Chez Moncef • You should know the difference between race and religion.

You should know the difference between race and religion.

Yesterday, Cord Jefferson wrote an article for GOOD about Jared Lee Loughner’s alleged attempt to assassinate Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Cord begins with “White Guy Shooting = Crazy; Brown Guy Shooting = Terrorist” and ends with “When a white man executes a political attack, he’s likely crazy; when it’s a Muslim doing the shooting, he’s likely a terrorist.”

The point he’s trying to make is that the media is often too quick to portray certain people as terrorists. The problem is he’s describing three possible groups:

Brown people, even if they are not Muslim. There are plenty of them. Take Arab-Americans for example. 63% of them are Christian. Here are some famous ones: Helen Thomas, Hoda Kotb, Ralph Nader, Salma Hayek, Shannon Elizabeth, and Tony Shalhoub.
Brown people who are also Muslim.
Muslims, regardless of their race or skin color.

By opting for sensationalism and equating race with religion, Cord failed to identify the specific group he was referring to.