Fort Hood Tragedy: The Accidental Terrorist

The news today about the incident at Fort Hood is tragic. Reports have confirmed numerous wounded and 12 dead, including the shooter.

As details begin to leak out slowly in the midst of the confusion and tragedy, many will be concerned for loved ones and friends. Others will be shocked at yet another tragic and unexpected incident. Many will add this to the list of pressures our soldiers have been under these past years while juggling service to their country in not one, but two wars.

And in the midst of this all - there will be those that will try to speculate. They will try to sleuth, deduce, hypothesize, and conjure up theories as to why this occurred, what motivated the shooter, what implications this has for loosely related themes and topics, etc. Enter news media, stage left.

And what would be a journalist, without the desire to investigate and to seek the truth, and to deliver the news as it is uncovered?

But in watching as this story broke on CNN and was being covered on Wolf Blitzer's segment, I noticed that some of the deductions and facts being drawn to the public's attention seemed to serve very little purpose. In fact, looking at the shape-up of this story, it seemed to be facts that would help support the notion that this was an act of terrorism.

I say that because, as Blitzer received the name, and attempted to pronounce it, he followed it by saying (paraphrase) "...and it is a Muslim name."

I thought to myself...why do we need you to confirm that this indeed is a Muslim name?

It is clear, especially from this article, that the undercurrent of terrorism as a motivator of this shooting exists. I like that numerous spokespersons within the article has shied away from speculation on this, and has even gone far enough to present this event in an objective light in terms of what could have happened.

I think Wolf's comment was feeding a fear. And I do not think he was intentionally trying to incite anger. But it was just a poignant demonstration of how rattled America is by this idea, this phenomenon, of terrorism. This tragedy happens, and an immediate speculation is terrorism, because it has all the ingredients of what Americans see and hear everyday: innocents dying, shock-value...and a name that sounds as if the person is Muslim.

In light of this tragic situation, accounting for other personnel on base, and answering the questions of the bereaved is priority one, and ultimately all else pales in significance right now. But that little comment by Blitzer really speaks to a larger issue aside from the tragic and unpredictable violence that can occur and how fragile our sense of security can really be.

I think it highlights the effect that the war on terror has had on shaping American views of Muslim people. Just the fact that he mentioned his name being Muslim as a significant fact paints a picture: we have stereotyped a people to be radically passionate, fundamentally religious, and irrationally destructive.

It may be the case that we see Iraqis, Afghans, Saudis, Egyptians, etc. advocate for jihad against the U.S. and her interests. It may be true that U.S. troops sent overseas are subjected to acts of terror by these same countrymen. But the profiling which can arise out of what we see and internalize as true can feed and spiral Americans into a dangerous cycle - one where our fear fuels misunderstanding, which leads to anger from Muslim groups, which then only fuels more fear and misunderstanding if that anger becomes a catalyst for violent action.

Who knows 39-year-old Hasan decided to shoot his fellow servicemen and women and murder 11. That will come through investigation. But would the first conclusion or speculation have been terrorism if his name was John Smith? I bet Muslim-Americans cringed when it became public knowledge across all airwaves that the shooter was a Major named Malik Nidal Hasan, because it was only potential fuel for more stereotypes and racial profiling.

What is most important now is mourning the sons and daughters of our country that were murdered while preparing to serve and the families and friends that lost a loved one today. In the process, also reflect on the burden some Americans face living their lives as a part of a culture that is increasingly demonized because of religious fundamentalists continents away from them.

Contributor, Young Writer's Block
Contributor, The Carmon Report