People Ride Buses

Today, a man in LA rode a bus.
Today, a woman in Russia rode a bus.
Today, a kid in Oman rode a bus.
Today, I rode a bus in UAE.

As I looked around at my fellow passengers I remember thinking, "What's so different about these people - so different that so many in the US think they're all 'twisted, different, or potentially dangerous or evil' (you know - being middle eastern Muslims)?"

Oh sure, there were a few uni-brows, dark mustaches... and a few of the wen were wearing dresses (kanduras) but what does that have to do with anything? Nothing.

Dresses and bad-hair asside - these were average, everyday people going about average everday lives... Or so it seemed to me. As 9/11 made clear, but as it seems still continues, there are a lot of misconceptions about Islam and people from the middle east. Travelling in Yemen, Oman, and UAE - I've met mostly genuine people with general good will in mind (except that guy who ripped me off in Yemen and the taxi drivers who simply wont tell me where to catch a bus).

Anyhow, my point: travel the world, meet a few people - then disregard all those language, culture, religion, family, economic, race, gender classifications we've created to rate, segregate, stereotype the world. They're usually overly superficial, and likely misleading and biased. Granted, I'm biased too - but I'm feeling soap-boxy, so there you go.