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Mr. Gallagher, as an avid reader of the Niagara Falls Reporter, I have to tell you that I was truly disappointed reading your article in the July 30 issue. The type of blind "anti-bigot" rhetoric that was in it was not something I expected from the class of journalists that I've become accustomed to in the Reporter.
This is why I say this.
First, let's look at the facts. This Omar Shishani -- we'll use his short name so as to not make him sound scary -- who I'm sure is the nicest man in Detroit and was bringing the money for his neighborhood watch fund, tried walking into the United States with 12 million undeclared, maybe counterfeit, dollars. This is not a traffic ticket, it's a felony. A very serious one that at best lowers the value of our currency, and at worst finances a very big, ugly and, very realistically, genocidal situation. A felony that he might have wanted to consider the consequences of before he committed it. If they catch me, maybe they'll search my house. Maybe they'll bring guns and dogs and some not-so-nice guys. And as far as them cuffing the adults and scaring the kids with their intimidation, that's what they are trained to do. Take an area by superior force until control is achieved and peace resumed.
This is how it is for all suspected terrorists and federal criminals, not just Muslims or people of color. It sounds as though you think that if a "Northern European," as you so politically correctly stated it, committed this offense, that the feds would knock, ask for tea and crumpets, and sit down and explain why whitey shouldn't be a bad boy and try to finance wanton death and destruction in God's name, and then later all meet up at the police station for formalities.
Now, let's look at the environment here in the United States. Maybe you don't remember, but thousands of people died in a two hour period less than a year ago in downtown New York City, due to Islamic extremism. This pissed a lot of people off. Some of those people would like to tell the people who caused that horrific event and the future American deaths that will undoubtedly follow both here and abroad how they feel. And this time it looks as though one of them was a Secret Service agent. I happen to be agnostic and would have not chosen the slogan, "Islam is evil, Christ is King," but if I felt that it might get back to Osama, given the circumstances, I'd like to write a love note of my own.
Yes, to write a religious slur is ignorant and does reflect on the credibility of the officers who conducted the search. By the way, so does calling hard-working people, who happen to work for the government, risking their lives to protect your welfare and a way of life unique to the rest of the world, "Federales." But you know us humans, sometimes we write things we shouldn't.
The way that you seem to ignore the fact that these people, however nice their neighborhood, were pretty close to the profile that we're looking for, and quite possibly bringing money into the country for despicable reasons, is appalling. And the kind of people that, if convicted, I for one would like to see, not expelled from the country, but put to death.
Harsh? Sure, but so is watching people choose plunging 90 stories to their deaths rather than be burned alive or watching American servicemen in their 20s and 30s and of all races being brought home to their mothers in body bags, because a huge number of Muslims, not just a troubled few, feel as though God wants them to kill infidels.
And let's face it, considering the ineptitude of the INS lately, an expulsion from the United States equates to a "time-out" for terrorists. It would take all of 20 minutes before the honorable Mr. Shishani was back here and up to his old tricks. Execute a few (convicted terrorists only, just to be clear), and we get less terrorism and they get 70 virgins when they arrive in Nirvana or wherever it is they call heaven. It's a win-win situation.
You know, I wondered, when I read your criticism of your past editor's ignorance of Iranian genealogy, how ready you would be to answer questions on the ancient tribes of Ireland, or the geography of the Roman-created provinces of Italy.
Not everyone has time to understand completely every race of the world. This doesn't mean they're racist or even stupid. Just not that interested. Go figure. Personally, I can't wait to rush home to learn about Iran. Just to find out why they shook the Ayatollah out of his coffin would surely enrich my life beyond words.
Just for kicks, I looked up the word "bigot" and this is what I found: "A person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices."
Sound familiar? Racism is not bound by color lines, income brackets, religious beliefs or even intelligence levels. To suggest that we should adopt a theology that jails a person, be he a federal agent in a suspect's home or a journalist who delivers his opinions into homes through the Internet, because he made a mistake common to people of all races, colors and occupations, is ridiculous.
Absolutely, something should be done -- a reprimand, a demotion, maybe even firing him. But it seems more beneficial to educate this man than to remove him from a job that he may otherwise do very well, or worse, to jail him for being overzealous about his duties, religion or love of country. After all, should Reporter Publisher Bruce Battaglia insist that you stick to those campy little articles about 24th and Niagara streets for expressing your, in my opinion, intolerant and obstinate views of "the man"?
And as far as the news business and federal government lumping all non-Northern Europeans in the same group, that is garbage.
Does that mean Asians, Latinos, Native Americans and American-born African-Americans are being profiled as terrorists in the press and at the airport?
Because I spend a lot of time at LAX and watching the news and haven't seen anything like that. However, I was in the area when an Islamic extremist whipped out a few semiautomatic pistols and killed three innocent people before being killed himself. I hope, for your sake, "the man" considered every last one of his civil liberties before double tapping him in the chest. We wouldn't want his family to press charges against the security guards or El Al for killing him inhumanely or desecrating his corpse.
It's unfortunate that so many people like you think that being liberal or dark-skinned excuses them from being prejudicial.
Case in point, when have you ever hung out with a Saudi Prince, and how do you know where they shop or how many questions they might have had to answer to do so? The truth of the matter is that most of them are educated, diplomatic human beings, who do not want to anger their best client and would never dream of doing something like bombing a building here or anywhere.
Terrorists, federal agents, and even journalists can get so immersed in their own worlds that they sometimes can become detached from or have a "superficial grasp" of the rest of the world. The problem is not always best solved by termination, but by understanding where the problem begins.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | August 13 2002 |