[1012] in peace2
Re: Fwd: Our Elected Officials...
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Jeff Fabijanic)
Fri Sep 21 12:44:55 2001
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Date: Fri, 21 Sep 2001 12:33:38 -0400
To: Marc Rios <mrios@MIT.EDU>, eit@tep.org, peace-list@MIT.EDU
From: Jeff Fabijanic <jeff@primordialsoft.com>
At 1:51 AM -0400 9/21/2001, Marc Rios wrote:
>Sometimes its hard to know whether to fight or to bolt.
My suggestion would be to stay here, be determined to live freely, treat
*all* your fellow citizens with respect, and speak strongly about what you
feel is right, even in the face of majority disagreement - its the American
thing to do.
>This article is at best terrifying.
>>More at http://www.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=65574&group=webcast
I agree that the numbers are disappointing, but keep in mind that this
article has its own agenda. It was presented mostly as a "US citizens show
their bigotry" piece (and Ifni knows there are bigots aplenty). But while
it is true that the Gallup poll the article cites found that
- 49% of those polled approved of "requiring Arabs, including those who
are U.S. citizens, to carry a special ID",
it also found that
- 51% favored banning *all* airline passengers from carrying on board
any luggage including purses, computers, and briefcases;
- 77% (!) favored requiring *every* person going into an office
building or public place to show ID, and
- 86%(!!!) favored requiring *every* person going into an office
building or public place to go through a metal detector.
So on the face of it, it would appear that many more Americans are actually
*more* likely to favor restriction of everyone's personal civil liberties
than to favor the restriction of civil liberties based on race.
That scares the shit out of me too, but it's not quite the same thing.
**** begin excerpted text ****
The Attacks Are Likely to Have an Effect on People of Arab Descent Living
in This Country
Thirty-five percent in the CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll say they now have less
trust in Arabs living in this country. Close to half of Americans, 43%,
told ABC News/Washington Post that they think the attacks will make them
more suspicious of people who they think are of Arab descent. According to
CNN/Time, the majority of Americans say they feel no differently toward
Arab-Americans as a result of the attacks, but 27%, admit to feeling less
favorably. About one in three say they have heard friends, neighbors, or
co-workers make negative comments about Arabs living in this country since
the attacks, according to CNN/USA Today/Gallup. The CBS News/New York Times
poll reveals that nearly half of Americans, 46%, believe that it is very
likely Arab-Americans, Muslims, and Middle Eastern immigrants will be
singled out unfairly in this country.
Reaction to Arabs Living in
this Country
Nearly six in 10 Americans favor requiring people of Arab descent to
undergo special, more intensive security checks when flying on American
planes. The public is evenly divided about whether Arabs living in this
country -- including those who are U.S. citizens -- should be required to
carry special identification with them. Thirty-two percent of Americans
think Arabs living in this country should be put under special surveillance
as were Japanese-Americans following Pearl Harbor, but most Americans (62%)
say it would be a mistake to target a nationality group, according to the
Newsweek poll. The Pew Center poll shows just 29% of Americans in support
of allowing the United States government to take legal immigrants from
unfriendly countries to internment camps, as was done with
Japanese-Americans during World War II.
**** end excerpted text ****
