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Technically Im from Beirut, Lebanon, and then I moved to Los Angeles when I was a kid.
On 9/11, I was living there in the suburbs and I had just turned 19.
I remember calling another comic or two going, Did you see whats on the news?
Should we get together and talk?
Whats going to happen with comedy this next week or two?
No one knew what to say or do.
So that morning and that day was just really nerve-racking in terms of,Can I go outside?
Can I go anywhere?
What am I going to say if people start asking stuff?
I had a pretty shitty incident happen to me at a comedy club in the valley.
He would just say dumb, ignorant stuff.
His views were just like, Well, theyre all like that, arent they?
I remember him asking me questions like, Are you one of those terrorists?
Does your family believe what they believe?
A couple of comics came to my defense and were like, Leave him alone.
And Ill never forget this: I was onstage.
I wasnt doing well.
I remember just kind of freezing for a second.
I knew it was him; I knew his voice from hearing him at open mics.
I dont remember what I said.
I kind of just rambled through it maybe, and just did my last thing and got offstage.
I became pretty bulletproof.
Thatll be with me forever.
And were all terrorists.
I found that disgusting.
I dont like that kind of comedy.
When comics do that, they say, Were breaking down stereotypes, and everyones laughing together.
