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The Lost Writings of Rotten Turnipseed: Reaction to the news them Arab fellars never ran no toll booth. By: Richard Davidson on 9/19/2002; 7:54 PM Now, that jest ain't right. The irresponsiblity a the nation's press is abhorrent in this here case. First of all, they reported that the fellars said, "If you think they cried on 911, wait'll they see 9/13." Them newsfolks said that! In my mind, them boys was tried, convicted, hung, and maybe even drawn and quartered. There was a bizarre moment wher CNN had a guy on from the local law enforcement sayin' "it's premature to say this was some kind of hoax," while that ther little crawl screen at the bottom was sayin' "Florida Terrorist Threat Hoax..." Ain't that a stitch? The fellar's right there on the TV sayin' it might not be a hoax, and that there crawl is sayin' it is? I ain't never seen nothin' like it, in all my born days. And them folks wonder why so many people seem confused these days. So a lotta folks is sayin', "well them there fellars ran a tollbooth, taunted some bomb sniffin' dogs with beef jerky, and were jabberin' in one a them Arab languages about killin' everybody in America with a name startin' with A-L." And it's bein' reported by every news outlet in the whole durn country! Now, I'd be one ta tell ya, some a them ther facts was actually exaggerations. And it turns out, them fellars didn't have no beef jerky 'tall! So then a fellar comes on and says one a them fellars said, "that woman was starin' at us, so we decided ta have some fun, and talk about murderin' infidels." Turns out, that never happened, either, but they sure reported it like it did. So then the fellars go on TV, and they say, "we were talking about bringin' a car down from Kansas, not no damn terrorist attacks," and ta my utter disbelief, do you know what people was sayin' next????? They was sayin', "say, them fellars sure do change ther story alot!" Far as I know, them fellars only told the one story. Seems like everybody else kinda made up ther own stories, jest like they been doin' lately. So then everybody's all talkin' about, "well why'd them fellars have the wrong license plates on one a them ther cars, anyhow?" But that didn't happen neither. Everybody had the right license plates, and some State fellar messed up, but didn't hesitate ta report it to the media. So now we got folks askin', "well why'd them ther fellars run a tollbooth, if they were so allfired innocent?" Which looks like a stupid question when ya consider nobody ran no tollbooth. Now, half of America had these boys tried, convicted, and hung on the first day, and then folks try ta say "this Agnes or Ingrid, or whatever, was doin' her civic duty." But down here on the farm, we know that woman was a fool, who let her paranoia of people who ain't like 'er make 'er see somethin' that wasn't there. She should be the first ta admit it. She was sayin', "I only heard snippets a the conversation, and they was sayin', 'd'ya think we can bring it down,' er 'we'll need more ta bring it down,' er somethin' about bringin' somethin' down, and since they looked jest like them other terrorist fellars, I naturally assumed they was talkin' about bringin' down another buildin' er somethin' with explosives, even though them other terrorists didn't use no explosives, they used planes." So basically, these here fellars were drivin' ta Florida, stopped fer a bite, set back out ta drivin', and had 75 patrol cars and 7 helicopters pull 'em over ta bust ther suitcases open with water cannons, not knowin' that ther pictures were bein' sent all over America with the caption "Terrorist Hoaxster" written below. And now, no matter how many times anybody tells what really happened, these here boys'll wear that label ferever. Half of America will always think they're "The Enemy," no matter what. It's like my dear, departed granpappy used ta say: "Ain't no need ta ever be scared a nuthin'. If a situation arises, one must deal with it. 'till it does, a wise person'll do what he can ta be prepared. But if ya let yer imagination run away with ya, you'll see enemies where there ain't none. I seen it happen with Japanese Americans in WWII, and I seen it happen in the '50's, and I seen it happen right here in this town when they darn near strung up a kid, jest 'cause Old Man McMurphy misplaced his wallet, and his daughter'd run off again." Nothin' scarier than a mob a angry townspeople with torches. 'Specially if they's packin'.
