A Sad Day: Near Majority Of Americans Want Arab Americans Civil Liberties Curtailed

[NATO AIR]

a sad day indeed... i remember after 9/11 the polls were much, much more lopsided in favor of those who did not support this heinous line of thinking

(one side note, i do hope and wish the federal government is keeping tabs on various groups, mosques and individuals because they are the front line to prevent al-queda inflitration)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6729916/

Poll shows U.S. views on Muslim-Americans
Nearly half of those surveyed say some rights should be restricted

Andrew Locke / MSNBC.com file
A recent survey by Cornell University found that found 44 percent of Americans favor at least some restrictions on the civil liberties of Muslim Americans. Forty-eight percent said liberties should not be restricted in any way.
The Associated Press
Updated: 9:57 p.m. ET Dec. 17, 2004ITHACA, N.Y. - Nearly half of all Americans believe the U.S. government should restrict the civil liberties of Muslim-Americans, according to a nationwide poll.

The survey conducted by Cornell University also found that Republicans and people who described themselves as highly religious were more apt to support curtailing Muslims’ civil liberties than Democrats or people who are less religious.

'Disturbing news'
Researchers also found that respondents who paid more attention to television news were more likely to fear terrorist attacks and support limiting the rights of Muslim-Americans.

“It’s sad news. It’s disturbing news. But it’s not unpredictable,” said Mahdi Bray, executive director of the Muslim American Society. “The nation is at war, even if it’s not a traditional war. We just have to remain vigilant and continue to interface.”

The survey found 44 percent favored at least some restrictions on the civil liberties of Muslim Americans. Forty-eight percent said liberties should not be restricted in any way.

The survey showed that 27 percent of respondents supported requiring all Muslim-Americans to register where they lived with the federal government. Twenty-two percent favored racial profiling to identify potential terrorist threats. And 29 percent thought undercover agents should infiltrate Muslim civic and volunteer organizations to keep tabs on their activities and fund-raising.

Cornell student researchers questioned 715 people in the nationwide telephone poll conducted this fall. The margin of error was 3.6 percentage points.

37 percent believe terrorist attack likely
James Shanahan, an associate professor of communications who helped organize the survey, said the results indicate “the need for continued dialogue about issues of civil liberties” in a time of war.

While researchers said they were not surprised by the overall level of support for curtailing civil liberties, they were startled by the correlation with religion and exposure to television news.

“We need to explore why these two very important channels of discourse may nurture fear rather than understanding,” Shanahan said.

According to the survey, 37 percent believe a terrorist attack in the United States is still likely within the next 12 months. In a similar poll conducted by Cornell in November 2002, that number stood at 90 percent.

© 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

 

[dilloduck]

a sad day indeed... i remember after 9/11 the polls were much, much more lopsided in favor of those who did not support this heinous line of thinking

(one side note, i do hope and wish the federal government is keeping tabs on various groups, mosques and individuals because they are the front line to prevent al-queda inflitration)

Sad but not too surprising---if green people attacked us and voiced intention to attack again I don't think green people would have much sympathy from anyone

 

[Bullypulpit]

Guilt by association is a primitive response to a threat. It shows an appallingly poor state of moral development.

 

[dilloduck]

Guilt by association is a primitive response to a threat. It shows an appallingly poor state of moral development.

and a great sense of reality

 

[Bullypulpit]

and a great sense of reality

Not really...Just a primitive fear response...No reasoning involved or required...Just a case of intellectual laziness. We are, supposedly, beings capable of reasoning, are we not? But reasoning reqires effort, and many folks seem disinclined to put forth the effort.

 

[dilloduck]

Not really...Just a primitive fear response...No reasoning involved or required...Just a case of intellectual laziness. We are, supposedly, beings capable of reasoning, are we not? But reasoning reqires effort, and many folks seem disinclined to put forth the effort.

hell bully--as a race we haven't even got passed killing each other !!!

