Subject:
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Special Identification for Arab Americans?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Tue, 25 Sep 2001 03:18:52 GMT
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Viewed:
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260 times
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From you know who... The poll results scare the JEEPERS out of me.
- start -
WASHINGTON, DC -- Americans who want to fight terrorism by mandating
Taliban-style "special identification" for Arab-Americans, by allowing
police to randomly search people, and by giving the government the
power to read e-mail are making a disastrous mistake, Libertarians said
today.
A poll taken last week found that substantial minorities of Americans
support such measures in light of the September 11 terrorist attacks on
the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
But such a response -- while understandable in light of the horror and
devastation caused by terrorists -- is not only wrong, it's un-
American, said Steve Dasbach, the national director of the Libertarian
Party.
"We won't triumph over terrorism by giving away our nation's precious
heritage of freedom," he said. "Our ultimate triumph over terrorism
will come only if we remain, in the face of this murderous onslaught, a
nation that honors civil liberties, limited government, and freedom.
"To do otherwise not only dishonors the Americans who perished in the
September 11 attacks -- it dishonors every American who has fought and
died to keep this country free."
However, many Americans seem to disagree. To fight terrorism, a USA
Today/CNN/Gallup Poll found that:
* 29% would allow police to randomly search people.
* 49% would mandate special IDs for Arabs in this county -- including
American citizens of Arab descent.
* 33% would make it easier for law enforcement to tap phones and read
mail or e-mail messages.
* 58% would require special security checks for Arabs -- including
American citizens -- before boarding commercial flights.
Such numbers are chilling, said Dasbach.
"Consider the willingness of some Americans to require Arab-Americans
to carry special identification," he said. "Such a proposal has
horrific echoes of Nazi Germany requiring Jewish citizens to wear Star
of David armbands and of Afghanistan's ruling Taliban requiring non-
Moslems to wear special identifiers.
"To support such a proposal is not only wrong -- it's shameful."
The fact that 29% of Americans would allow police to randomly search
people is also frightening, said Dasbach.
"In America, the idea that you are innocent until proven guilty is
enshrined in the Bill of Rights," he said. "The Fourth Amendment
guarantees your right to be free from unreasonable searches and
seizures.
"If the Fourth Amendment is repealed -- a notion that almost one-third
of Americans seem to endorse -- police would have virtually unlimited
power to stop, harass, and search you. Terrorists would not be the
primary victims of such a proposal -- innocent Americans would be."
While some of these proposals seem far-fetched and are unlikely to be
implemented, Americans should keep in mind that similar proposals have
become law in the past, said Dasbach.
* During the Civil War, newspaper editors in the North were imprisoned
for espousing sympathy for the Confederacy.
* During World War II, Japanese-Americans were put into internment
camps.
* During World War I, Congress made it a crime to use "abusive
language" about the government or the military. It took 50 years for
the Supreme Court to strike down that Sedition Act of 1918.
* During the Vietnam War, the FBI and CIA launched a special program to
spy on and discredit anti-war activists like the Rev. Martin Luther
King, Jr.
Given America's less-than-stellar defense of liberty during times of
war, it's reasonable to worry that public support for anti-terrorism
measures might help turn them into law, said Dasbach -- and that's a
danger that must be guarded against.
"In a time of national crisis, we must remain more vigilant than ever
in defending the freedoms that make America unique in the world," he
said. "Americans must remember: Freedom isn't free. There is a price
you must pay to defend it, and that price is eternal vigilance.
"And Americans need to be reminded that the enemy of terrorism isn't
restrictions, repression, and regulations. The ultimate enemy of
terrorism is freedom."
- end -
In case you think the LP is blowing smoke about this, go look at the poll
yourself.
(I found it with the following google string:
http://www.google.com/search?q=CNN+Gallup+Poll+special+identification+arab+americans&btnG=Google-a+Seerch&hl=xx-bork
) (1)
http://www.gallup.com/poll/releases/pr010914c.asp
There it is, 5 questions down:
Requiring Arabs, including those who are U.S. citizens, to carry a special ID
support: 49
oppose: 49
What's next, yellow armbands with a crescent on them for muslims?
Excuse me while I go vomit. This is just SHAMEFUL, what is the matter with
people?
A broad coalition of groups has joined together to oppose some of the
pending restrictions on civil liberties:
http://www.indefenseoffreedom.org/ (the coalition)
http://www.indefenseoffreedom.org/organizations.html (the 150 plus orgs that
are in on this coalition)
Some of the groups:
http://www.aclu.org/difficultdays/ (ACLU)
http://www.usnewswire.com/topnews/Current_Releases/0920-116.html (PFAW)
http://www.lp.org/press/archive.php?function=view&record=534 (LP)
I won't list them all but it is a very big coalition, and not just the usual
suspects (how about the seventh day adventist church!)
1 - yes, I am using the bork language choice at Google. Bork Bork Bork.
++Lar
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Message has 4 Replies:
 | | Re: Special Identification for Arab Americans?
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| (...) Holy Toledo. I would have expected a peak of maybe 30% for the ID question (still frightening). That poll was done on 14-15 sep, I really hope the percentage has dropped (a lot) in the last week and a bit. Man. That means half the people (...) (23 years ago, 25-Sep-01, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
| | | Re: Special Identification for Arab Americans?
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| (...) That *is* kind of scary. It should serve as an indication of how fundamental the crisis of such thinking is, that groups from the far-right *and* the far-left are willing to work together with a broad spectrum of groups in between to oppose (...) (23 years ago, 25-Sep-01, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
| | | Re: Special Identification for Arab Americans?
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| (...) <snipped text of news article> Uh-oh. A sign of the Apocalypse: I agree with Larry. =o Seriously, though, I hope the people who answered the poll were just not thinking straight. If not, there are more stupid people in this country than I (...) (23 years ago, 25-Sep-01, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
| | | Re: Special Identification for Arab Americans?
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| "Larry Pieniazek" <lpieniazek@mercator.com> wrote in message news:GK77vG.7wL@lugnet.com... (...) Hmmm....didn't a certain European country during the 1930s adopt a similar stratergy for Jews? You see where I'm going with the arguement to this.... (...) (23 years ago, 28-Sep-01, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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