Grief in the Time of Racial Profiling: A Brown Woman's Account in the Wake of Right-Wing Terrorism
When a terrorist attack happens, taking lives in the most brutal way possible, people grieve. But, assuming you're not directly related to the victims, not all people grieve the same. As of the numbers issued on the afternoon of April 20, 2020, the attack that struck Nova Scotia yesterday was perpetrated by a white right-wing male in a rural community and left 18 people dead, including the terrorist and an RCMP hero who helped stem the flow of casualties. As a person of color and very specifically as a Muslim, I have an additional layer of grief to grapple with, with this kind of attack. Besides the acute pain, fear, and uncertainty that would hit anyone in the wake of such terrorism, I also have to grieve the existence of racial profiling as the first reports of the incident roll out on media platforms together with the associated comments from the general community. It is gut wrenching to witness the immediate rationalizations the community assigns to this kind of attack - a