A Loose Definition of "Threat."

By Brian Webber

May 6th, 2004. I'm sitting in a room at the Tivoli Student Union near the Denver Auraria Campus. I'm there with almost 20 like minded "America haters", also known as liberals and Dennis Kucinich/Mike Miles supporters and delegates. Sitting not too far from me (about four chairs to my right) is an incredibly attractive Arabic women. I try not to glance at her too often as I'm there to learn what it is I'll be doing as a Democratic delegate to the County, State, and Gods-willing National Conventions. Soon, the topic drifts, as topics do, to what's gone wrong, personally, professionally, nationally, since a man who was drunk until he was 40 was (maybe) elected to the Presidency of the United States.

The young Arab women I'd been sneaking looks at gets up to tell her story. This is her story, told with as much detail as I could remember (Note to self: Save up to buy a digital voice recorder so I stop missing this stuff).

Her name is Khadija Qadri, a fairly recent immigrant to the United States, but not so recent that she isn't a fully registered Democrat, and a strong supporter of the liberal Congresman from Ohio that all of us in that room had their faith restored by. She's young, I didn't get her exact age. Wether she never said it, or no one ever asked, I don't know. Not too long ago, Khadjia, a Denver resident like myself, has a meeting, a sort of clubhouse gathering of liberal Arab-Americans, most of whom are Kucinich supporters. A white women asks her, quite politely, why she's having so many people over. Khadjia tells the truth. Arab men and women there to talk about Dennis J. Kucinich, a Presidential Candidate whose platform includes a cabinet level Department of Peace, and more support of the United Nations. Or as most Conservatives I know would so nicely put it, "faggy commie bullshit." The woman who was not named, probably out of politeness, seemed interested, then went on her merry way.

Cut to, a few days later. A man claiming to be from the Secret Service calls her at work, and DEMANDS that she come down to their office. She flat out refuses. If it's important enough to bother her, and her co-workers (more on that later), they can come see her. They do. At her apartment. She invites the two fairly large men the SS sent in, but politely asks that they remove their shoes before entry. Not surprisngly, the Servicemen ignore this, and come in, telling Ms. Qadri that the reason they are there, the reason she's being investigated, is that they (the Secret Service) received an anonymous tip, that Khadjia was hosting a group of Arab terrorists who were planning the assassination of President Bush. Apparently, in addition to investigating threats against Dubya's life, they also send agents to harras people who represent an electoral threat. I wonder how many Arab Kerry voters have faed similar situations.

She later found out that the Secret Service had spent the day talking to her co-workers, badgering them to tell them everything they knew about her, fishing I would guess. Khadjia told the crowd there that day, and no one disagreed, that she was smart not to go down to their office, and she should also contact the ACLU. She's already in touch with the Arab-American Council in Washington D.C.

So, to summarize, this kind young woman was a target for investigation becuase she was 1, Arab, 2, a Democrat, and 3, a Kucitizen, like me. I know, I know. Paranoia you'll all call it. I usually am called paranoid whenever I'm right. If this had been a simple misunderstanding, as I'm sure a few of you VoU readers will suggest, then why were her co-workers told not to tell her they'd ben asked questions (obviously they didn't follow that 'advice' which seems like something the secret police of a backwater banana republic would give)? Why were two beefy agents sent to her home, when she lives alone and is only about 5' 6" and almost too thin? And why would they be so damned rude? Being an avid watcher of crime specials on Discovery Channel, I've seen child molesters who get more common courtesy.

What other conclusion can one reach here, then racial and political profiling? Or maybe the definition of "a clear and present threat to the President" has been loosened to include those who could be a threat to Bush poltically. I.E. those of us who plan to vote his smirking ass out of the office that to this day, I'm not convinced he legitamtely won in the first place.

You tell me.

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