Re: The Lost Writings of Rotten Turnipseed: Reaction to the news them Arab fellars never ran no toll booth. By: Brian Carnell on 9/19/2002; 8:22 PM At 09:10 PM 9/19/2002 -0400, Richard Davidson wrote: >She should be the first ta admit it. She was sayin', "I only heard >snippets a the conversation, and they was sayin', 'd'ya think we can bring >it down,' er 'we'll need more ta bring it down,' er somethin' about >bringin' somethin' down, and since they looked jest like them other >terrorist fellars, I naturally assumed they was talkin' about bringin' >down another buildin' er somethin' with explosives, even though them other >terrorists didn't use no explosives, they used planes." Yah, it's not like nobody done ever tried to bring the World Trade Cent'r down with none of them thar explosives before.
RE: The Lost Writings of Rotten Turnipseed: Reaction to the news them Arab fellars never ran no toll booth. By: Richard Davidson on 9/19/2002; 9:04 PM True enough, but it really is beside the point. I think the part about them looking like the other terrorists was the key reason any of this happened. This entire episode is a National Disgrace.
RE: The Lost Writings of Rotten Turnipseed: Reaction to the news them Arab fellars never ran no toll booth. By: Brian Carnell on 9/22/2002; 5:22 PM At 10:20 PM 9/19/2002 -0400, Richard Davidson wrote: >True enough, but it really is beside the point. I think the part about >them looking like the other terrorists was the key reason any of this >happened. This entire episode is a National Disgrace. The media's handling of it was a disgrace, but otherwise I don't think it was all that bad. Besides, people are being told two contradictory things. On the one hand, if you report suspicious Arabs and they turn out to be completely innocent, you're and idiot racist. On the other hand, when the FBI failed to investigated suspicious Arabs, they were guilty of dereliction of duty. The media, politicians, etc. can't have it both ways. Cynthia McKinney is the moronic master of this where she gave a speech which blasted the FBI for not rounding up Arabs at flight schools and interrogating them pre-9/11 but lambasted the TIPS programs as creating hysteria and paranoia.
RE: The Lost Writings of Rotten Turnipseed: Reaction to the news them Arab fellars never ran no toll booth. By: Bill Greenberg on 9/22/2002; 7:52 PM Mr. Carnell: Your mention of Cynthia McKinney in this instance is an example of the sort of "chicken vs. the egg" logic that has infested the debate on security in this country. I have yet to hear an account of this incident in which Ms. McKinney was even remotely involved -- and last I heard, she'd lost her bid for re-election to Congress, anyway. The incident didn't even occur in her state -- so why bring her up? "The media's handling of it was a disgrace, but otherwise I don't think it was all that bad." (BC) Huh? Frankly, if I were a terrorist I'd be delighted to see that one can tie up 75 patrol cars and seven helicopters with such ease, all over what turned out to be absolutely nothing. What does that tell you? Maybe I'm reading you wrong, Mr. Carnell -- and please feel free to correct me if that's the case. But it sure seems to me like you're trying to turn a law-enforcement issue into something of a more partisan, political nature. And I don't think that helps.
RE: The Lost Writings of Rotten Turnipseed: Reaction to the news them Arab fellars never ran no toll booth. By: Brian Carnell on 9/22/2002; 8:39 PM At 09:08 PM 9/22/2002 -0400, Bill Greeberg wrote: >Mr. Carnell: > >Your mention of Cynthia McKinney in this instance is an example of the >sort of "chicken vs. the egg" logic that has infested the debate on >security in this country. I have yet to hear an account of this incident >in which Ms. McKinney was even remotely involved -- and last I heard, >she'd lost her bid for re-election to Congress, anyway. > >The incident didn't even occur in her state -- so why bring her up? Please go back and actually *read* what I wrote. I made it quite clear why I mentioned McKinney, and don't wish to simply repeat my first post. >Frankly, if I were a terrorist I'd be delighted to see that one can tie up >75 patrol cars and seven helicopters with such ease, all over what turned >out to be absolutely nothing. What does that tell you? That you'd make a lousy terrorist. Stopping traffic for a few hours isn't all that terrifying. There's a reason Hamas doesn't spend all of its time trying to merely prolong the daily commute of Israelis. The police and the woman involved here acted completely appropriately. The media acted poorly in reporting rumors and misinformation as fact (in fact, the three men have very strong slander cases against several Florida TV stations who went way over the line).
