After 911, I read a news that some indians were attacked by whites in USA simply because they cannot tell the difference between Arabs and indians.
There are always some foolish extremists in every country.
I totally agree with you that there are foolish extremists in all countries.
Indeed many Indians have been killed in the US having been mistaken to be Muslim Arabs owing to their wearing turbans and having long beards.
But then, Americans are very insular people in this respect and know very little about the outside world since they don't care to know about it. I would say that even intellectually they are not attuned. Look at Sarah Palin or even President Bush. Both knew so little about the outside world. Palin saw Russia from her window and Bush did not even know the names of foreign Presidents or even countries, and he was the President of what they claim as the most powerful nation of the world!
On the other hand, Indians and Chinese, even if they not high literate, are aware of the world and its happenings and therefore, I would like to believe that they are in this aspect intellectually ahead of the US citizens.
More over, the Chinese are kept informed about the world by their Govt and there is no confusion in thought like, let us say, India, where there are so many different views projected by the Govt and the media, both print and electronic.
That is why I have not understood the rationale.