If you speak Arabic, you're a terrorist.
POSTED BY: citizen
UPDATED: Tuesday, August 22, 2006 23:13
VIEWED: 9253
PAGE 6 of 8
Quote:So all brown people are trying to kill us and every brown person must be treated with fear.
Originally posted by Finn mac Cumhal:
If you had to choose between Xenophobia and the threat of getting blown up, which would you pick?
Quote:Or going on a plane committing the serious crime of traveling while Asian, it would seem.
Once someone has decided to get on a plane with a bomb, diplomacy becomes a secondary issue to preventing the explosion, I think.
More insane ramblings by the people who brought you beeeer milkshakes!
No one can see their reflection in running water. It is only in still water that we can see.
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Well, what I get out of the discussion is that we value airport security... just not enough to spend more money on it, or inconvenience passengers or to interfere with airline profits.
Situations that seem immutable are often choices or assumptions that we've made further upstream. We can sometimes solve problems more effectively if we open our scope of options, rather than narrowing them (as Finn does). So looking at airport security for example, why doesn't the Federal government simply require searching each passenger? Take too much resources? Kill the airline industry? Well then- re-regulate the industry. If you don't want to do that, kick in more Federal bucks. That would increase the deficit? Then stop reducing taxes. Pull out of Iraq. Eliminate $100 billion of porkbarrel spending. This problem really is better solved without hysteria.
Narrowed options is a sign of fear. "Awfulizing" (dreaming up the most horrible result possible) is a sign of fear.
People who want us to think of only one option- people like Finn or Bush- are either living in fear or trying to induce fear in others, or both. (Frightened people are often convinced that they are the only ones who "really" know what's going on. Everyone else is living in denial as far as they're concerned.)
---------------------------------
Reality sucks. Especially when it contradicts our cherished ideas.
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:They didn't have enough experience with emergent technology and mass media to know you can't believe everything coming over the airwaves. Nowadays, people are more skeptical, given their abundant exposure to media entertainment and special effects.
Originally posted by chrisisall:
Well, around that time a radio show had folks believing we were being attacked by Mars. Peeps were a little wackier back then, I think.
But less wacky? I dunno. I see people believing government despite all evidence to the contrary, and believing conspiracy radio talk show hosts despite all evidence to the contrary. When you take mass media outside the fictional realm, people seem as gullible as ever.
If you're saying internment camps can't happen anymore, I am not so sure. I'd like to believe they can't happen. But then I see all these posts by relatively well educated people and seemingly reasonable people defending racial profiling and touting the imminent dangers of Islamofascist hordes. That's after one attack that I find dubiously attributed to Al-Qaeda. Internment camps may not happen again, but kicking innocent people off planes is a step in the same direction.
What do you think will happen if another major attack occurs?
Can't Take My Gorram Sky
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
Originally posted by canttakesky:
What do you think will happen if another major attack occurs?
1984.
**************************************************
"Oooh, synchronizers!"
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:More psuedo-cons in charge, more war, dwindling quality of life, recession, repression.
Originally posted by canttakesky:
What do you think will happen if another major attack occurs?
Basically Dark Angel without the angel.
Gotta blaze Chrisisall
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
So I skipped all the discussion in favor of incessant laughing.
Thats F-ing hilarious!
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:If you want to believe that racist crap, you go right ahead, but don’t expect me to agree to it.
Originally posted by citizen:
So all brown people are trying to kill us and every brown person must be treated with fear.
Quote:If you say so.
Originally posted by citizen:
Or going on a plane committing the serious crime of traveling while Asian, it would seem.
Nihil est incertius vulgo, nihil obscurius voluntate hominum, nihil fallacius ratione tota comitiorum.
Nothing is more unpredictable than the mob, nothing more obscure than public opinion, nothing more deceptive than the whole political system.
-- Cicero
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:You're question was Xenophobia or being blown up. Either treat everyone who looks Asian as a terrorist or be blown up. How am I misconstruing your statements exactly?
Originally posted by Finn mac Cumhal:
If you want to believe that racist crap, you go right ahead, but don’t expect me to agree to it.
Quote:You are defending taking people of a plane merely for looking Asian, it's your say so, not mine.
If you say so.
More insane ramblings by the people who brought you beeeer milkshakes!
No one can see their reflection in running water. It is only in still water that we can see.
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:When faced with this kind of distortion some people might collapse in a fit and say:
Originally posted by citizen:
Don't ask me ridiculously stupid questions in the hope I'll answer them with an affirmative and back up your defence of racism then (I'm not calling you racist, but you are defending a racist attitude)....You are defending taking people of a plane merely for looking asian, it's your say so, not mine.
Quote:
Originally posted by citizen:
... I'm not going to lie down and take you painting me as this or that ...
Nihil est incertius vulgo, nihil obscurius voluntate hominum, nihil fallacius ratione tota comitiorum.
Nothing is more unpredictable than the mob, nothing more obscure than public opinion, nothing more deceptive than the whole political system.
-- Cicero
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:At least you now admit you were trying to paint me as a terrorist supporter.
Originally posted by Finn mac Cumhal:
When faced with this kind of distortion some people might collapse in a fit and say:
Obviously there is nothing that can be said to you which is not going to be construde as an insult.
And lets get one thing straight, assuming someone is a terrorist because they look muslim is racist, you're supporting that position, you have your reasons I'm sure, and I doubt those are racist (hey look I'm making it clear I'm not saying you're racist, which is more than you did for me when I made that other quote).
So maybe if I ask the question again you'll stop the fit and answer it:
How is the question "Xenophobia or be blown up?" not implying we should treat anyone different as a terrorist?
More insane ramblings by the people who brought you beeeer milkshakes!
No one can see their reflection in running water. It is only in still water that we can see.
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME