Quote:
Originally posted by DeltAlum
Rudey, et al,
As for the "non-violent" activities of the 60's and 70's, please don't forget about ROTC buildings being burned to the ground, bombings, etc. I remeber Athens, Ohio with a National Guardsman with rifles and fixed bayonets standing at every second parking meter. I was there.
They weren't nearly as bad, obviously, as the World Trade Center, but people did die or were injured. There were excesses on both sides.
And finally, remember Kent State where several students who were not involved in the demonstration -- and in fact not really in the vicinity -- were killed. I was working as a TV director an hour away from Kent and had friends there.
Our defense is very important, but not at the infringement of our civil rights.
Really, my main concern is this: Organizations like the FBI, IRS, and CIA -- whom I admire most of the time -- can get carried away. Again, it's the old "give them an inch..." syndrome.
I truly hope that I'm over-reacting to this situation -- but they say that history repeats itself and it certainly sounds to me as if that is a possibility in this case.
(I don't know if you can view the threads without subscribing -- but the NY Times online subscription is free)
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I won't respond to the first part because the war in Iraq and its similarities to Vietnam do not interest me.
Yes, you can always be afraid of the give them an inch scenario. But on the other hand if you give a terrorist an inch they will want more and pretty soon you'll have suicide murderers guiding planes into buildings.
-Rudey
--What's your solution?