Posted on 10/11/2001 9:00:55 AM PDT by r9etb
In the month following the 9/11 attacks we've seen here on FR some amazing and frankly repugnant statements.
For example, there have been suggestions that we round up and deport all non-citizen Moslems (and after them, maybe the Moslem citizens, too). It has also been seriously suggested that we oughta show our resolve by bombing Mohommed's grave. And of course there are innumerable other comments of the same type.
The most obvious characteristics of these rants are that (1) they are venomous; (2) they are racist; and (3) they voice some remarkably bad ideas.
The most charitable reading of this stuff is that it's just good people blowing off steam. Unfortunately, given the vehemence with which these positions are often defended, I have to conclude that there is something uglier behind a few of these rants.
Someone on FR recently noted that the people to watch out for aren't the the ones on the other side -- you already know they're out to get you. What you really have to watch out for is the people on your side, because they're the ones who can drag you to places you don't want to go.
We're seeing that principle in action here: foolish and racist rants from those on "our side" that are not much different from the foolish and racist rants of the Taliban.
That said, I don't really think that most of the people making these comments and suggestions are racists or fools. I think they're upset, and want to do something, and have simply posted without thinking.
Please, folks, think before you post. Before you suggest we deport Moslems, think about what we'd have to do to make that happen. Before suggesting we bomb Mohammed's grave, consider what the result of that act would be.
It will make you look better, and it will make FR look better, too.
Who speaks for Islam, anywhere, if not the mullahs and imams?
I stand behind this statement 100%. Anne Coulter, a constitutional expert, made a strong case for this in a recent column. That this has not been done already is shockingly negligent on our part.
Like I said: think it through. Imagine that you are the guy in charge of the operation. Exactly how are you going to make it work?
First off, consider that the ones who're are most likely to do bad things, won't have the papers, or won't show up when and where you tell them to. In other words, you'll have to hunt them down. Can you reliably tell the difference between a Moslem, a Hindu, a Moroccan Christian, or a Mexican Catholic? You gonna start asking every dark-skinned person for their papers?
And would you deport all non-citizen Muslims, or just the Arab ones? Why? And if they're citizens, what then?
When all is said and done, what damage would you have done to our society in pusuit of this goal?
What is YOUR solution for dealing with the terrorists, people who hate us, hate our freedoms, don't want to negotiate, have absolutely no interest in peaceful solutions, are so enraptured in their zealous religious beliefs that they feel people with DIFFERENT opinions than theirs should be killed, how else should they be dealt with?
I'll tell you right now I won't hold my breath for your answer because like the other PC peaceniks running around you don't have an answer.
Do you still feel superior now that a situation exists which there is ABSOLUTELY NO politically correct solution?
I couldn't disagree with you more.
We know who our enemies are. Islamic Fundamentalist Terrorists.
We've been told by our government and theirs, that there are hundreds and purhaps thousands
of terrorist operatives RIGHT HERE IN AMERICA!.
So whom do we trust? NO ONE
It is not foolish or "racist" to protect our homeland, our citizens, our lives.
In this time of extrordinary circumstances, it is prudent and justified to locate all illegal
aliens along with anyone who's visa has expired and remove them from our home.
The real danger is to let our guard down and wait in fear for the next wave of death.
Why is deporting all nationals from those countries which contribute the bulk of Islamic Fundamentalists a racist act? It seems no more than reasonable self-protection.
Nothing of this magnitude has ever happened here before. The closest was Pearl Harbor and you know what happened then, with far less reason than interning fundementalist nationals now or deporting them. As for citizens who are fundamentalist Muslims, I can only hope they are VERY closely watched.
I don't feel the U.S. has any international reponsibility, or even a mandate based on historic founding documents to accept any and all immigrants. I certainly hope the events of the past month have proved to the more liberal internationalist elements in our society that there is indeed a very wide gulf, theologically, socially and morally between the way the overwhelming number of western Europeans, Americans, and westernized people from other continents think, and the thinking of isolated, parochial, insular groups which have not adopted the political philosophies which we all hold so dear. Prudence would dictate an immigration policy which takes into consideration these differences when determining who we admit here and what ideas we are willing to allow into our national social mix.
