veiled4allah: first they came for the...

In the aftermath of 9/11, the government didn't remove everyone's civil rights - just the rights of those whom they thought might fit the category of guilty - namely Muslims and other assorted brown people. If Josh is okay with the government's actions, then Josh is justifying the loss of civil rights for a group of people. That makes him a statistic - one of the many Americans who believe its okay to give up civil liberties for national security as long as its not his civil liberties. As I have posted often, I am sick and tired of people who would scream about the loss of their own liberties but have no problem selling the rights of others down the river. The Justice Department, taken off the civil rights leash, arrested more than 1200 Muslims and locked them up for periods of close to a year without any charges. They were held in facilties ranging from immigrant detention centers to maximum security prisons, abused by their guards, and often held incommunicado from their family and loved ones.

They then forced thousands of young Muslim men from 27 countries to show up at immigration centers to be photographed, fingerprinted, and questioned. Some of those men were detained and deported without benefit of a trial before an immigration judge or access to counsel.

Guess how many terrorists these intiatives netted John Ashcroft? Zero. Zippo. Nada.

If Josh thinks that this is justified, then he's just another clueless asshole who pays lip service to the principles embedded in the Constitution. If he thinks that my rights are secondary to his safety because of my skin color or religion, it's time to recall his doctorate in history - the founding fathers embedded those rights in the constitution for a reason - to protect me and my right to be treated as an equal citizen from a frightened mob empowered with the force of government. I will not allow myself or others to be treated as second-class citizens.