Since the terrorist attacks that shook the country Sept. 11, minorities across the country have been victims of not only racial discrimination and intimidation, but of acts of violence.

A Sikh man was killed in Phoenix and a Pakistani man killed in Dallas. Police suspect both could be hate crimes.

A Boston University student was stabbed in the back and arms after leaving a fund raiser for World Trade Center victims.

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee has said it has compiled a list of over 250 violent acts perpetrated on college campuses since the terrorist attacks occurred. That number surpasses the number received during the Gulf War.

We understand people are angry against those responsible for the terrible terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., but people need to stop channeling that anger toward Arab-Americans, Muslims and South Asians just because they may “look like” the people responsible.

Xenophobia and racism against fellow Americans is no better than any act perpetrated by terrorists.

Ignorance and fear for what you don’t know or understand are our enemies, not your grocer or a fellow student. Americans fighting and hating Americans only reinforces the terrorists’ beliefs that we are evil infidels.

And this isn’t only a problem in other parts of the country.

“Stop terrorism: kill Palestinians” and “Wipe out Islam” are two disgusting statements written in bold black lettering on a public bench outside T-Galaxy in Campustown. These ridiculous comments are clearly visible in a prominent area of Ames, acting as a reminder that ignorance breeds hate. And hate breeds violence.

We don’t want to wait for a fellow Cyclone to be stabbed or shot before people step back and realize what they are doing by singling out groups based on skin color or apparel.

Americans of all shapes, colors and sizes lost their lives Tuesday, Sept.11, not just white Americans.

When the United States begins its “war on terrorism,” it will not just be white Americans fighting to protect our liberties. Indian, Pakistani, Arab and every other ethnicity will be side by side with whites.

The same thing happened in this country during World War II. Japanese and Asian-Americans were discriminated against and rounded up like cattle. And even then, Japanese Americans lost their lives fighting in the war. This is no different.

When those terrorists crashed two planes into the World Trade Center andanother into the Pentagon, they were not selective. To them, an American is an American. They made no special actions to only kill white people.

Americans must quickly realize that the enemy is not your fellow American who came to this country to make a living just like everyone else. Vigilante justice will only further divide the United States, something the terrorist wanted.

editorialboard: Andrea Hauser, Tim Paluch, Michelle Kann, Zach Calef, Omar Tesdell