Fear and loathing in the US
Shortly after the arrest of a military chaplain at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on suspicion of espionage, I was listening to a radio program and the host was talking about the role of racial profiling in the military. A Muslim chaplain who had been counseling detainees at Guantanamo Bay was caught with classified documents “that a chaplain shouldn’t have.” These documents included diagrams of the cells and the facilities at Guantanamo where about 600 al Qaeda and other "enemy combatants" are being held by the military.
Should Muslims in America’s military be profiled as a means of possibly detecting those who might be willing to turn their backs on their country and spy for our enemies? Should Muslims be specifically targeted, given the recent arrest of the chaplain (and subsequently two translators) for espionage at Guatanamo Bay? Should Muslims be targeted because it is, after all, Muslims who hate us the most at the moment? I heard arguments for and against. I agreed with arguments on both sides. One man called and said that if you were going to profile Muslims because of who was behind 9/11, you had to profile whatever religion Tim McVeigh belonged to because of the atrocity he committed against his country in Oklahoma. Fair point. Kind of. I know what he was saying, but while I loathe what McVeigh did as much as I loathe what happened on 9/11, there is a difference. In McVeigh’s case, the issue was not religion, but anti-government sentiment. Now, essentially it’s the same thing. Muslims, and not ALL Muslims for crying out loud, hate us because of what America stands for. They hate our freedom, they hate the ease with which we live our lives. They hate that we can say and do what we want without fear of reprisal from our government or our God. They hate that we are not oppressed, that we are not afraid, and that we love life. They hate these things because they live tough lives. Every day it’s a struggle to stay alive. It’s how they live. They have strong beliefs, very strong beliefs, beliefs they’d die for. But like fundamentalists in this country, if you take a hard look at the core of their beliefs, you’ll discover that those beliefs are flawed because ultimately, they only adhere to what is convenient for them. Rumors abounded regarding the last days of the 9/11 hijackers, the debauchery and alcohol-fueled nights that preceded the devastation of our nation by these supposedly devout Muslims. And I doubt that anywhere in the Muslim belief system does it say that men should rule absolutely over women and treat them as animals, making them hide their faces when they dare step foot outside the home, which by the way they are permitted to do only if accompanied by a male relative. I doubt it says that they should hate their enemies, and use death and destruction as a means of winning a place in heaven. I doubt that it says anywhere that they should use themselves as weapons, sacrificing the sacredness of their own lives to destroy the lives of others.
John Ashcroft scares the hell out of me. From the beginning I’ve questioned this man’s agenda and feared the civil liberties we as Americans will ultimately lose if Ashcroft is allowed to push his agenda unchecked (read: Patriot Act). This country was built on principles that must remain the cornerstone of its existence if we are to survive as a nation. It’s why this country works so well. It’s why we are the melting pot of the world. There are problems to be sure, but ultimately we coexist with one another, believing that freedom from tyranny, freedom to live life to the fullest is our God-given right. America has its flaws, but martyrdom in the name of religion, thinking so little of your own life that you are willing to sacrifice it to a make a point that will ultimately be lost in the translation, are things that we just don’t understand. The very definition of jihad, holy war, is an oxymoron. We simply cannot wrap our collective minds around such a concept.
Racial profiling is not exactly new in this country. We did it to the Japanese during World War II. We did again to those thought to be Communists in the 1940s and ‘50s…remember The House Un-American Activities Committee? And unofficially we started doing it again after 9/11. Who among us didn’t start taking a harder look at darker skinned individuals sitting beside us on a plane or bus? Who among us didn’t do a double-take when someone in a veil or turban passed us on the street. I know myself that my first response after the attacks was that we needed to close the damn borders and stop letting “these people” in. I’m ashamed that those thoughts ran through my head. Fear has been the motivating factor in all these circumstances, and I’m not saying these were irrational fears and responses, but they do go against all that this great nation stands for.
So, what do I think of profiling in the military. I honestly don’t know. My gut response is to say, “Hell yes, better safe than sorry.” After all, if you’ve nothing to hide, you’ve nothing to fear. But is that the reality of the situation? What happens when a disgruntled soldier spreads some tales about a fellow soldier, leading authorities to examine the latter’s life so thoroughly and inevitably so publicly that it ruins the person’s career and life? You can be as innocent as it gets, once someone suspects you of being in any way connected to the type of people that brought our country briefly to its knees, you might as well pack it up. There is no turning back from that kind of suspicion once it is heaped on your shoulders. You will carry that weight forever. On the other hand, what if by profiling those who are most likely to hurt us, we deter another attack. What if arresting the chaplain an the two translators stopped a whole new terrorist plot in its tracks? What if this is what we need to be safe, and if hurts some people in the process, well, we’ll apologize, pat you on the back, and send you on your way. I don’t know. I just don’t know. Above all, I want to feel safe again. I need to feel safe again. The uncertainty that has haunted me since 9/11 is wearing thin, and I want to feel as I did on September 10, 2001, before the world became this scary place, full of uncertainty and hate. I know that it was only that way in my mind because I was lucky enough to have been born into a place that lived well and feared no one. I know that the world has always been a scary place, full of uncertainty and hate, to far too many people. I understand this now, and my heart breaks because of it.
