- do u feel threathened in NYC today, or do u feel protected in NYC today (by the presence of law enforcement people) ?
I don’t really feel threatened, as much as I do vulnerable (ito proximity to “possible” targets) I don’t really feel protected by the law enforcement folks, because terror can be so easy and unexpected, which is what makes it terror, right. It's good to have them around, I don't mean to sound unapreciative, but I would feel more confident if I thought that the Intelligence Community had their act together, instead of blaming their tools for a shoddy job.
- do the law enforcement people curtail your basic rights to live a normal life ? (lets not include "no 1 person cars", and similar here).
no.
there was a time that I could not go certain places, and then for a while you needed ID to prove that you lived in the area and then for a while you could escort friends/employees into the area. Right now everything’s kinda normal, except for what I said in my post and what is going on in my head.
If the answer to both of the above is "no", perhaps u need to rethink your comments.
well I hope that’s not a threat<g> but what if only one of the answers is no. Others I know feel restricted.
I deal with folks from India and Pakistan all the time and from what I can tell they are scared. I mean scared to come down here, to my office, because of the police presence. I like these guys, we do business together, we have known each other for 2-4 yrs, we are friendly acquaintances, as far as I can tell. The thought that one of them could be a suicide bomber is scary to me, very scary. I honestly cannot imagine how one of them could be. Jesus, I hope not. This is terror’s greatest strength. Does that make it our biggest enemy?
What I’m about to say might upset some folks because it is not pretty. When you are dealing with an enemy of this nature, of this potential size, and you don’t know where they are or who they are, there is only one answer. It is called a Witch-Hunt. Of course to call it that would be terribly un-pc so lets just call it a crackdown, hopefully with a little more due process this time around, but not too much, you understand I’m sure. The Defense of the Nation is at stake, I mean that sincerely and am trying to be real about what I think has to be done. If the forces are on high alert what does that tell you, what does that imply for you - don't think that they can cover all the bases. Worry about yourself and your friends and your family, and troubling as it may be not about whether or not Moderate Muslim are speaking loudly enough. Yes CMC they are failing as leaders if they do not speak their peoples voice and I fully agree we need them to, want them to, shout louder, so that we can hear if they are there. But we also have a personal responsibility here...Yes, we must go about our lives normally in a world that is not normal, but remember, that while it is easy to point fingers, Security is not someone elses job.
Kumar, say you were a Muslim, who seemed to want to avoid having to make any contact with Law Enforcement Authorities, and in these times I didn’t know if you felt that way because you were a normal person, or because you were not a normal person, would you understand if I reported you to the police for suspicious behaviour. You don’t have to answer, but if we have to doubt each other even on a one to one basis, how on earth are bin Laden, ben Levy, Uncle Sam, and all the gangs, ever going to get along.
Ultimately, before Freedom and Fundamentalism, before Medieval and Global, before Us and Them and before Right and Wrong, the problem is one of the Individual Human Condition. Hell, my own sister still pisses me off sometimes, and at times I get angry with my wife. But right now it seems like we’ve got other things to worry about. Or do we really. Ask what you can do for your Freedom, not what your Freedom can do for you. This is the Tough Stuff.
I hope this hasn’t all been too much, I know you never asked for it. I was just trying to bring it down to a personal level - that this game is not only happening out there, but that we are Players too, on many levels. |