 

[Bullypulpit]

hell bully--as a race we haven't even got passed killing each other !!!

But the true miracle is that more of us don't act on are homicidal tendencies than already do.

 

[dilloduck]

But the true miracle is that more of us don't act on are homicidal tendencies than already do.

I'll agree with you on that one !!! We have a lot of lofty ideals for ourselves but very few can reach or maintain them.

 

[rtwngAvngr]

Nato, this is a shit article, i'm sorry. We should be racially profiling at security points.

 

[Bullypulpit]

Nato, this is a shit article, i'm sorry. We should be racially profiling at security points.

Won't that be fun when WASP's officially become a racial minority here in the good ole USA?

 

[OCA]

Not really...Just a primitive fear response...No reasoning involved or required...Just a case of intellectual laziness. We are, supposedly, beings capable of reasoning, are we not? But reasoning reqires effort, and many folks seem disinclined to put forth the effort.

And you put forth this effort?

 

[ciplexian]

I really feel this is the media's fault. You never see a muslim on tv unless hes killing someone (or being killed). Moderate, peace-loving Arabs and Americans on both sides NEED to start dialogue at the citizenry level. I believe the situation we have today is what Nixon referred to as "the silent majority".

 

[007]

Not really...Just a primitive fear response...No reasoning involved or required...Just a case of intellectual laziness.

Bullshit. You're over simplifying the situation. It's a response alright. It's a response to over 3,000 Americans that were killed by these sons a bitches, taking ADVANTAGE of a FREE COUNTRY and it's laws.

Well FREEDOM only works for people PEACE LOVING PEOPLE. So if you're not, then you shouldn't be given freedom... of anything. Play the game, or suffer the conciquences.

The rag heads have killed us, and want to CONTINUE killing us. Damn right they shouldn't have full freedom here in America, not until the WORLD see's they can live and be TRUSTED not to SLAUGHTER INNOCENT PEOPLE!

 

[Merlin1047]

Some time ago, I posted a thread suggesting that we should add an amendment to our Constitution which would deal with this kind of problem. The amendment would spell out in specific terms to whom the Constitution applies and the specific rights of LEGAL visitors to this country.

The attack on 9-11 was brilliantly conceived. Use your enemy's own assets against him. The Constitution, and the rights it protects can be used to attack us in much the same manner that our own airliners were used. Constitutional rights hamper the investigation of terrorists and then complicates their prosecution. Why should non-citizens, who are illegally in the country be given the protection of the very document they seek to destroy? Why should the freedoms for which generations of Americans have fought and died be used to protect the scum who seek to use those freedoms to perpetrate their attacks and then to use those same freedoms as a shield to escape punishment for their acts?

As far as curtailing the rights of any citizen based on religion, that's a ridiculous concept. There is no doubt in my mind that a substantial part of the hostility toward American muslims is a by-product of the hatred Americans feel toward the terrorists who attacked us. Another factor is probably suspicion that American muslims might be convinced to turn terrorist. That is probably not a fair assessment of the majority of them, but since their religion preaches violence against non-muslims, how can one view these people in any but a suspicious light?

If we had a consititution which limited the rights of non-citizens and which denied any but basic human rights to illegals, perhaps non-muslim Americans would have less of a tendency to hold a grudge against their muslim neighbors because we could be reasonably assured that the war against muslim terror in this country was being conducted in an effective manner.

 

[Merlin1047]

I really feel this is the media's fault. You never see a muslim on tv unless hes killing someone (or being killed). Moderate, peace-loving Arabs and Americans on both sides NEED to start dialogue at the citizenry level. I believe the situation we have today is what Nixon referred to as "the silent majority".

You know what else we never saw or read in the media? American muslims loudly condemning the attacks on 9-11. We have NEVER heard an American muslim cleric striking out against the muslim clerics who support terrorism. I have not seen anything but some half-hearted mumbling by American muslims claiming that their religion is peaceful. But you know another thing I've never seen in the media? An American muslim flatly saying that he would NEVER, raise his hand against his country.

