theguardian: by Alex Andreou.
When I changed my appearance for an acting job I experienced the ugly shadow of discrimination cast on ‘Muslim-looking’ people
She came on the No 1 bus around the New Kent Road with her toddler already having quite a tantrum. She dragged him on by his right arm, the overstretched sleeve giving the appearance of seemingly impossible elasticity; an angry, screaming, human pendulum. The rest of the passengers allowed themselves a brief, collective “oh crap” roll of the eyes and went back to their mobile phones.
She tried the standard repertoire from cajole to threaten, but the little boy wouldn’t compromise. Whatever bag of extruded snack had been put away in her bag had become the single most important thing in the entire world. Finally, she pointed at me, leaned over and said: “Stop it, or I’ll call the terrorist.”
Categories: Islamophobia, Terrorism