As an American and Human being, my heart and soul goes to all those people from all over the world who lost their lives due to a cowardly act of terrorists.  And I am proud of the brave rescuers and at the same time sad of all the rescuers that lost their lives trying to save people.

I am one of thousands of Naturalized Americans who came to this land of free and brave are doing their best and more in supporting our country and people at these tough times.  We would like to see these people who did this to us dead!  

Yet, I am totally pissed at our own "bad apples" or cowards to take it out on foreign looking people in here and even going to extent to killing them.  A Sikh and Pakistani have been killed and hundreds who have been harassed or injured.  So sad. I guess we also have a bad gene pool or cowards!  We should Para shoot them into Afghanistan, since they need any excuse to express themselves.  They are no different then terrorists!

Last time I saw something like was is in England and Germany.

God Bless America and knock sense into our
cowardly Idiots who are not with us. [pissed]!!

I think the sheep-like herd instinct is strong in many people. This is probably why team sports and the two major political parties are so popular. It's fun to think in simple terms of "us" and "them."

This attack just gives the simpletons among us an excuse to act out. The same way that Hitler's racist ideas, when made official government policy in Nazi Germany, made it OK to burn down Jewish businesses.

The vast majority of Americans are good and decent people, but like in any society or country, there are always those who can only function properly by hating someone.  Immigrants, natural born Americans, people of a different race, cultural background, income, life success... the list is long.  After a point, the hate ceases to have any real and rational basis.

But we are also a nation of laws, so the people who hate are scared of the consequences of acting upon the hate in their minds.  At times like this, however, the fangs are bared and they become emboldened.

If you look at the vast majority of the acts of hatred in the last few days, they were cowardly - firebombs thrown at mosques and houses in the middle of the night, vandalism, arson, and yelling at people across the street.  There are a few who will go even further, and we should catch them and make an example of them.  I particularly grieve for the Sikh who was murdered in Arizona.  What a level of ignorance and hatred his murderer must have possessed!

[u][b]All of us have a responsibility to speak up against hatred, stereotyping and intolerance.[/b][/u]  On this board and in real life.  Freedom is not free.  The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.  Standing by and doing nothing while innocent people are being attacked will diminish us all.

If you live in town where this has happened, please do your part by reaching out and reassuring the victims of harassment that you are with them.

[b]Hundreds[/b] have been harassed or injured? The last I heard the FBI was investigating 40 incidents of so-called hate crimes!

Have these numbers arisen suddenly overnight?

I think Americans have been rather restrained in their response to this incident. And I simply can't imagine [b]anyone[/b] with good sense killing, injuring, or harassing anyone over some perceived racial/national/religious identity!

If such crimes are being committed, they are being committed by the same old criminal class as always!

Listen to our leaders and see if you can detect any direction from them to kill, injure or harass foreign nationals, arabs, or moslems!

What did you hear?

Eric The(ThankYou!)Hun[>]:)]  

Njogi,

I live and work in an urban area.  I have not seen any harassment beyond the distrustful glance or maybe even the rare angry glare.   I am not sure where you are from or what your personal experience in this matter is but I would hazard a guess that if some white guys did the same thing in an Arabic, Indian or Asian country some of these same types of behaviors would occur.  In some countries they probably would not even investigate these matters.  


I think that the media is blowing this out of proportion because it sells well and maybe to keep the anti whatever response low.


Of course I am sure if you look middle eastern you could probably find trouble now if you wanted to.

I wasn't surprised by the Arab-American gentleman in Ohio who said we should get over this five days after the attack. And I am not surprised that there is a large muslim protest today (by their civil rights group) against "the backlash." I would be surprised if there wasn't. The speeches given sound no different than those given about any other act of singular bigotry that I have heard in the past... and perhaps they should have. This situation requires a different tact.

Where I live those of arab descent have been going about their daily business since the attack with no disruption. There are eight businesses owned by arab-americans and residents within three blocks of me. No problems.

Eric is right. Americans have been very restrained. When I think about some of the things that happen in other countries! Americans are ignorant but compared to what: angels? Care to share your country of origin for comparisons sake? Utopia exists only when I'm sleeping. The odds of being affected are no better than being struck by lightning.

Again, let me join with others and condemn any criminal acts. That should be enough (it's apparently enough for the rest of the world)...

On September 11, 2001, there were over 5000 'hate crimes' perpetrated against people of New York City and the Pentagon employees for just being Americans.

Now there's a hate crime for you!

"I would hazard a guess that if some white guys did the same thing in an Arabic, Indian or Asian country some of these same types of behaviors would occur. In some countries they probably would not even investigate these matters."

You are not kidding. Far worse. Ever been down to Mexico? Think there is justice there? I had a friend who was done away with on a vacation to India. Nothing ever done about it. And for americans convicted overseas (often on the most flimsy of evidence) the punishments meted out  are far more severe than one of their citizens would receive here. Yet when one Sikh is murdered by an ignorant bigot the Prime Minister of India is calling the President and demanding action. If only we could get the same from the rest of world (ACTION!) and not just empty denounciations for this terrorist crime of unparalleled magnitude.

