(no subject)

[theweaselking]

Arab in the USA? Expect to get arrested and interrogated every time you cross the US border, even if it's after a day trip to Canada to see family, and you've been stopped a dozen times before, and the DHS guys at the border know you on sight and by name by now.

On the same topic, here's an op-ed from an American who notes that he's far safer in Jordan, Palestine, and Saudi Arabia than Arabs are in the USA.

Comments

[singingnettle.livejournal.com]

Or if you look "ethnic"--United States policies make me so mad and frustrated, but I don't know what to do about it, since apparently voting doesn't do the trick anymore.

A few years ago, I saw a crowd of nice Seattlites harassing a terrified Middle Eastern woman at a bus stop. I stopped it, but it is a shameful thing that groups of people will behave in ways that individuals will not.

[missysedai.livejournal.com]

Mark is flying out of Detroit today, in spite of requesting that the company fly him out of Toledo.

Every time he flies out of Detroit, he gets selected for "additional screening". He's been pulled aside for questioning as well. Why is he traveling? Where? When's he coming back? Why so long? Where was he born? Where were his parents born? Is he sure he's from Ohio? Is he married? Why isn't he wearing a wedding ring? (Neither of us do, arthritis makes rings hurt.) Why isn't his family traveling with him? What's his religion? (He always answers Catholic, even though he hasn't been for 20 years.)

In Toledo, they do the basic metal detector/x-ray thing everyone else gets, wish him a safe trip and off he goes.

He's upstairs pacing and ranting now, waiting for his brother to take him to the airport.

[doug-palmer.livejournal.com]

Look on the bright side. In my last trip to the US I was "randomly" selected for additional screening on 5 out of my 6 flights, being the filthy foreigner that I am. I got a bit more sanguine about it when I realised that I was bypassing the huge queues of ordinary travellers waiting to have their shoes X-Rayed.

It's morbidly fascinating watching a whole country go insane.

[itlandm.livejournal.com]

I think we should keep in mind that it was Arabs who started this war. This does not justify civilians harassing their Arab neighbors, but it certainly justifies the government keeping tabs on them. That's two very different things.

[thormation.livejournal.com]

And what war are we talking about exactly? As far as I can tell, Congress has not declared war since WWII.

[itlandm.livejournal.com]

Yeah, and the killing of thousands of civilians in New York was not an act of war. Perhaps we should instead call it an act of Allah?

[zenten.livejournal.com]

Are you actually a racist/religious bigot, or are you just trolling?

[itlandm.livejournal.com]

The people who killed off 2500 workers in New York City were religious bigots. That is the point. I do not pick words randomly.

Did you know that Allah is simply the Arab word for God? It is a wonderful name because you can put it in anywhere people have gotten immune to God, and see it scare them. "In Allah we trust", "one nation under Allah", "thank Allah it is Friday!" Don't try this at your local pub, though.

[zenten.livejournal.com]

How exactly does an ethnicity start a war?

[itlandm.livejournal.com]

I have no idea. I don't believe ethnicities start wars, nor do I know anyone who thinks so.

[zenten.livejournal.com]

So why did you make your comment that you made above?

[itlandm.livejournal.com]

Because it is true and relevant. I am not sure what you are reading, but it is not what I wrote, and so I won't defend it.

[zenten.livejournal.com]

You said it was the Arabs that started this "war". I would like to know how an ethnic group can start a war. I don't see where the problem with my question is.

[itlandm.livejournal.com]

Ah! The problem is with the "the" which you quote but which I did not write, and the implied "all" which neither of us wrote.

Being Arab does not mean being at war with the USA, of course. (Some morons may think so, but not this moron.) But it just so happens that this time, the enemies are almost exclusively Arab, at least in a colloquial sense of that adjective. So our peerless pattern matching abilities kick in: "Ooh, this guy looks Arab! And those guys who blew up WTC looked Arab! This requires further attention!"

It surprises me that this surprises anyone.

[desdenova.livejournal.com]

You are mistaking surprise for indignation.

[anton-p-nym.livejournal.com]

I think we should keep in mind that it was Arabs who started this war.

It would be as fair to say that it was males who started this war. Sheesh, talk about tarring everyone with the same brush.

-- Steve thinks that if it's unfair to blame all Americans for the bungling of the Bush Administration, it's also unfair to blame all Arabs for the perfidity of Al-Qaida.

[itlandm.livejournal.com]

As long as SOME Arab males are planning to kill as many Americans as possible, it is not terribly surprising that ALL Arab males are being monitored more closely than Nordics, Han, Xhosa or any of the numerous other ethnic groups that don't occasionally send members on a genocidal one-way trip to America. It would be a waste of resources to prioritize differently.

It is not so much a matter of blame as a matter of preventing mass murder. It is terribly inconvenient for the Arab males who just want to do their work, but this isn't about them. It is about the thousands who don't want to die in another "act of Allah".

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

There are far more white Christian terrorists making far more attacks on Americans than Arabs.

[itlandm.livejournal.com]

This does not correspond with the public perception as I have seen it. But if this is also how the "American males of Middle Eastern background" see it, then it is no wonder that they are surprised again and again by being singled out.

As far as I personally see it, of course, lack of elementary sex education kills far more Americans than Islamism, Communism and Nazism put together. But terrorism is all about terror, that is, striking fear. People fear not what really kills them, usually, but the dark mirror of their own soul seen in an enemy.

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

That article isn't about "Arabs". It's about Americans.

[itlandm.livejournal.com]

It is about Americans who look Arab (or more correctly "Middle Eastern"). Their loyalty is questioned by people who don't know them. This evidently surprises them. Does it surprise you?

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

Not terribly. But then, I'm pretty cynical about human nature.

[mhoye.livejournal.com]

Perhaps the important question here is not whether or not that result is surprising, but whether or not it is just.

[itlandm.livejournal.com]

It is not just, it is not fair. But is it effective? And if so, is it worth harassing a minority to avoid the occasional massacre?

[desdenova.livejournal.com]

But is it effective?

The answer is to that is "no." By using non-random screening criteria, we are creating a system that can easily be gamed. It's "security theatre," not actual security.

[itlandm.livejournal.com]

For those who believe this, it is obviously meaningless to harass people of Middle-Eastern descent. For the many (majority?) who think the current regime is the reason there are still skyscrapers left, there is probably not much incentive to change.

I've thought for a while that if I were the mastermind of al-Qaeda, I would try to recruit a black muslim for the next high-profile attack, and made sure his color was found out afterwards. Then lean back and watch America tear itself apart. But so far it hasn't happened. Of course, masterminds are generally smarter than I, so they must have considered it already.

I'm sorry, troll--that's old and tired bait, and I am a picky fish.

[torrain.livejournal.com]

*sigh* It hasn't been effective for at least a good half-century, and is probably even less effective today, with technological improvements.

This was brought to people's attention in 1956--possibly earlier, but definitely no later. The French appeared to have noticed and learned. I am hoping the States picks it up.

(Yes, I *know* you're simply trying to cleverly present an alternate point of view, and your casual articulation of racist generalizations and justifications for institutionalized racism is because...

(...well, actually, I don't really care if it's because you're too lazy to express yourself properly, too incoherent to do so, you genuinely believe it's a worthwhile course of action, or you just feel like being a troll so you can wave the "lookee here, ima all *questionin* yer beliefs and hopes fer justice!" banner.

(Get a good life.)