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.
By the same token, punishing peaceful people who have done nothing wrong is ... well, Stalinist.
Despite this highly illogical and racist comment, your position should not be considered racist?
Shalom.
LOL!!!!! If they were irrationally murderous, then they'd all be killing everybody, everywhere. But they're not doing that. Most of them are just common folks who want to be left alone.
Following the example of airport security forces which treat little old ladies from Pasadena with the same disrespect as Arab nationals between the ages of 20 and 35, I suggest that we establish ethnically diverse internment camps for the duration of this war, which (the camps) in the immortal words of x42 "look like America". No ethnic profiling, no redlining, all classes, all races, all religions, all neighbourhoods, all ages represented. Fat people, thin people, short people, Estonian-Americans, Andorran-Americans, football players and futbol players, all proportionally represented. Let's use the latest census data as a guide to the make up of these camps. Ebryboddy will be made equally happy, ebryboddy including the ACLU, will make themselves equally unhappy. And then, we'll just apologize after 50 years.
United States of Absurdity!
LOL! How so?
Yesterday, on another thread, you called me a Nazi. I asked you to base your claim on ANYTHING I had said.
Not only have you not answered me - you cannot answer me appropriately.
Are posts like the one where you called me a Nazi the types of posts you are refferring to here in this thread?
btw, I'm still waiting for you defend your accusation.
Only a politically correct whacked-egg would equate rightful deportation with mass genocide. You are way out in left field.
And also the frequent jokes about "pork bombs" and such. The reason bombing Mohammed's grave or Mecca is a ridiculous idea is that it would turn public opinion in every Islamic countries against us and expand our problem. The same goes for the "pork bombs". The attack on the WTC was not an attack on a holy site. We should not give bin Laden the holy war, a war of religions, that he wants.
Finally, an attempt to answer the question of what would be better than deporting all Muslims or Muslims with visas. Many Muslims in this country with visas are in school or have come to gain employment in a specific field. Many are here because they had the wealth to come here, and are moderate enough that the U.S. does not present a threat to their beliefs. Religious fervor is more of an affliction of the poor. Many Muslims with money, with the obvious exception of bin Laden, are closer to Westerners than to their own people. Witness the quick support of the wealthier Arab countries. Also, turning all Muslims with visas away would only increase the ranks of anti-American Muslims. We can prove ourselves better than our attackers in our tolerance of people's religion and nationality. Your seem to lump all Muslims together, FEDUP, and I think it's important for us to distinguish between them.
Finally, by not deporting Muslims who are here for legitimate reasons or are citizens, we can have them as a resource. Many Muslims who have come over to work or learn have valuable skills and knowledge. We can "keep them where we can see them", if you'd like.
If we were attacked again and lost 10,000 more innocent Americans would you still support the above postion? How about 20,000 more dead Americans. How about a million more dead Americans pal?
War is hell and not business or PC as usual.
You're also free to name for me one important Arabic technological accomplishment or one Arabic country that has a large and well-behaved middle class.
We would be expelling them because being a serious Muslim is incompatible with being a loyal American.
It would be comparable to, in the 1940s, expelling any alien who was a member of the Nazi party, or in the 1950s-60s any alien who was a member of the Communist party
Spit
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