I’ve been called a terrorist four times in my life.
Each time was different. It has come from strangers in cars calling out or people in restaurants looking at me funny.
I avoid answering my parents in Guajarati, their native language, when I’m talking to them on the phone to prevent any dirty looks.
After every terrorist attack, even if the attacker wasn’t in any way linked to a terror cell, my friends and I act more cautiously.
I don’t know if there’s a word to describe being called a terrorist.
It’s a mix of emotions ranging from anger to shock to sadness.
I was born in the United States and am as fully American as I think I can be. I love every aspect of this country from its diversity to its food to its national pride.
But more and more I’m feeling like an outsider in my own country or as Jon Belion said, “an immigrant in America.”
I think that’s why the rhetoric used by the Republican Party this year has been so hard for me to accept.
I understand terrorism is a pressing concern and I think it should be a priority in the future.
However, I think separating it into United States and the others — whether they be Mexican or Syrian refugees — we create an implicit assumption that those people are going against the U.S. and its goals, and should be removed.
I do understand the purpose of such rhetoric.
It’s to energize the base and gain support from the older generations who are more likely to vote come Election Day.
However, what it really does is spark fear and hate among the current electorate against those groups. That may not be Donald Trump and the Republican party’s goal; however, it is a direct effect.
By labeling people as potential terrorists as Trump has done on multiple occasions or using anti-Islamic rhetoric, they are creating a tangible enemy.
By implying that one in every few Syrian refugees is like a poisoned Skittle or by crying out the U.S. should only accept Christian refugees, the Republican party is creating an otherness that its followers can then attack verbally and online.
I’m a big girl. I’ve been called everything from bitchy to a terrorist and almost everything in between.
And while I absolutely hate being linked to these horrible people, I can handle being called a terrorist.
However, children shouldn’t have to. Six-year-olds shouldn’t have to deal with their peers calling them names or saying they’ll be sent back over the wall. They shouldn’t and don’t need to.
The way adults speak is seen as a template for acceptable speech for children. If someone older, more successful or, hell, a presidential candidate is calling people terrorists or lazy, why shouldn’t you?
Children are taught by example, and if Trump is the example, then I think this is a tragedy for today’s kids.
npatwari@umail.iu.edu
