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Backlash But They're Not the EnemyBy Rick Horowitz
"I'm a patriot!... I'm a damn American all the way!" Frank S. Roque Dear Mr. Certain Kind of Patriot: You know who you are. You're mad as hell about the terrorist attacks -- just like the rest of us, just like Mr. Frank S. Roque. You'd like nothing better than to tear the limbs off Osama bin Laden with your own two hands. I certainly understand; I'm feeling the same way myself. In the meantime, though, you've decided to take out your anger closer to home by harassing, assaulting, maybe even killing other people, innocent people who have nothing whatever to do with Osama bin Laden or his deadly associates. Or perhaps you haven't done the deed quite yet, but you're merely considering it. Reconsider. Think again, before you and your friends seek vengeance on a Sikh or maul a Muslim. You might end up where Frank Roque has ended up -- behind bars. And you'll deserve it. Maybe you heard: Mr. Roque was arrested last weekend in Arizona and charged with a regular trifecta of intolerance. The authorities say he shot and killed the Sikh owner of a gas station, then shot at the Lebanese clerk at another gas station, then fired into the home of an Afghani family. He apparently offered up those colorful sentiments quoted above by way of explanation. Pretty much the same thing you're feeling, right? You're not alone. The Arizona shooting spree is hardly the only case of misdirected rage here on the home front. The FBI is investigating at least two other shooting deaths -- an Egyptian Christian grocer in California, a Pakistani Muslim grocer in Texas -- not to mention several dozen other attacks on individuals and organizations all across this great galvanized land of ours. And what did these people do to become such targets? You know the answer as well as I do: They didn't do anything. They didn't do anything except resemble, in face or dress or religious affiliation, the murderous thugs you'd really like to get your hands on. Close enough? Is that what you're thinking? Close enough? Then it's time to stretch your imagination. Time to take a stroll down Should We Street. Why, here comes Timothy McVeigh! You remember Timothy McVeigh, don't you? He parked a truck bomb outside a federal office building, set the fuse and walked away. The carnage was massive -- not World Trade Center massive, but massive nonetheless. Innocent men and women, innocent children, blown to smithereens. Got the picture? Now, what if you happen to sport the same bristly crew cut that Timothy McVeigh used to have? Should we punch you in the mouth for it? Should we pour blood on your steps? You deserve it, don't you, walking around with the very same haircut as that barbaric McVeigh? And speaking of barbaric, here comes Jeffrey Dahmer. Jeffrey Dahmer not only murdered people; he ate them! Jeffrey Dahmer had that pale white skin -- should we beat you with a nail-studded club if you do, too? And look -- it's the killers of Columbine High! Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, all decked out in those bizarre outfits of theirs. What if you tend toward the trenchcoat look yourself -- should we firebomb your house? Drive a car through your front window? I didn't think so. You certainly don't want to be lumped in with those kinds of people, do you? So why are you willing to do so much lumping yourself? We're still apologizing, you know, for rounding up perfectly loyal Japanese Americans during World War II, rounding them up and sending them to internment camps. Do you really want to spend another century having to apologize for another outbreak of "patriotism"? Wearing a turban isn't anti-American. Having a beard isn't anti-American. Having dark skin isn't anti-American. Run that up your flagpole. Posted 9/20/01. Come
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Rick Horowitz
