Perspective

Walking into the busy corner store, I get my chips, my drink, and get in line. The store, there for years, owned by an American family. The store is crowded, people everywhere. There is a loud Hispanic man at the front, shirt unbuttoned, missing teeth, unshaven. He snarls at the cashier, and loudly yells, “So, what’s it like to be a Muslim in America today?” Everyone freezes, gasps, and is embarrassed for the man, out of ignorance, -controversy… The crickets quit chirping for the reply. “It is wonderful for me, I am an American before I am a Muslim”, he says “and it is much better than being an American in Iraq! I can tell you that!” Everyone laughed and agreed. He concluded, “ It is not America’s fault,...everyone knows that all Muslims are not terrorists,...the problem is that all terrorists are Muslim….I hate terrorists!” he smiles and laughs it off. I being a white woman dug into my soul. Wanting to relate, to feel him bleed red as I too bleed red, I gained perception. I realized most serial killers are white. I fully understood. Though a bit too big, I stood there in his shoes and thought, “I hate serial killers.” What I learned from it all? That he was Muslim. I had always seen a kind man, without label. That evening, needing milk, I walked to the corner store…..