, there is an ongoing debate in New York City regarding the constitutionality of the “stop and frisk” program. Many see this as a weapon of racial profiling, with black and Hispanic men in its sights. This stemmed from fear sparked by increased crime and the prevalence of violent gun-related crimes. Regardless of where this crime was occurring, the people being stopped were largely from those two communities. And in the ongoing war against terrorism in our city, it is the person who even appears to be a Muslim who is the victim. They are deemed guilty simply because they bear a passing resemblance to those who brought the Towers down.

So it seems we are doomed to keep repeating the mistakes of the past. We allow fear to take over our rational minds and do irrevocable harm to the innocents. Racism is still alive and well even today because of this fear. Fear leads to hate and hate to often violent action. We still judge people by the color of their skin, their eyes, their clothing, and their beliefs instead of taking them as individuals and not a representative of an entire group. If mankind is to survive we must let go of these childish fears and realize we are all part of the human race. And that’s what matters most.