RE: The Lost Writings of Rotten Turnipseed: Reaction to the news them Arab fellars never ran no toll booth. By: ScottN on 9/23/2002; 10:57 AM Brian, I think Mr. Greenberg's point was that if you could tie up 75 patrol cars and 7 choppers on a hoax, that's 75 patrol cars and 7 choppers that you don't have to worry about when you do your terrorist thing.
RE: The Lost Writings of Rotten Turnipseed: Reaction to the news them Arab fellars never ran no toll booth. By: Richard Davidson on 9/23/2002; 9:38 PM Besides, people are being told two contradictory things. On the one hand, if you report suspicious Arabs and they turn out to be completely innocent, you're and idiot racist. On the other hand, when the FBI failed to investigated suspicious Arabs, they were guilty of dereliction of duty. Aha! That may well be true, but to apply that statement to this situation is misleading. Here's why: The first part of it involves "reporting suspicious Arabs." In this case, a woman saw three young men who "looked Middle Eastern," and they were suspicious for what reason again?" Nobody has asked this question. What was originally suspicious about them that made her think she should listen to their conversation? The absolute only factor in this crucial beginning to their status as "suspicious Arabs" is that they are, or appear to be Arabs. Next, she overhears them say something about "bringing it down." "Will it be enough to bring it down." This is absolutely the only statement she made about the questionable behavior. That they were Arabs who spoke of "bringing something down." Her own son told her she was overreacting. There was nothing to report. Absolutely nothing. These men were still ONLY "suspicious Arabs," because they were, or appeared to be Arabs. So if we apply this first part to the problem posed by Brian, this would be an example of time when there was no need to "report suspicious Arabs," simply because there was nothing suspicious about them. Peggy Noonan, Ann Coulter, and countless others have written whole columns attacking these men, based on things the men never said or did. They didn't: -Laugh about 911 -Make a statement that 9/13 would be worse -Run a toll booth -Tease dogs with beef jerky So there's nothing contradictory about this at all, and it is ludicrous to pretend that it could be in any way, shape, or form. This is a very simple situation, that no amount of demagoguery by the National Press, or people on TV can complicate: Three guys were the victims of a person's overactive imagination, mixed with what appears to be, and most likely is, the act of stereotyping. In an age of Timothy McVeigh types, and Al Queada's intense following among lighter skinned Muslims everywhere, the notion of "suspicious Arabs" is frighteningly simplistic, naive, and requires a good amount of underestimating the very terrorist network that pulled off the worst terrorist act on American soil, EVER. I can solve this whole problem. It's really quite simple, and contained right within the quote I took from Brian. On the one hand, if you report suspicious Arabs and they turn out to be completely innocent, you're an idiot racist. This is absolutely true. IF you do the former, you WILL be the latter. No doubt about it. Don't do it, because it makes all people with brown skin worry that you will show up at their house with burning torches. Don't do it because if the cops are always chasing non-existent terrorists, the real terrorists have won. Don't do it because it's stupid, and racist, and wrong. On the other hand, if you're the FBI, please DO investigate suspicious Arabs. And while you're at it, please investiage all the suspicious Italians, Germans, Dutch, Chinese, Sudanese, Japanese, Burmese, Polish, Russians, and all other people of all descent, since a terrorist could be anybody. That way, you're not reinforcing the centuries old racial divisions that have destroyed civilizations and kept mankind chained to his tradition of fear and warfare that has stopped him from acheiving his potential as one race, made up of billions upon billions of individuals. This notion of "how do I know a suspicious Arab from a good Arab" is preposterous. How do I tell a good CEO from a bad CEO? That's what I want to know. Why shouldn't all Americans working for large corporations go directly into the bigwig's offices, open the window, and demand they plunge to their death below, at swordpoint? How are the police going to charge a mob with murder? I can just see the frustrated detectives: "so nobody saw ANYTHING?" I mean, it's only fair! Ken Lay ripped off thousands of employees and shareholders, spent a million dollars a day on fast food and prostitutes, simultaneously faking power shortages that left Californians in hospitals wondering if their life support was going to shut down, and HE WAS A CEO, so I really want to know, should I report any CEO's if I hear them ask "do you think that'll be enough to bring it down?" I need to know this stuff, because life is complicated, and I never learned to stop thinking like a child, so if the grownups in Washington don't give me some kind of guidebook, I just don't know if I should help that handicapped guy on the bus, or riddle him with bullets, because that cane MIGHT BE A SEMI AUTOMATIC WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION!!!! AUGHHHHHH!!!!! AAAAAUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
