I agree that often people are quick to accuse, but it's not like the FBI is going to chase cats up trees. I'm pretty sure the leads they are following are pretty strong, and regardless of whether Bin Laden did this act, I still think he's a horrible human being and deserves only the worst.

What I am more seriously concerned and scared about is our own counrty. Now that there are these suspicions, I'm worried about how people react towards our own citizens.

I've heard rumors that in parts of the country, people of Middle Eastern descent have become targets of ignorant, hate-filled Americans. What's in some ways worse is that I've heard this coming from several institutions of higher education, where I would assume people would be too intelligent for this. I attend William & Mary, a school I consider one of the best in the nation (don't know how I got in, but that's another story). There was talk about one freshman girl from Bangledesh on a bus back to her dorm off campus, when others on the bus started yelling horrible things at her. This sickens me. You wouldn't think that at such an institution, in such an innocent place as Williamsburg, there would be college students so pathetically stupid.

To make matters worse at this time, my own girlfriend is Iranian. Frankly, I fear for her. I hate that I am part of a racial majority that would be so ignorant and so hatefull towards other inoccent American citizens. I am very nervous and scared for her.

Hopefully people around here will try to calm down and think about who the good people are. Sadly, this is one of the truly horrible aspects of terrorism, that we don't know who are with us and who are not. Maybe people will calm down in the days to come and recognize, with the help of the FBI, who the real enemy is.

Sorry, I had to vent.

DiGNAN
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, etc.