# Attn. Morons: They. Didn't. