Why are middle-easterners the new punching bags these days?
It could be something to do with American foreign policy. Some people from the Middle East committed atrocities on 9/11 so US Forces destroyed the country that was (allegedly) sheltering the man they thought was behind it. A Middle-Eastern dictator stepped out of line so US Forces invaded and killed around 100,000 civilians. Middle-Easterners in the US want to keep their heads down in case they get a traffic violation and Bush decides to nuke Turkey.