"Hundreds have been harassed or injured? The last I heard the FBI was investigating 40 incidents of so-called hate crimes!"

I notice that the fake hate crime in NY hasn't been televised. Same old same old. Just report EVERYTHING.

"Yet, I am totally pissed at our own "bad apples"

Hmm. Pissed off at the bad apples who using our generous immigration policies came here to live for YEARS among us, (even raising families) AND among the populations that are now targeted by the bigotry you decry? And that were raising money for their activities IN MOSQUES! (-All tax deductable probably) They just picked up three of them in Detroit yesterday who were even working at Metro Airport. This is a big operation. I find it very disconcerting that no one would know anything beforehand. No one to come forward...

"Last time I saw something like was is in England and Germany."

Spell out the problem you have with England please. You'll have to be more clear for people to understand what it is that you object to.

"I particularly grieve for the Sikh who was murdered in Arizona"

Why does he get special attention over anyone else? Is there some distiction to be made between victims of crime?

"All of us have a responsibility to speak up"

And without any members of the communities in which these animals HIDE AMONG coming forward with information more attacks will undoubtedly take place IN THE FUTURE. Works both ways.

"So sad. I guess we also have a bad gene pool or cowards! "

Perhaps. Cowardism may be contagious. But what we really have is an America that has imported the world's problems by taking in the world's people. The majority of americans in this democracy have favored cutting back on immigration for decades but have gone unheard by the elite. Are there individual americans living in Saudia Arabia and flying 767s into the Temple Mount or the black rock? Of course not. The level of hatred is far more progressed overseas. Apples and oranges.

We take in more immigrants than THE ENTIRE REST OF THE WORLD COMBINED. How can we not bring in their problems and issues as well? Yet we are constantly told that diversity is a strength when in reality it is AT BEST THE SAME as a homogeneity, and usually less. It would be nice if there was some reciprocity or at least sharing on the issue of immigration, but in the meantime we are criticized and called racist by countries that either do nothing on the issue or worse. I really don't want to see this country end up like Lebanon. Went to hell in a handbasket with all the multiculturalism.

What Eric and shooter 69 said, God bless you both for being so articulate. This us against whitey has got to stop. I remember the Iranian hostages and how they were mobbed/treated by thousands of jeering Iranians. Is their a government office in Iran to file a hate crime? Am I allowed to remember those horrible sights  in todays PC America?

I am about to get into a pissing contest with Eric, who can never concede a point, or tolerate any commentary about America which is not rah-rah, but here goes...



Fortunately, the number of injuries and homicides is relatively low.  However, verbal and other harassment of foreign looking people is [u][b]no longer uncommon[/b][/u].  You will need to take off your rose-colored glasses to recognize it:

* I live in Austin, Texas.  We have a good friend who is from India and looks it.  She is a US citizen, married to a white American, and very assimilated.  Last week, she had a rock thrown at her house and found empty shotgun shells on her doorstep.

* My wife works in Student Services at UT, and attended a student forum yesterday, at which dozens of students (many of whom were US citizens) talked about the level of yelling and racial slurs that they have encountered since last week, where previously they had never felt any hostility.  My wife said that the fear and stories of these "so-called people" came across as very genuine.

While these actions may seem like "restrained responses" to you, they are very unsettling to the people who receive them.  They create a feeling of uncertainty and insecurity.  You can never know if the person who is calling out "fuckin Arab, go home", will then cross the street and beat you to pulp.



To their great credit, President Bush and everyone downward have called for calm and tolerance.  Their words and actions will go only so far.  All of us have to do our part.  Of course, it is much easier to sit here and post about the damn Muslims.

I would like to draw an analogy to defending freedom of religion for everyone.  I am Catholic.  I will vigorously defend the free and unhindered practice of religion for [b]everyone[/b], be they Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Baptist, Church of Christ, Branch Davidian, Moslem, Bahai, Hindu or agnostic.  We have unity in strength, and by speaking up for some people today, I know that I will preserve my own freedom tomorrow.  In other parts of the world, people do not do this.  The result is that the Protestants can oppress the Catholics (Northern Ireland), the Catholics can oppress the Protestants (South America), the Muslims can oppress several religions (many countries), the Hindus can oppress the Muslims (India) and the atheists can oppress the religious (China).

All of you are [b]absolutely correct[/b] about the level of intolerance in other countries.  And I ask you, why should we become like them???  [b][u]Why should we even compare ourselves to them?[/u][/b] In your own mind, how much harassment is too much harassment?

Am0Tramp,

Nobody has said that this is about whitey.  In fact, I have no idea what the race is of the people who are attacking foreign looking persons.  And it is really not relevant - an assault is an assault, no matter who commits it.  What is important is that innocent people be treated like innocent people.  Is that so much to ask?