Editorials Regarding the Backlash, Scapegoating: Immediate Responses (Sept 13-16)

September 14, 2001

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On September 14, 2001, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch published an editorial on "Misguided patriots" which read, in part: "Within hours of the terrorist attack, bomb threats had been made against a mosque in west St. Louis County. Taunts and cruel jokes were being directed at Muslim high school students. Threats and curses were hurled at Arab-Americans -- even at Sikhs, people from India who practice a completely different religion. Elsewhere, bullets shattered windows in a Texas mosque. Beatings and violence were reported in New York, Washington and California. A rowdy crowd besieged an Islamic Center in suburban Chicago. That mindless response by misguided "patriots" amplifies and extends the evil done by terrorists. It divides us on the basis of race or religion at a time when Americans should be united. It delivers a victory that terrorists were powerless to achieve on their own."