Too Many Americans Think Patriotism Means Racism and Xenophobia

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

Too Many Americans Think Patriotism Means Racism and Xenophobia

https://www.thenation.com/article/too-many-americans-think-patriotism-means-racism-and-xenophobia/

 

fter the attacks of September 11, 2001, patriotism took on many masks and many faces. For some it meant planting flags in their front yards and cherishing the rights we enjoy in this country. For others it took on a flawed and dangerous form. Violence against South Asian, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, and Arab Americans skyrocketed in the weeks and months after 9/11. New government policies painted our communities with suspicion and guilt. The notion that patriotism and racism are synonymous was used against us after 9/11, and the horror has lasted 16 years, flowing and ebbing under Presidents Bush and Obama. That notion has only increased in fury under the Trump administration.

I was in New York on 9/11, working downtown not too far from the attacks. In the days that followed I feared for my safety for the first time in my life: not from planes nose-diving from the sky, but from assaults on the subway or on the street. These fears were not misplaced. The first shots fired after the attacks were on September 15 in Mesa, Arizona, when Balbir Singh Sodhi, a Sikh gas station owner, was killed by Frank Silva Roque, a racist gunman who wanted to “go out and shoot some towel-heads.” During his arrest Roque screamed, “I am a patriot! I stand for America all the way!” This is how he pledged allegiance to our flag.

Our communities experienced many ensuing acts of hate. In the first week after 9/11, 645 bias incidents nationwide were reported by media organizations. In the months that followed, our houses of worship were surveilled by the NYPD and other law-enforcemen agencies, our rights were violated and our dignity stripped at airports, and our children were bullied in school and harassed on the Internet. Government policies such as the Patriot Act and the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System were implemented, the latter of which opened cases against 83,000 Muslims entering or living in the United States. The result of this vast ethnic profiling? Zero terrorism-related convictions.

Meanwhile, the body count in our communities has mounted. In 2012, a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, was attacked by a gunman who killed six people and wounded four others before taking his own life. In 2015, three young Arab students in North Carolina were murdered in their homes by their white-supremacist neighbor. In 2016, a Lebanese-American man was shot and killed on his own porch by a racist neighbor who had a documented history of anti-Arab hate.

 

 

Karen J. Greenberg

In 2017, our communities are facing hate violence at levels that rival the aftermath of 9/11. The Trump administration—which is now implementing policies that mirror his bigoted rhetoric on the campaign trail—continues to roll out anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant policies that embolden hate groups to attack our communities. President Trump has test-fired several versions of the “Muslim ban,” rescinded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, and strongly supported the RAISE Act that seeks to slash immigration by 50 percent in a decade, as well as implementing other destructive policies. Since the presidential election, South Asian Americans Leading Together has documented over 150 incidents of violence against those who identify or are perceived as Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, South Asian, Middle Eastern, or Arab American, already surpassing totals from the year leading up to the 2016 election. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, anti-Muslim hate groups grew by 197 percent in 2016, and, according to the FBI, anti-Muslim hate crimes increased by 67 percent in 2015.

[The Nature Boy 7,659]

The nation.com.  omg fake news

[Steeleballz 7,550]

1 hour ago, Nature Boy Flair said:

The nation.com.  omg fake news

 

    Left biased, but rated high on factual content. You lose this one NB.

 

 

Home » The Nation

 

The Nation

LEFT BIAS

These media sources are moderately to strongly biased toward liberal causes through story selection and/or political affiliation.  They may utilize strong loaded words (wording that attempts to influence an audience by using appeal to emotion or stereotypes), publish misleading reports and omit reporting of information that may damage liberal causes. Some sources in this category may be untrustworthy. See all Left Bias sources.

 

Factual Reporting: HIGH

 

Notes: The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States, and the most widely read weekly journal of progressive political and cultural news, opinion and analysis. Founded in 1865, The Nation produces well written journalism that is factual and well sourced.  They demonstrate left wing bias in story choices and wording. (5/15/2016) Updated (4/26/2017)

[Boiler 44,684]

Everything is racist, why should Patriotism be different?

 

#blm

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

So if being Patriotic is racist then call me a racist. I will raise my family up to be Patriotic as can be. 

[Boiler 44,684]

Just now, cyberfx1024 said:

So if being Patriotic is racist then call me a racist. I will raise my family up to be Patriotic as can be. 

Racist

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

4 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Racist

Proud of it if it means that I love my country.