Should Muslims in America’s military be profiled as a means of possibly detecting those who might be willing to turn their backs on their country and spy for our enemies? Should Muslims be specifically targeted, given the recent arrest of the chaplain (and subsequently two translators) for espionage at Guatanamo Bay? Should Muslims be targeted because it is, after all, Muslims who hate us the most at the moment? I heard arguments for and against. I agreed with arguments on both sides. One man called and said that if you were going to profile Muslims because of who was behind 9/11, you had to profile whatever religion Tim McVeigh belonged to because of the atrocity he committed against his country in Oklahoma. Fair point. Kind of. I know what he was saying, but while I loathe what McVeigh did as much as I loathe what happened on 9/11, there is a difference. In McVeigh’s case, the issue was not religion, but anti-government sentiment. Now, essentially it’s the same thing. Muslims, and not ALL Muslims for crying out loud, hate us because of what America stands for. They hate our freedom, they hate the ease with which we live our lives. They hate that we can say and do what we want without fear of reprisal from our government or our God. They hate that we are not oppressed, that we are not afraid, and that we love life. They hate these things because they live tough lives. Every day it’s a struggle to stay alive. It’s how they live. They have strong beliefs, very strong beliefs, beliefs they’d die for. But like fundamentalists in this country, if you take a hard look at the core of their beliefs, you’ll discover that those beliefs are flawed because ultimately, they only adhere to what is convenient for them. Rumors abounded regarding the last days of the 9/11 hijackers, the debauchery and alcohol-fueled nights that preceded the devastation of our nation by these supposedly devout Muslims. And I doubt that anywhere in the Muslim belief system does it say that men should rule absolutely over women and treat them as animals, making them hide their faces when they dare step foot outside the home, which by the way they are permitted to do only if accompanied by a male relative. I doubt it says that they should hate their enemies, and use death and destruction as a means of winning a place in heaven. I doubt that it says anywhere that they should use themselves as weapons, sacrificing the sacredness of their own lives to destroy the lives of others.
John Ashcroft scares the hell out of me. From the beginning I’ve questioned this man’s agenda and feared the civil liberties we as Americans will ultimately lose if Ashcroft is allowed to push his agenda unchecked (read: Patriot Act). This country was built on principles that must remain the cornerstone of its existence if we are to survive as a nation. It’s why this country works so well. It’s why we are the melting pot of the world. There are problems to be sure, but ultimately we coexist with one another, believing that freedom from tyranny, freedom to live life to the fullest is our God-given right. America has its flaws, but martyrdom in the name of religion, thinking so little of your own life that you are willing to sacrifice it to a make a point that will ultimately be lost in the translation, are things that we just don’t understand. The very definition of jihad, holy war, is an oxymoron. We simply cannot wrap our collective minds around such a concept.
Racial profiling is not exactly new in this country. We did it to the Japanese during World War II. We did again to those thought to be Communists in the 1940s and ‘50s…remember The House Un-American Activities Committee? And unofficially we started doing it again after 9/11. Who among us didn’t start taking a harder look at darker skinned individuals sitting beside us on a plane or bus? Who among us didn’t do a double-take when someone in a veil or turban passed us on the street. I know myself that my first response after the attacks was that we needed to close the damn borders and stop letting “these people” in. I’m ashamed that those thoughts ran through my head. Fear has been the motivating factor in all these circumstances, and I’m not saying these were irrational fears and responses, but they do go against all that this great nation stands for.
So, what do I think of profiling in the military. I honestly don’t know. My gut response is to say, “Hell yes, better safe than sorry.” After all, if you’ve nothing to hide, you’ve nothing to fear. But is that the reality of the situation? What happens when a disgruntled soldier spreads some tales about a fellow soldier, leading authorities to examine the latter’s life so thoroughly and inevitably so publicly that it ruins the person’s career and life? You can be as innocent as it gets, once someone suspects you of being in any way connected to the type of people that brought our country briefly to its knees, you might as well pack it up. There is no turning back from that kind of suspicion once it is heaped on your shoulders. You will carry that weight forever. On the other hand, what if by profiling those who are most likely to hurt us, we deter another attack. What if arresting the chaplain an the two translators stopped a whole new terrorist plot in its tracks? What if this is what we need to be safe, and if hurts some people in the process, well, we’ll apologize, pat you on the back, and send you on your way. I don’t know. I just don’t know. Above all, I want to feel safe again. I need to feel safe again. The uncertainty that has haunted me since 9/11 is wearing thin, and I want to feel as I did on September 10, 2001, before the world became this scary place, full of uncertainty and hate. I know that it was only that way in my mind because I was lucky enough to have been born into a place that lived well and feared no one. I know that the world has always been a scary place, full of uncertainty and hate, to far too many people. I understand this now, and my heart breaks because of it.
posted by M at
7:25 AM
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