[quote name='berzirk']That's an area where I have major concerns. Law enforcement "guarded his hospital room" but the fact that a mob of scared people can tackle an innocent guy because he "looks guilty" because he's an Arab male, and there are not major repercussions, then what else can a mob do because they're scared? Seriously, to what level of violence and action, should we overlook their actions?[/QUOTE]
I somewhat agree with you. Mob mentality can be scary as shit. I think I can tolerate it to the point where they restrain a "suspect" without harming him. Racism aside, I don't think it's too much trouble to have the guy answer a few questions. And especially at a scene like this, you're likely to do it at some point anyway.
[quote name='berzirk']And having his apartment torn apart, items removed, his roommate being harassed, having your name out as a suspected murderer, as reported by professional journalists? Man, I jam a finger or break a toe, and my week is kinda
ed up. I take bomb shrapnel, get attacked by a mob, and get falsely accused of being a murderer, and it's going to take more than 7 days for me to get over it. What has been exaggerated? How do you know?[/QUOTE]
No, I don't think this is right. But again, it's all been exaggerated so much. There's at least 10 conflicting stories. Certain sites have said that he was detained and his apartment ransacked. While others claim that he was merely questioned at the hospital and that he gave the authorities permission to search his apartment.
I don't think he should have been harassed by the government, but treated as any other suspect: innocent until proven guilty, but still under a watchful eye.
I don't think this point is worth arguing much more, as I think we can both agree that neither of us has the whole story yet.
[quote name='berzirk']It's all good. The bolded line is the problem. We're fed these images and news, because it's newsworthy. My Muslim buddy just got a raise at work and donated a ton of time and money to a community outreach organization. He didn't get "outed" as a Muslim philanthropist on Fox News. It's not a story that fits an agenda.
I've been detained and interrogated for having the audacity to travel while Muslim. That shit ain't fun. I've had the FBI show up to work to "interview" me. That shit ain't fun either. Both times I was completely and entirely innocent of any crime (heh, actually on the flying while Muslim thing, I had 3 bootleg DVDs hidden in a pajama pant in my suitcase, but beyond that...). I can assure you that both of those events
ed up my week. That's the experience of A LOT of Muslims in the United States, every day, but I'd still rather live here over any other country in the world.[/QUOTE]
I realize this situation sucks, but it happens to a LOT of people. I mean, if my sister were to be kidnapped today, the 30 year old bachelor next door who never leaves his house would be a prime suspect. When a store gets robbed, the night janitor with the keys is the first one to be interrogated. They base these assumptions based on past events.
But I think here is where the issue is: there haven't been that many Muslim terrorists, but the media isn't going to let you figure that out. If 1 out of every 3 Muslims was a terrorist, they'd have damn good reason to stop you at the gate of an airport. We all know that's not the case, but as far as news watchers are concerned it is. Maybe our issue isn't that people are racist, it's just that they're plain stupid. They'll listen to anything that the news tells them without question.