Many Americans responded to the September 11th attacks with increased political intolerance against Muslim communities, prejudice and discrimination against those communities, even a desire for violent retribution. That cycle is repeating again with the confluence of the attacks late last year in Paris and San Bernadino, a widespread Syrian refugee crisis, and the volatile rhetoric coming from American presidential candidates.

In the wake of such terrorist incidents, although generally only the ones committed by people of color, Americans target these reactions at groups that are not directly responsible for— but who shared some symbolic connections with — the attackers. This phenomenon, known as “displaced aggression” occurs when the perpetrators cannot be punished directly and people lash out against those perceived to be similar in some key way.

As racism and Islamophobia have surged in the U.S., so too have the health problems experienced by those targeted