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Friday, February 27, 2009

Politics Who Cares About Terrorists if They're White?

Posted by Sarah Mirk on Fri, Feb 27, 2009 at 11:48 AM

Two news reports that came out today about two different terrorists living in America highlight the crazy disparities between how the government treats foreign-born Muslim people involved in terrorist groups versus homegrown white Christian people involved in terrorist groups.

The first news story is about Ali Al-Marri, a Qatari guy who was attending college in the US before September 11th. I hung out with Ali's brother, Jarallah, for a couple weeks in January and got an earful about his case — the CIA suspected Ali of being involved in Al Qaeda and arrested him right after 9/11. Since then, he's been held in naval prison in South Carolina, much of the time in solitary confinement in a "sensory deprivation" cell. Ali hasn't been charged with any crime and today the Justice Department announced it would finally arrange a civilian trial for him.

The second story is about Robert Henderson, a Nebraska state trooper who was fired for being actively involved with the Ku Klux Klan. In his decision, the State Supreme Court judge said, "From its very inception, the State of Nebraska has been founded upon principles of equality and tolerance that the Ku Klux Klan, from its very inception, has used violence and terror to oppose."

So one man suspected of being involved with a group that's used violence and terror to oppose the American government has been imprisoned for five years while another known member of a group that's used violence and terror to oppose the American government just gets fired from his job. What's the difference? I think their pictures say it all.

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If our justice system really did value equality and tolerance, either Robert Henderson should be held without trial for five years or Ali Al-Marri should be released immediately. Apparently having members of known terrorist organizations running loose in the country is no big deal as long as their terrorist organizations are part of the fabric of American history. But obviously, both of these are dumb options — we should just have fair trials for all terror suspects to begin with.

 

Comments (28) RSS

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1
Now I'm not defending or disagreeing here - but all you know is what the CIA let the public know about the first case. And in the second case the trooper is not accused of a crime.
It's a logical fallacy to assume because they are different nationalities that is the reason for the outcomes.
Posted by D on February 27, 2009 at 12:05 PM · Report
2
I'm not about to defend the KKK in anyway, but they (as an organization) haven't been a threat to anyone in decades. Quite a few reporters (including someone from NYT, IIRC), have infiltrated them; virtually every report coming out of the organization is that they're too incompetent to hold a bake sale.

Posted by A CAT, probably on February 27, 2009 at 12:10 PM · Report
3
Exactly. I wouldnt want to meet them in a dark alley, but aside from prison I think skinheads-white supremacists are now, pardon my generalizing, more of a trashy punchline than an organized threat to society.
Posted by D on February 27, 2009 at 12:18 PM · Report
4
NOT A CAT, what gives? It's Friday? Where's the buttermilk biscuits?
Posted by Graham on February 27, 2009 at 1:26 PM · Report
5
the KKK continues to be more of a threat in America than Al Qaeda because:

A. There's way more of them here than Al Qaeda operatives

B. They have a much much longer history of successful bombings, lynchings, arson, death, mass graves, death. Did I mention the people they kill and terrorize? The decades of documentation of whole swaths of geography that were terrorized into silence and complicity with mass death, beatings, and sham trials that made mockery of justice?

Oh but wait. White americans and the federal government have nothing to fear from the KKK. Only people of color. Whereas Al Qaeda is particularly mad at white America. Is that the difference?

Discuss.
Posted by tpancio on February 27, 2009 at 1:30 PM · Report
6
Right. Though you might have to suffer some nominal lawn burning in Medford.

http://kdrv.com/page/92740
Posted by Patrick A. Coleman on February 27, 2009 at 1:30 PM · Report
7
The KKK has a longer history of mass death than militant Islam? I suggest you check your facts and I don't know, maybe about 2,000 years of history.
And if you look at that recent history you'll see a lot more than 'white' people in the graves of its killers across the US, Spain, UK, Turkey, Bali, Iraq, Indonesia, Sudan, Somalia, etc etc.
Posted by D on February 27, 2009 at 1:39 PM · Report
8
D... so funny. 2,000 years of Islam? Are from the year 2700?
Posted by Graham on February 27, 2009 at 1:50 PM · Report
9
OK almost 2000
Posted by D on February 27, 2009 at 2:01 PM · Report
10
ok... almost 1300. You're off by about a third.

