People can be so rude Sometimes

As a Muslim American working on an American military base I have seen many sides of people. Being from California I know about life on that side of the states and some things about the south as my family lives in that part. I've since learned about the differences in culture and the English language as well. I never knew about the lives of people in some of the states like NC/SC, they are totally different that Californians.

Those who are close to me know that I am a Muslim but I don't display it because of the way people think about Muslims or Kuwaitis. They compare me with Kuwaitis because I've been here so long and I associate with Kuwaitis rather than Americans. A little while ago one of the guys in my section was asking me about some passes for the ports, I told him Eid is coming up and all agencies will be closed for a while. He made some comment about people should work for their money and so on.

I have to really bite my tongue working here. People just talk all kinds of crap about the religion, about Kuwaitis and so on and I try to ignore it because if I don't I may get into a big fight and lose my job. When he made the comment about working I said I'm Muslim and I'm working. He was rather shocked and asked how long I had been Muslim, I told him since I was 2 as my mother converted when she was young. His response was "Oh, I'm sorry" in which I replied "Well, I'm not". People tend to think I converted because I married my husband but that's not always the case. He's the second American in my company to say "oh, I'm sorry" when they find out I'm Muslim.

The other guy was a manager and starting saying negative things about Kuwaitis when I told him my husband was Kuwaiti. Do these people have no shame or are they just flat out ignorant? If someone comes to me and talks about their religion I just listen without commenting as it's their right to practice what they want. Many times I've been confronted by people trying to convert me back but I just smile and walk away because I'm comfortable with my self and my religion. After my daughter was verbally attacked in Pensacola Florida for wearing hijab I would not consider going back to the states. Kuwait may have it's faults but at least I know we won't be persecuted for our beliefs.