Posted on 09/28/2001 2:44:17 PM PDT by Yaelle
Please help me. I will be spending the evening tomorrow surrounded by old friends who are well-read (NYT, WP, LAT, NPR, CNN) and educated, yet as liberal as can be. One is even a Hollywood liberal, smart though as misguided as you can imagine.
He argued with me today that anyone who would feel uneasy getting on a plane with a group of Arab men IS A RACIST. That any fear one would have in such a situation, even so soon after the atrocities, would be irrational. I tried to hold my own on this point, saying that the time elapsed since the tragedy was so short that the fear is still rational at this point. I think we merely agreed to disagree, because he thought that any Arab currently asked to leave a plane should win a lawsuit against the airline. I am no racist, and I think it is very sad that any innocent should be so humiliated, but I feel that the innocent Arabs so accused are simply more victims of the terrorists and their attacks.
I am expecting mild anti-Bush sentiment, anti-protracted war opinions, perhaps the "America may have asked for this with all their horrible activities in the world" stuff, and an inordinate focus on "hate crimes" tomorrow. I am a poor arguer contrasted with the man mentioned above, but not for lack of passion.
I need nice, neat, friendly but firm arguments to counter any of the above positions. To whom could I turn but my eloquent Freepers? Anyone want to help? Give me your best. I will be grateful!
I would also add that, as they would extend their sympathy to any African-American whose family had been killed by the Klan, and would understand if they simply feared white men after that, they should extend the same sympathy to fellow Americans. If they CANNOT, that means they are holding Americans to higher standards than they are holding other groups to, and that is the soft bigotry of lowered expectations. That is, they secretly expect better of Americans because they secretly think we are more sophisticated than the "ethnic" types for whom they would make excuses.
Also, remember the words of Patrick Henry: "Gentlemen cry, 'Peace, Peace'. There is no peace."
Best FReegards...Mustang sends.
Bless you! Where were you when I was on the phone with him earlier? I needed that! "The soft bigotry of lowered expectations" indeed! I used similar arguments during the biligual ed debates. I had to learn 2 different languages as an adult, and lo and behold I did it, and was able to work. WHO DO WE THINK WE ARE if we don't believe others as capable?!
Thanks; this is a GREAT point, using their own point against them.
That being said, ask them how we won World War II? Did we do it with words? Did the right words bring peace in our relations with Japan, Italy and Germany? Then what brought about peace? Superior weaponry, determination and sacrifice.
How did we win the Cold War with USSR? Did the right words bring that about? What brought victory? Superior weaponry, determination and sacrifice.
What will win the war on terrorism? Have THEY come up with the magic words that will assuage these people who think nothing about killing thousands of innocent men, women and children in the blink of an eye? If so, please urge them to try their words. But also urge them to stay out of the way while the rest of us use our superior weaponry, determination and sacrifice -- the proven "peacemakers".
I would not call this "well-read". I would call anyone who gets news from these sources alone "brainwashed tools of the Left". (But no one ever accused me of being careful about what I say.) And no, it would not help to add the Seattle Times. : )
I would tell the friend who accused you of being a racist that if he is comfortable overriding common sense at a time like this, he is perfectly welcome to do that - but expecting someone else to check their brain at the door when it could be a matter of life and death is completely unreasonable. He is, of course, welcome at any time to demonstrate his warm feelings of inclusiveness for thirty-something Muslim men who are not citizens of this country by say, putting his wife and kids on an airplane where men fitting that profile are aboard and staying home himself.
You might remind your friends that racial profiling, while uncomfortable and unfortunate for innocent people who are inconvenienced and/or embarrassed by such things, is not the worst thing that can happen to a person. Something worse is losing three of the best and brightest black Washington D.C. school children, who believed they were going on a field trip to California but were instead flown against their will into a corner of the Pentagon.
We're all experiencing discomfort right now. The discomfort we feel losing our feeling of security regarding air travel is, I dare say, just as bad as having someone ask you questions at the airport. Knowing when you or your wife or your child boards a plane that it could be used by terrorists to kill you and people on the ground, or shot down by fighter jets - gee, I don't know - I think it ranks right up there with being asked to find another means of transportation besides air travel on the discomfort scale.
But that would hinder us from building a "coalition." </sarcasm>
(Don't need no stinking coalition)
Point out that our "anti-Islam" foreign policy of late has included bombing putative Christians to protect Muslims in Bosnia and Kosovo, and to protect Muslims from other Muslims in Kuwait, an "imperialistic" attack if there ever was one.
Ask them why they're so durn-sure that Israel will do anything we want them to viz. the Palestinians when the Israelis have already used Americans (Pollard) as spies against us and bombed our ship the U.S.S. Liberty?
Ask them why they think this is similar to Vietnam when we haven't fired a shot yet and have taken thousands of innocent casualties.
Ask them why freeing Tibet from Communist domination is cool but freeing Afghanistan wasn't.
Ask them if reflexive anti-Americanism isn't the real root of the problem.
Ask them why liberals are such mindless, lockstep, goosestepping jerks.
Yes, Patrick Henry will come in handy tomorrow. I already had the "As for me..." quote, but yours is a great one. War has been declared ON US.
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