On Sat, Nov 15, 2003 at 11:47:03PM -0800, Tom wrote: > On Sun, Nov 16, 2003 at 02:31:36AM -0500, ScruLoose wrote: > [a bunch of horseshit] Hehe! Now, that's funny. I bring you references from your own country's press, reporting that your government is detaining people indefinitely, without charging them with a crime, and/or holding secret trials... and you find it so easy to sweep it aside as "a bunch of horseshit". So it doesn't _matter_ to you whether or not you live in a free country? *shrug* I guess we've all got our own priorities. > The terrorists are trying to get into the US via Canada. So what? Maybe some are. Do you have references to back this up? Are they succeeding? Of course, many of the terrorists are naturalized Americans who have been living there with valid paperwork for many years. > The terrorists are often students living abroad in Germany. Again, this may well be true, but I don't see the relevance. > It would be racist if I said "every muslim in Europe is a terrorist". > It is not racist to note that some muslim radicals live in Europe. > Only a fool would assert that there are no Al Quaeda cells in Europe. > So it is not unlikely that some of the people I saw in Europe are indeed > terrorists, especially when THEY LOOK AND ARE OBVIOUSLY ACTING EXACTLY > LIKE IT. ^^^^^^^^^ > ^^^^^^^^^^^ > Wake up. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ So some people "look" like terrorists? Probably not white ones, though. I stand by my statement that your blithe conclusion sounded/looked/stunk like racism. You travelled through some neighborhoods (which you felt it relevant to point out were "Muslim" "immigrant" neighborhoods) in a foreign country where I have no reason to assume you understand the culture, the mores, the norms of behaviour out in the street. While there, you observed some people (Arabic-looking people, who your media has been carefully training you "look like terrorists" to begin with) acting in ways that you with your American standards found suspicious. Based on this and your "spidey-sense" you felt qualified to assert that they were "obviously plotting criminal activity"... The way you presented it came dangerously close to a case of: Muslim (immigrant) = seedy = criminal = terrorist Now, I sincerely hope you didn't mean it that way. I'm not saying that you are a racist. I _am_ saying that your commentary was poorly thought out and came across a lot like racism. Of course I'm not trying to deny that there are any Islamic radicals in Europe. That has flatly _nothing_ to do with any point I've made or implied. > I think the racist thing was hitting below the belt. I'm highly > offended and tempted to curse at you. Technically, you started off your post by cursing at me. :-) FWIW, I was addressing only your statement itself. No name-calling was intended. I'd rather avoid the cursing thing (though I obviously can't really _stop_ you if you're so inclined). However radically we may disagree, I hold out hope for some semblance of civil discourse. -- ,-------------------------------------------------------------------------. > -ScruLoose- | I was just a boy then, now I'm only a man. < > Please do not | - Pink Floyd < > reply off-list. | < `-------------------------------------------------------------------------'
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