So I agree with you to some extent. I think there needs to be a dialogue. And the first thing I need to hear is that American muslims TOTALLY and UNEQUIVOCALLY reject the call for violence issued by their middle eastern brethren. I want to hear the clerics in the American muslim community totally disavow any connection with or adherence to the teachings and preachings of violence and the villification of both this country and its non-muslim citizenry.

I'd love to hear that dialogue. So far the silence has been deafening. And as far as I'm concerned, those who do not actively reject terrorism, support it.

 

[NATO AIR]

I'd love to hear that dialogue. So far the silence has been deafening. And as far as I'm concerned, those who do not actively reject terrorism, support it.

I have heard that said very emotionally and loudly within Arab-American/Muslim-American student circles (several members of which I am proud to call my friends) but then some firebrand liberal always comes out with "why don't they stop oppressing the kashmiri/palestinian/chechen/saudi/iraqi/egyptian/tunisian/indonesians and then we can talk about denouncing terrorism"

i agree with you merlin, and it is sad that those who do want a dialogue are being shouted down and shut up by reactionaries in these groups from the liberal "blame america" side and the facist "islam is king" side....

rightwing avenger, i have no problem with racial profiling (and don't believe arab/muslim americans would really have that great a problem with), the greater concern/fear is the federal government watching this group of people 24/7, forcing them to register their whereabouts, get permission to move/travel around, etc etc, or worst of all, be interned like the japanese were.

that is what they fear, and i believe legimately so. where does it stop?

 

[dilloduck]

I have heard that said very emotionally and loudly within Arab-American/Muslim-American student circles (several members of which I am proud to call my friends) but then some firebrand liberal always comes out with "why don't they stop oppressing the kashmiri/palestinian/chechen/saudi/iraqi/egyptian/tunisian/indonesians and then we can talk about denouncing terrorism"

i agree with you merlin, and it is sad that those who do want a dialogue are being shouted down and shut up by reactionaries in these groups from the liberal "blame america" side and the facist "islam is king" side....

rightwing avenger, i have no problem with racial profiling (and don't believe arab/muslim americans would really have that great a problem with), the greater concern/fear is the federal government watching this group of people 24/7, forcing them to register their whereabouts, get permission to move/travel around, etc etc, or worst of all, be interned like the japanese were.

that is what they fear, and i believe legimately so. where does it stop?

Their right to free speech hasn't been so trampled that they can't do as Merlin says. If people of a group that I belonged to were creating this mess, I would condemn then in a heartbeat and feel obligated to do so. The libs in this country have no problem putting down America and saying they condemn Americas' actions.

 

[NATO AIR]

Their right to free speech hasn't been so trampled that they can't do as Merlin says. If people of a group that I belonged to were creating this mess, I would condemn then in a heartbeat and feel obligated to do so. The libs in this country have no problem putting down America and saying they condemn Americas' actions.

they feel obligated to reform the groups from within and make them face up to the realities of the situation... so far they are not succeeding, but with chomsky and the iraqi insurgency as your opponent's heroes, how the hell can you expect to win?

 

[Merlin]

i have no problem with racial profiling (and don't believe arab/muslim americans would really have that great a problem with), the greater concern/fear is the federal government watching this group of people 24/7, forcing them to register their whereabouts, get permission to move/travel around, etc etc, or worst of all, be interned like the japanese were.

that is what they fear, and i believe legimately so. where does it stop?

And just what in the Holy Grail was wrong with putting the Japs in holding cells during the war? I think I would have gone a little further though and never have let them out.

 

[NATO AIR]

And just what in the Holy Grail was wrong with putting the Japs in holding cells during the war? I think I would have gone a little further though and never have let them out.

i'm sick so i'll let this juicy idiocy slide by and let someone else jump on it