[Boiler 44,684]

3 minutes ago, cyberfx1024 said:

Proud of it if it means that I love my country.

Being called a racist is so common nowadays it has lost any real meaning.

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

1 minute ago, Boiler said:

Being called a racist is so common nowadays it has lost any real meaning.

You know I never really thought about that until you said that and it makes so much sense. It's like "Hey I don't agree with you on your stance on xxxx, so you must be racist".

[TBoneTX 44,379]

I had a Sikh acquaintance who was typically very calm.  Shortly after 9/11, he was visibly upset and rattled.  It turned out that he was being harassed by those who didn't know any better.  He never meant anybody any harm, and he felt just as awful about the terrorist attacks as we all did.

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

8 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

I had a Sikh acquaintance who was typically very calm.  Shortly after 9/11, he was visibly upset and rattled.  It turned out that he was being harassed by those who didn't know any better.  He never meant anybody any harm, and he felt just as awful about the terrorist attacks as we all did.

Luckily for me where I worked at the time I was able to actually talk with someone who explained alot about Islam to me and how he detested the people that did that because it portrayed Islam in a bad light. I worked at UPS at the time and it was not uncommon to see middle aged men working alongside us HS/College guys, because even though we were part time UPS gave us and our family's health insurance. So guys would work full time jobs during the day and then a part time at night to ensure that their family had health insurance.

 

But anyway back to the topic at hand. The older gentleman I worked with was a really nice older gentleman(mid-late 40's) who was from Pakistan and emigrated over, after 9/11 I sat down with him and got the scoop about Islam and my mind was opened up so to speak. He was a really nice guy and I will never forget the time at Christmas that he brought in small gifts for all us because he wanted to let everyone know that Jesus is a Prophet in Islam as well. 

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

13 hours ago, Nature Boy Flair said:

The nation.com.  omg fake news

Not sure how an opinion piece is fake.   It is her opinion after all. 

[Steeleballz 7,550]

10 hours ago, cyberfx1024 said:

So if being Patriotic is racist then call me a racist. I will raise my family up to be Patriotic as can be. 

 

  That's not what the article is saying. True patriotism is great as long as it doesn't replace one's ability to think for themselves. For some, it's all about toeing the party line, which why it is and always has been an outlet that haters can also use to masquerade behind. Similar to religion in that way. 

 

   Interesting article here about a Sikh man who was attacked and threatened for his intent to "blow up America". No doubt the misguided attacker felt he was being patriotic, but also note the description of the onlookers who did and said nothing. This is what the article is talking about. The fake patriots who substitute "love of country" with "hate of others", and also the people who sit and do nothing while it happens.

 

   

 

  

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

13 minutes ago, Steeleballz said:

 

  That's not what the article is saying. True patriotism is great as long as it doesn't replace one's ability to think for themselves. For some, it's all about toeing the party line, which why it is and always has been an outlet that haters can also use to masquerade behind. Similar to religion in that way. 

 

   Interesting article here about a Sikh man who was attacked and threatened for his intent to "blow up America". No doubt the misguided attacker felt he was being patriotic, but also note the description of the onlookers who did and said nothing. This is what the article is talking about. The fake patriots who substitute "love of country" with "hate of others", and also the people who sit and do nothing while it happens. 

I know there are a fair number of people in this country that have no idea what Sikhs are and how they are different than Muslims, they just see the turban and think Muslim. Which by in large that thinking is really sad at the very least. The saddest part is that people stood around and did nothing. 

 

So you automatically assume that the article is saying about the hardcore extremists who use it as a veil. I read the article and saw that they pretty much meant anyone who is patriotic is a racist. 

[Steeleballz 7,550]

2 minutes ago, cyberfx1024 said:

I know there are a fair number of people in this country that have no idea what Sikhs are and how they are different than Muslims, they just see the turban and think Muslim. Which by in large that thinking is really sad at the very least. The saddest part is that people stood around and did nothing. 

 

So you automatically assume that the article is saying about the hardcore extremists who use it as a veil. I read the article and saw that they pretty much meant anyone who is patriotic is a racist. 

 

  I didn't think it meant that. I thought it was saying many people hide behind patriotism while committing unpatriotic or unjust acts, as in the example I gave. 

 

  I will say even our government, coming up with an abominable collection of laws that erodes many of our basic rights and freedoms, and then naming it "the Patriot Act" is an example. I felt like that's what the article was saying - that it can be easy for people to hide behind the name if we don't also look at the actions.