Hijacking History: Profiling Arabs has nothing to do with interning Japanese-Americans

Opinion Journal.com ^ | 12/07/01 | Dorothy Rabinowitz

[veronica]

The law does some foolish things, it doesn't do crazy things, Floyd Abrams informed a "60 Minutes" audience Sunday. The First Amendment expert and champion of individual rights had in mind, specifically, the arguments of civil libertarians and others now objecting to airport security measures or other special scrutiny focusing on Arab male passengers. "It would be crazy," Mr. Abrams observed, "not to consider what people look like when we're looking for people who may be involved with hijackings."

[TroutStalker]

Dorothy Rabinowitz bump.

[DonQ]

Nowadays it's hard to find anyone who can defend the internment of Japanese-Americans, but the situation has changed so much that most people cannot quite grasp the situation as it was right after Pearl Harbor. Most Japanese adults, at least those who were middle-aged, were not born here but immigrants - except under the US immigration policy then in effect they weren't allowed to become US citizens. Their kids born here were US citizens, but a number of these kids deliberately renounced their US citizenship - some of this happened before Pearl Harbor, but a lot of this happened shortly after when the kids thought they might be separated from their parents because of the difference in citizenship. There were, in the Japanese community, some pro-Empire ethnic-pride organizations, that roughly resemble some of the pro-Arafat organizations operating among Arab/Moslem- Americans right now. The FBI and military had virtually no intelligence insight into the Japanese community and had to assume the worst and worry about an enormous, or at least an effective, fifth column, radioing signals to the Japanese fleet.

Yes, the internment was ugly and unfair. But the British had previously done the same to the white South Africans and nobody was bleating for them.

[Magician]

Profiling is an absolutely necessary part of law enforcement and of all security measures. When a bank is robbed by a Chinaman, we don't go looking for a Mexican. When all of the terrorism is being committed by Muslim Arabs, what's the point of searching the bags of a white haired old lady from Iowa? Or a Catholic priest from Boston?

[Steve_Seattle]

"paying in cash . . . one-way tickets"

These warning flags were probably obsolete the day they were implemented. No terrorist with a brain would pay in cash or buy a one-way ticket anymore.

[Alouette]

No terrorist with a brain would pay in cash or buy a one-way ticket anymore.

What about the terrorists without a brain?

[afraidfortherepublic]

Rabinowitz bump.

[aculeus]

Was he saying, reporter Steve Kroft asked, that at the security screening desks, a 70-year-old white woman from Vero Beach, Fla., would receive the same level of scrutiny as a Muslim young man from Jersey City?

He would hope so, Mr. Mineta replied.

This is incredible. How did this fool make the Bush team?

[mercy]

Excellent points. I never understood the Japanese internments untill recently. After 9/11 my mind was opened. Violently. PCness is so deeply entrenched in all our minds that when we find it in ourselves it is always a shock. I believe even we cardholding members of the VRWC have much more of this poison within us than we know.

How Can We Trust A President ...

[Aquatic]

Most Japanese adults, at least those who were middle-aged, were not born here but immigrants - except under the US immigration policy then in effect they weren't allowed to become US citizens. Their kids born here were US citizens, but a number of these kids deliberately renounced their US citizenship - some of this happened before Pearl Harbor, but a lot of this happened shortly after when the kids thought they might be separated from their parents because of the difference in citizenship.

While I accept the historical accounts relating to unpatriotic acts by some Japanese living in America, it should also be made crystal clear that US in 40s (pre-civil rights) was a deeply racist society where racism was the norm in laws and culture. No very surprising that some Chinese (supposedly our ally against Japanese empire) living in US during WWII were forced to wear signs to the effect "I'm Chinese, not Japanese" for fear of racist attacks.

All in all, it's important to know all facets of history on this issue.