Tunnel Vision

I recently visited a local store in my neighborhood, and over heard a gentleman talking about another local convenient store across town. His statement went as this, "I really like the Subs at the other store, but it is against my morals to buy from an Arab". I turned to look at him, with his face all grimous looking, and asked him, "Are you serious"? And he replies to me, "Well of course I am serious, what, do you believe in terrorism, that man is a muslim". I again reply, "So your not going to buy a sub at the store, because the man is muslim"? And he proceeds to speak to the lady at the register about his racist issues, and I walked away saying "To each their own". As I neared the end of my shopping, I passed him, still standing there at the checkout register, paid for my things, and left.

As I walked out the door, I kept thinking to myself, how much more I wanted to say to him. My first idea was, how does he know this store owner is muslim. And it came to me, I remember people in the area saying an Arabian man bought the store a little while back. Then I thought, well does that automatically mean he is muslim? My second idea was even if he is muslim, does he really think that all muslims are terrorists? All I could do was shake my head, and go home with new ideas of what I should have said to this man, but I knew in my heart it would not have matter what I said to him, he was a racist and it would take more than my questioning him to change his ways.

My opinion on the subject is this. Just because a man is tan with black hair, does not automatically make him Arabian. For Example, my husband is Puerto Rican, but has been labeled by locals as Arabian, even Mexican. People with a tan and dark hair can be from any Middle Eastern country or any South American Country. Also, just because a man is Arabian, does not make him a muslim. For all you know he could be a Buddhist.

We can not live in a world full of tunnel vision. Wake up people. Stop using your eye sight to judge or condemn. Stop labeling a hard working man as a terrorist, when you don't even know his name, or his nationality. This is why people start panicking, and citizens of this country get hurt. It all starts with one person, who wrongfully judges another, and the followers of society pursue the same judgement with out even taking one second to think about why they even believe their own thoughts.