Re: I agree too...
07/22/05 10:30 AM
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Quote:
I don't agree with the imprisonments without a trial...but I think they could be avoided if everyone gave up a small part of their civil liberties and we had loads of searches etc. I don't mind that AT ALL.
I dunno Linz. Obviously nobody likes the idea of imprisonment without a trial, but avoiding such things might not be a luxury we can afford during wartime. Like me, my brothers are Arab-American, and they look it. As two Middle-Eastern-looking men in their late 20s/ early 30's, they fit the profile. As I've said a thousand times, I'd rather have them locked up without a trial than blown up in a building. It's an awful situation either way, but I'd accept even a substantial violation of civil rights if it means everyone is safer. This is consistent with American jurisprudence on this topic. Years after WWII, a Japanese-American man brought a case against the federal gov based on his confinment to an internment camp in the West (I'm assuming everyone is familiar with that history). The Supreme Court found for the government, saying even imprisonment of American citizens, even those born here, based solely on their ancestral nationality, was acceptable during war time. Such racial discrimination is traditionally subject to "strict scrutiny," which basically means the goverment has to have a compelling reason for the discrimination, and that the discriminatory practice must be substanially linked to the cause it intends to serve.
The cops here in NYC are searching randomly, which means blonde teenage girls are getting searched, even though they are unlikely to have bombs strapped to them. Concern for political correctness is discouraging the police from racial profiling, but, I imagine, such a practice would ultimately be upheld by the Supreme Court. Nobody is insinuating that all Arabs are terrorists ... but heretofore, most of the terrorists have been Arabs. Wouldn't it be more efficient to search the people who are similar to all the previous perpetrators? To my mind, the answer is yes, even if that means my brothers are subject to closer inspection than my blonde friends.
I hope I haven't offended anyone with my opinions, which is all this post is. As an Arab-American of mixed Jewish and Christian descent living in NYC, I think I'm in a pretty good position to speak for the people whose civil rights may be limited.
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Amanda
I live in the Big Apple, but I don't eat the skin
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