But that's not even getting to the part where you branded an entire religion by the actions of a few. It would be safe to say that all KKK members are terrorists, but it wouldn't be safe to say that all Muslims are terrorists.
Posted by Graham on February 27, 2009 at 2:05 PM · Report
11
I agree with Graham. It's important to remember that though not all rectangles are squares, all squares should immediately be considered terrorists.
Posted by Earnest "Nex" Cavalli on February 27, 2009 at 2:25 PM · Report
12
Nex, nope. Squares should be immedieately considered un-hip and the bartender should ignore them and instead serve the cute girl with the ironic t-shirt and chunky glasses standing behind them.
Posted by Graham on February 27, 2009 at 2:45 PM · Report
13
I clearly said 'militant' to specify that.
Posted by D on February 27, 2009 at 2:46 PM · Report
14
So D... If you're going to stick with the crap that you're saying, please provide me with an example of a Militant Islamic group that preceeded 1865.
Posted by Graham on February 27, 2009 at 2:56 PM · Report
15
Tours, 732
Constantiople 1450s
Posted by D on February 27, 2009 at 3:24 PM · Report
16
And what links Tours and Constantinople have to do with Militant Islam? Or are you linking Militant Islam with any time that Muslims have shown any expansionist tendancies? If you're going to spew bullshit like that about a topic that you seem to be willfully ignorant on, you might as well say that the KKK stared in the 5th century with Christian Exapnsionists.

You are changing facts and definitions to suit your needs.

Militant Islam has its genesis with Fatah in 1959.

The KKK has its genesis with the Confederacy surrendering in 1865.

Once again facts come to the rescue of the ignorant.
Posted by Graham on February 27, 2009 at 3:36 PM · Report
17
Might I suggest that someone please make some biscuit related posts?
Posted by A BISCUIT on February 27, 2009 at 6:33 PM · Report
18
Graham, I've been out on a project for work all day. I figured you guys could hold down the fort. How have things been?
Posted by A CAT, probably on February 27, 2009 at 6:35 PM · Report
19
P.S. I've just looked through the posts and realized that I showed up right after A BISCUIT. I'd like to mention that I am not him. I'd also like to say that I don't think that this sort of "obnoxious spamming" to be all that irritating. The haters have some serious sensitivity issues.
Posted by A CAT, probably on February 27, 2009 at 6:44 PM · Report
20
"It would be safe to say that all KKK members are terrorists, but it wouldn't be safe to say that all Muslims are terrorists."

Graham, it's not safe to say that at all. "KKK members are all idiots" is a pretty easy to defend statement, "KKK members are all terrorists" is a whole different kettle of fish.

Terrorist is a charged word, obviously, but I don't think the typical member of the KKK (and typical members are what an organization are built out of) would be considered a "terrorist" by an average American, regardless of race. tpcanci put forth the premise that "the KKK continues to be more of a threat in America than Al Qaeda", and I don't think the facts bear this out. They're a hate group, sure, but are they a terrorist danger? Not really. We can find examples of extremist crime from nearly all corners of the idiological map, but these incidents doesn't make the parent organizations "terrorist".
Posted by A CAT, probably on February 27, 2009 at 7:02 PM · Report
21
NOT A CAT, I had surgery earlier this week and have been enjoying the benefits of prescription pain meds. That distracted me from extoling the virtues of Ice Cube Fridays.

I'm going by the definition of "terrorist" not the loaded term "terrorist"

1. a person, usually a member of a group, who uses or advocates terrorism.
2. a person who terrorizes or frightens others.

The KKK at this point might be ineffectual terrorists, but they're terrorists none-the-less.
Posted by Graham on February 27, 2009 at 7:23 PM · Report
22
I would like to confirm NOT A CAT's assertion that A BISCUIT is not A CAT, nor is A BISCUIT NOT A CAT. A BISCUIT is, in this case, simply A BISCUIT.
Posted by A BISCUIT on February 27, 2009 at 7:35 PM · Report
23
I would like to confirm that A BISCUIT just committed a false logical syllogism.
Posted by Graham on February 27, 2009 at 7:40 PM · Report
24
A BISCUIT just made my head explode.

"2. a person who terrorizes or frightens others."

That leads us pretty quickly down the path to Al Qaeda, da yoof, Mexicans, the disabled, and nearly every other group in the world being terrorists.
Posted by A CAT, probably on February 27, 2009 at 8:05 PM · Report
25
On the other side of definition: there are surely many Klan members that don't "use or advocate terrorism", unless we water terrorism down to "scaring people".
Posted by A CAT, probably on February 27, 2009 at 8:07 PM · Report
26
Perhaps false, but like all things related to A BISCUIT, delicious. I find that grape jelly makes the syllogism even more good.
Posted by A BISCUIT on February 27, 2009 at 8:23 PM · Report
27
"Militant Islam has its genesis with Fatah in 1959."

I guess it comes back to this whole "definitions" thing, but I would say that the Hashshashin definitely had some serious moments of "terrorism" in the name of Islam, nearly a millennium ago. I'm not really sure how that differs from "militant Islam".
Posted by A CAT, probably on February 27, 2009 at 8:36 PM · Report
28
Sorry, but the danger posed to the country from terrorists like Al Qaeda is way beyond anything the KKK could dream of. Yes they are a horrible, evil org but they are not likely to cause mass damage to our society like AQ has in mind. To equate them is to show ignorance of actual threats, or just a desire to be politically correct.
Posted by bfd69 on February 28, 2009 at 2:09 AM · Report

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