I saw a moving news story last about Arab Americans who have been attacked (in one way or another) in retribution for Tuesday. This IMO is no less heinous then the hijackings themselves. I doubt that anyone on this board is capable of such things...but, if there are, SHAME ON YOU. This does not help. It only lends credence to claims that we are no better than the terrorists.

As for me...I would like to offer my regrets for those acts. Not all of us are so narrow minded.

 

Well said.

I agree that these despicable acts against Arab Americans are disheartening examples of ignorance and fear.

These are fellow Americans and fellow human beings who have been through an incredible tragedy along with everyone else.

Please remember that committing atrocities is not associated with any one race, religion, or ethnic background. I can think of numerous examples where Caucasian Americans have been guilty (Oklahoma city comes to mind).

Derek

 

And that would be us at our worst. Luckily, these things seem to be pretty isolated this time.

 

If true, it is terrible that someone beat up an Arab American as a reaction to the Arab attack on the US. But you're not really serious when you say "This IMO is no less heinous then the hijackings themselves," are you? Do you see a difference between an ignorant bully who spits on or hits his neighbor because of national origin and another group which hijacks airliners, kills the crew, commandeers the plane, steers it into a building containing 25-50,000 people in the hope of killing them all? I see a difference.

There is a difference between a red neck thug and mass murderers.

As to our Arab neighbors, I think the INS should do its job and deport every illegal Arab national from this country. As to citizens who are Arab, they are US citizens, entitled to the full protection of the law and all privileges and immunities that any of us is entitled to.



[QUOTE]Originally posted by johnyboy32
[B]I saw a moving news story last about Arab Americans who have been attacked (in one way or another) in retribution for Tuesday. This IMO is no less heinous then the hijackings themselves.

 

I did not see anything about an Arab American being "beat up". It was things like phone calls of threats and, in one case, blood being thrown on the doorstep of a Arab community center.

And, YES, I am serious. Something like this is clearly and act of terrorism of the worst kind...toward a neighbor that may well be mourning a loss themselves.

 

This is truely a shame. I appologise for my fellow American's and myself for this happening on our soil. Its complete wrong.

NOT all Arab's have contributed to this-- we shouldn't go around doing this kind of thing. The only was I could see "getting into something" was if those people (Arab, White, Black, I don't care) were "Happy" and celebrating about the deaths and the attack on America.

-- Aaron

 

Johnnyboy goes too far saying this is equal to the attack on the US, but I completely agree with his sentiment. Unfortuantely, the US, as all countries, has ignorant people who lash out blindly in thier shallow understanding of the world around them.

People fail to realize that the terrorists who carry out attacks such as Tuesday's are fringe groups in any society. To put it into terms the majority of Americans can relate to, Islamic terrorists have as much in common with Islamic society in general as David Koresh had with Christians in general. Unfortuantely, differences such as this are clear from the inside, and hazy from outside.

It disppoints me tremendously when people are too lazy to attempt to understand the world around them, but have unlimited energy for acts of stupidity.

 

Perhaps...but, you might not feel this way if you were the one at the business end of a lynch mob.

 

I don't know how you think I'm disagreeing with you that it's a horrible thing, but I fail to see how you can find the events equivalent. If I was at the business end of a lynch mob, I would feel exactly the same way. I wouldn't feel my death was equivalent to the Trade Center distasters. I would be another in a long line of people lynched by morons. I would be pissed, but I wouldn't be surprised.

 

You've got me there. Perhaps my sense of morality is a bit off after this tragedy. Perhaps if we are to consider ourselves on the moral high ground, we need to rethink what we are willing to call stupidity vs. unacceptable violence.