February 10, 2006
The Multiracial Activist
From the Editor:
An interesting observation from the Arab American Institute (a co-partner of The Multiracial Activist in several advocacy coalitions):
Feeling Safe in Scarborough Country? There are some who argue that 24-hour cable stations have lowered the quality of news programming—clogging the airwaves with self-proclaimed "experts" and misinformation. They must be watching MSNBC's Scarborough Country. Last night, host Joe Scarborough and radio talk show host Michael Smerconish offered the American people their informed opinions on racial profiling. "As far as national security goes, you [Smerconish] also talk about the racial profiling, or lack thereof, when it comes to Arabs or Arab Americans," said Scarborough. According to Smerconish, the government's refusal to employ racial profiling at airports is evidence of a "limp-wristedness at home" that "has spilled over into the war on terror." "When it comes to secondary screening with those—those critically few resources," he added, "don‘t waste them on us. Don‘t waste them until guys like Scarborough and Smerconish are out there flying airplanes into the Twin Towers, which isn‘t going to happen." Yeah, don't waste precious resources on guys with names like Scarborough, Smerconish, or…McVeigh. Waste them on Arab Americans, you know, people with names like Generals John Abizaid (head of US Central Command in Iraq) or George Joulwan (former NATO Supreme Allied Commander). And don't forget to share your new policy with the airport screeners who found a loaded gun in a child’s teddy bear and a nine-inch knife in the prosthetic leg of a 67-year-old man.
Touche and stuff.