Today I learned that two alleged al-Quaida members were arrested in a small town south of Sacramento over the weekend. One of suspects attended a camp in Pakistan on how to wage acts of violence against Americans. If you know anything about the town of Lodi, California (be grateful if you don’t), it’s nearly the last place on earth you’d expect to discover a terrorist cell.
This morning, on my drive into work, I was listening to some radio interviews of people who know the suspects. Apparently they are very “nice” people, good neighbors and, in fact, the older of the suspects operated an ice cream truck for kids! It’s no wonder that the community is reeling with the revelation that their pleasant neighbors are would-be-terrorists.
One lady interviewed lives in the same neighborhood as the suspects. She was very fervent in her position that it’s “wrong what is happening to them.” She said that they are “good people” and she feels their rights are being violated because of the interrogation and arrests.
I don’t know about you, but it seems incredibly naïve to me that a person would think that, just because someone is nice, they couldn’t possibly commit acts of terror. Although the stereotype of a terrorist, or what we think a terrorist would be like, is probably different than Mr.-Ice-Cream-Truck-Driver-Who-Lives-Next-Door, it’s amazing to me that some people are more concerned about “nice” people being protected than working to make sure this country is secure by promptly arresting all persons suspected, with probable cause, of terrorist activity! This is yet another instance of when “tolerance” can go too far …
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2 comments:
Part of the problem we face in America is understanding the mindset of these people (they are willing to wait a VERY long time, if need be, in order to accomplish their goals). Does anyone remember history to learn from it? I wonder... But I do hope that there is not a case of mistaken identity! Unfortunately a lot of civil rights are being trampled too these days...what a mess! Who knows what is best for us...well, we know it is best our country return to God...but afraid that is not going to happen. Not yet anyway.
Elizabeth
I shudder everytime I think of how small the world really is and how everyone insists that people from other countries are so foreign. Well, they are not. Terrorists are in all sizes and mind sets, mostly very mentally disturbed. This trying to identify them by religion and race, etc. is very naive. But what people fail to understand is that all though many people are not happy about way the world, or the government works and they voice angry feelings, these people are a part of the human race. They have family, parents, children, aunts, uncles and they would not want them hurt so they are not going around creating trouble. It is only when individuals are so isolated from a community that they have no connection that they will destroy. Timothy McVey was of such a mind set. And the sad thing is that instead of accepting people, making them count, we keep drawing sides. It is this you and me against them attitude that breeds terrorism. It should be cooperation and consideration of others, but too many people forget that. Fear and the need to do something prompts this knee-jerk reaction. You don't have to like people, but honestly human beings are very similiar. If you want safety, think very hard about how you yourself would react if everyone looking at you judged you a danger. It can be a self-fulling
prophesy. And remember it is very easy to misread things, happens every day when accidental drug overdoses or interactions put people in the emergency room, or meetings are missed, or you enter a do not enter road because you missed the the do not. Before you decide that a terrorist cell exists in Lodi make sure there really is a fire behind that smoke.
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