(2) Our enemy is Islamic - which means mostly Arab/South Asian. This is not only a strategic war - it is a cultural war and a war concerning cultural allegiances. Members of the alien culture which is attacking us are naturally suspect. And they should be. These murderers did not act alone.
They had help and support from the Muslim community in America. In the streets of Chicago, Paterson, Brooklyn and Houston Muslims celebrated. They do not deserve the benefit of the doubt, especially not in war time.
(3) Bombing the WTC and Pentagon was meant to send a message - that our most important symbols and cities are vulnerable and are being targeted for destruction.
The Muslim world already hates us because we are intelligent and hardworking and therefore rich, while they are lazy and stupid and therefore poor. Kissing their butts will not make them love us. Complementing Islam while failing to adopt it will not make them love us. They will only perceive this as weakness and self-hatred - which it is.
Destroying their symbols, like Mecca and Medina will scare them to death. It will also break them psychologically - since they believe that the demon they worship will never permit these places to be harmed. The basis of their religious mania will be shaken.
(4) Mohammed doesn't have a grave - Muslims believe he ascended directly into a celestial harem.
Europe survived Muslim attack in the VIIIth century. Not because Europeans were wealthier or had more troops. Europe survived because they were absolutely ruthless to the enemies who threatened them. That ruthlessness served them well - Europe grew to become a great and powerful civilization by expelling the Muslim Fifth Column in Spain and destroying it.
We need to follow strategies that work, not hand-holding multicultural failures.
No, I have thought the matter over carefully, and I have reached the following conclusions with my mind in its usual condition of soundness:
Reality and experience trump all our theories and preferences; that's the meaning of objectivity. We must disperse the nutrient cultures of Islamic terrorism if we want to win this war without totalitarianizing the United States. While this is in process and perhaps for a long while afterward, we cannot afford to trust anyone who has come here from an Islamic state without the most thoroughgoing background check and subsequent monitoring.
If this be racism or foolishness, make the most of it.
Freedom, Wealth, and Peace,
Francis W. Porretto
Visit the Palace Of Reason: http://palaceofreason.com
Well, I certainly haven't posted that without thinking. I have, in fact, thought about it a lot.
It seems to me that, during the present emergency, we simply do not have the resources to properly welcome and care for our valued guests from Iraq, Libya, Algeria, Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
I would have cancelled all of these visas on September 12. I am surprised it has not been done yet, and I think it will be done, but not until after another outrage.
As far as those children of God who are here without benefit of a current visa, I think they should be detained promptly, screened for terrorist associations, deported if none are found, and interned for the duration in the event of doubt.
I would deport all illegals, but given the scale of the task and the urgency of the situation, I find it acceptable to start with subjects of Iraq, Libya, Algeria, Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
I am quite surprised that you would find even a whiff of racism in this suggestion. What race am I targeting? What rational basis exists for suggesting that we continue to host and grant liberty to those who are here without permission? And if you consider valued visitors from the above named states to constitute a race, do you not find some rational basis for concern about their sojurn here under the present exigent circumstances?
Think about it.
That's a leftist canard. There was substantial collaborative activity in the Japanese community.
One of the incidents leading up to the internment policy was the cracking of a Japanese espionage ring in which Japanese in California were observing naval deployments from the West Coast and relaying the information via shortwave radio.
Keep in mind that the Japanese internment was the brainchild of FDR and Earl Warren, two highly worshipped liberals, and since WWII the liberals have been blaming conservatives for that action.
There is nothing racist to send our invited guests back to their homes, until our crisis is past.
Especially considering that is was guests that caused the crisis in the first place.
The best analogy is that you host a large party. Several of the guests have just murdered a family member (one of the guests was actually a party-crasher/trespasser). Why should other guests and party crashers be offended to be asked to leave? And why not ask that some guests stay to assist for their specific skills, while most others are asked to leave?
It's our house!
The arguments that you make could equally be applied to criminals in general.
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