RE: The Lost Writings of Rotten Turnipseed: Reaction to the news them Arab fellars never ran no toll booth. By: Bill Greenberg on 9/27/2002; 9:15 AM Now Mr. Carnell: My note to you was much more polite than your reply to me -- which I have to tell you disappointed me greatly. In the future, you may rest assured that I would NEVER criticize someone's work without reading it first. ScottN is, of course, entirely correct when he writes, "I think Mr. Greenberg's point was that if you could tie up 75 patrol cars and 7 choppers on a hoax, that's 75 patrol cars and 7 choppers that you don't have to worry about when you do your terrorist thing." Richard Davidson explains the problem most succinctly, above. Did you know that roughly 60 of the "dark skinned" folks rounded up in the aftermath of 9/11 -- the ones who spoke an "Arabic sounding" language -- turned out to be Israelis? How embarrassing. Fear does not tend to bring out the best in us, I'm afraid. And it's one thing to commit injustice against fellow human beings in its name (those three medical students have been fired from their residencies, despite having done NOTHING wrong) -- but to base one's "security" on criteria such as you seem to advocate is simply stupid. As Mr. Davidson points out, you CANNOT tell a "good" Arab from a "bad" one. Shall we detain Casey Kasem? Or will you allow me to "vouch" for him? John Walker Lindh and the Englishman who tried to board a plane with a shoe bomb were both quite caucasian. Jose Padilla -- who, by all accounts, sympathizes with al-Qaeda -- is Latino. There are radical Islamists who are of African and Asian descent. How can we tell ANY of them apart? There's an old Yiddish saying that I would recommend you give some thought to, Mr. Carnell, which translates thus: "It's more than a crime -- it's a mistake." That's my feeling toward the kind of generalizations that were made -- and are continuing to be made, even in the face of all evidence to the contrary -- in this matter. We'll sacrifice justice and civility, and receive not a single degree of additional safety in return. Finally, I would continue to assert that Cynthia McKinney had nothing to do with this incident. She was, as I noted above, busy losing her primary bid for re-election. Thus, her opinion is no more relevant than yours or mine.
RE: The Lost Writings of Rotten Turnipseed: Reaction to the news them Arab fellars never ran no toll booth. By: Richard Davidson on 10/5/2002; 1:14 PM Speaking of "Reporting Suspicious Arabs," there was this thread on Free Republic the other day: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/763206/posts It shows the reality of which I speak perfectly! It regards the Maryland Sniper, and the thread begins with everybody just "knowing" that it was an Arab or Mideastern type. When they finally get around to the photo of Robert Gene Baker III, who is certainly no Arab, they simply begin to quote FOX as saying he's not the guy, and then quickly abandon the thread. It's a perfect example of the "Suspicious Arab" mentality people have these days. I recommend reading the entire thread. I thought America, in the year 2002, was better than this.
RE: The Lost Writings of Rotten Turnipseed: Reaction to the news them Arab fellars never ran no toll booth. By: Rachelle King on 10/5/2002; 4:20 PM Can't we all just get along...tee-hee. Well, I for one am actually proud to be American today. I have just come back from a anti-war protest in downtown Santa Barbara. This was one of the most progressive protests I have ever participated in. People from all age groups, and all ethnic backgrounds, 500 bodies strong, marching to the chant of "No Blood For Oil!" The energy was completely euphoric. My eyes actually began to tear-up because I was so emboldened by the sight of these patriotic people excercising their rights. Your country is truely what YOU make it. Okay that's my little blib of nostalgia: You people can get back to your hostility! Just kidding... =)
RE: The Lost Writings of Rotten Turnipseed: Reaction to the news them Arab fellars never ran no toll booth. By: ScottN on 10/9/2002; 12:03 PM Good for you Rachelle! I disagree with your view, but I'm glad you got a chance to express it!
RE: The Lost Writings of Rotten Turnipseed: Reaction to the news them Arab fellars never ran no toll booth. By: Rachelle King on 10/9/2002; 6:23 PM And I am glad you got to express your disagreement, because that's the greatest part of living in this country!
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