Tuesday, August 24

Liberal?

Thanks, Pops!

"THE BACK JACKET OF THE BOOK SAYS WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO PREVENT ANOTHER 9/11. I AGREE. In war, desparate times call for disparate measures. Make no mistake: I am not advocating rounding up all Arabs or Muslims and tossing them into camps. BUt when we are under attack, racial profiling - or more precisely, threat profiling - is wholly justified. It is unfortunate that well-intentioned Arabs and Muslims might be burened because of terrorist who share their race, nationality, or religion. But any inconvenience, no matter how bothersome or offensive, is preferable to being incinerated at your office desk by a flaming hijacked plane."

Thankful, as always, that I am not a "racial group". Sad, as always, that said "racial grouping" might lead to less freedom. Offended, slightly, that the government that I choose to reside within treats people in a manner that I personally find unacceptable. Disgusted, really, at the people's ability to look past the feelings of others, and allow anyone's freedoms to be abused in the manner this describes. Sick, to know that people that I might know actually believe that this is anything other than complete paranoid bullshit.

Comments?

7 comments:

Byagi said...

What this guy is suggesting would never fly. You know people who advocate this? Scary.

Jess said...

I sent a link to some friends yesterday. Apparently, our government is already doing a little "racial profiling" during the election campaign.

There is nothing like an impending sense of fear to bring out the most ridiculous aspects of our culture. And as someone who comes from a journalism background, I will admit the the media is very much responsible for feeding our sense of fear in this country. Ever watched the news and counted the number of violent crimes, bomb scares, or medical stories claiming that "Cheese could cause pancreatic cancer" that flash across your screen on a nightly basis? I challenge you all to count, and then tell me that we don't purposefully live in our self-created state of paranoia. For all its glories, our country is more apt to be hung up on the fear of dying than actually living.

Byagi said...

i love cheese. dont scare me like that.

Pops said...

You're welcome.

Sunny, I claim you for the Liberal Media. Welcome.

Jess said...

Although we were discouraged in using this cliche phrase during my stint in journalism school, the tried and true tagline "If it bleeds, it leads" is so very true in most media.

And, no, I don't think it's just the media. There are many aspects of the media that I enjoy and that I would be proud to be a part of (I still intend to write freelance). I just wish that we would stop enjoying, rather consciously or subconsciously, being scared so much that's it's the only way we buy anything in print. It's actually a little sad.

Sunny said...

I've stopped enjoying. As the B said earlier tonight, The Daily Show is about the most I can personally stomach.

And I don't even stomach that, very frequently. I'm more of a fan of "If Pops blogs about it, then it must be news.

News makes me sad, News makes me angry. News makes me realize that most people are living underneath a pile of bullshit that's being spoonfed to them, unbeknownst. I hate the News. I prefer to hear it as I used to, Gas Station News Reports. Get what I hear from the outside world, and if it seems interesting enough, investigate.

Pops said...

Oh lordy, don't put that kind of pressure on me!

I just throw shit up there because I have a daily space to fill. I'd let it pass if I had nothing for a day or two, but my OCD won't let me.