Sadly, the events of 9/11 did a lot to reinforce the popular image of Arabs and Muslims in America. The popular image portrayed in action movies and old stereotypes, anyway. Here comes the wild-eyed terrorist with a hijacked plane, hell-bent on destroying highly-recognizable, prominent landmarks. And why? Because they were buildings in the U.S. and filled with Americans? Because Western culture is evil? What?

Naturally, people around the world wanted a reason why for 9/11. We can’t deal with events, process them, and get them out of our heads until we can make some sense out of what happened. But what do we draw on when we need to understand why men from the Middle East would commandeer commercial planes for a suicide mission? We can draw on the past. These are 21st century kamikaze– was this self-sacrifice a noble act in the name of killing an enemy? When did we become the enemy? We weren’t at war. What kind of thinking breeds actions like this? We don’t know. When Schwarzenegger isn’t coming to save us with a machine gun, and the fiction evaporates, where do we look for answers?

Media: television, movies, magazines and newspapers provide most of our answers, maybe along with a pinch of critical thinking, and a nudge from family and friends. The first and most apparent reason for 9/11 that CNN latched onto was religion. So we fall back on what we know of Islam, which is pretty muddy. Well, spending one’s free time reading up on foreign cultures isn’t the most popular pastime, and world culture as part of public school curricula occupies a small niche. Here’s where media responsibility comes into play. We can’t change what people have carried in their heads for the past century, but we can influence future perceptions with accurate accounts of what it means to be unlike us. The first step is to expose our own biases, to examine how we perceive others. It can be done without threatening our own collective identity or our way of life. I used the characterization of a “wild-eyed terrorist” earlier, which leads to a much different image than if I’d said something about a frustrated Saudi bringing the long-term effects of structural violence to life. Those are two radically different ways to say one thing, but even a subtle switch in wording can alter how we think of others. What conclusion do you make if I say “the Muslim hijacker” instead of the “the hijacker”? His being Muslim must be important if I included it, right? Our perceptions, or mis-perceptions (but isn’t all just in how you look at it?), are formed through subtle reinforcement, little-by-little, as much as they are by blatant declarations.

In describing 9/11, my point of view is that of a confused and hurt American woman. My voice gets lost under the dominant discourse. The media outlet with the most money and lobbying power wins the game. How will they spin it? CNN blared all day:

What impact will 9/11 have on the stock market?
How does this affect our economy?
Has the president declared war yet?

Newspapers emphasized the same points:

What does this make us look like to the rest of the world?

We appear to care most about money and violence. Is that part of what the hijackers were protesting as being wrong in Western culture? Were they afraid of being contaminated by it? Is it fair to characterize 9/11 as a violent protest by people who decided we were their enemies? Our wicked ways take different forms. We need to understand their perceptions of us as well, and by including it news articles, we were able to see what we can’t readily see through our own lens.

It isn’t enough to get on TV and characterize any struggle as Us versus Them. The War on Terror has been nebulously defined, a net that’s been cast for enemies includes anyone who doesn’t wholeheartedly, unquestioningly support the way America IS. Self-examination is suspect. And our enemy? Some hazy stereotype we’ve seen in movies. We could strengthen our understanding of other cultures by emphasizing what we have in common. The religious aspect of 9/11 is skewed: Islam shares a great deal with Christianity in its messages to love and respect one’s fellow man. The Islam that most Muslims are faithful to is not one of violence. Irregularity makes for newsworthiness, though. But, when we know so little about another faith, the crazy hijacker story has to be balanced with a portrayal of normal Muslim beliefs. Writers in the media have a responsibility to American audiences to educate as well as report the news. Around the world others will see our news stories and judge us by how fairly we portrayed them. Our media outlets have responsibilities not just toward the viewers, but also to the subjects being reported on. But how often is that duty sacrificed in the name of ratings, subscribers, agendas, and profit?

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