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Re:TSA to download your iTunes? by dhimes on Monday April 19, 2010 @07:43PM (#1278176)
I've seen CBP agents be blatantly racist, insulting, and grossly unprofessional

As with a sibling poster, I am also a US citizen. Hearing about this infuriates me, especially, perhaps, on the anniversary of the Christian White Boy's bombing of the OK City Murrah building. That was terrorism, plain and simple.

There's just no excuse for that behavior. I'm not sure what I can do about it personally, but if you have an idea I'd like to hear it.

Re:TSA to download your iTunes? by cpr on Tuesday April 20, 2010 @03:56AM (#1278915)
Calling him Christian as an epithet doesn't add to your case.

You wouldn't do it if he were Muslim or Jewish.

How about just "criminally insane"?

Re:TSA to download your iTunes? by dhimes on Tuesday April 20, 2010 @07:38AM (#1279161)
It's exactly my point. When these "authorities" profile for terrorists, they are looking for middle eastern Muslims. The idea that they justify to themselves mistreating these people because of their ethnicity bothers me a lot. I point out that there are terrorist Christians, too.
Re:TSA to download your iTunes? by cpr on Tuesday April 20, 2010 @12:12PM (#1279800)
Sure, 1 we know of at this kind of scale, perhaps there's another I'm forgetting.

Compared to how many hundreds of thousands (millions?) of Muslim terrorists who are out there right now?

I'm not trying to pick on Muslims (we know that about 90% of Muslims are not radicalized Wahhabis); just pointing out the reality of the situation.

Re:TSA to download your iTunes? by dhimes on Wednesday April 21, 2010 @08:00AM (#1281925)
reality of the situation

I submit that's your perception. I'm not going to go deeply into this (because it's not the forum for it) but I'll simply say that if we don't enforce rigorous mental discipline on ourselves then what we perceive as a terrorist act vs "civil" conflict can be clouded by how we feel about its outcome rather than whom (and how) it targets. By that I mean, for example, someone who kills abortion doctors may consider his act not one of terrorism, the killing of innocent civilians, but one of justice because he is killing a killer.

how many hundreds of thousands (millions?) of Muslim terrorists who are out there right now

Doubtful. The entire Al Qaeda organization was estimated to be 5000 strong just after 9/11. Now, I know that Bush's policies brought a lot more into the fold but I would be surprised if there were hundreds of thousands of actual terrorists. That would be like me saying that all right to lifers were on a par with the killers among them. There are even some who may think the killing is partially justified (that is, understandable) but who wouldn't actually go so far as to carry it out. (You can swap PETA for right-to-lifers if you like.)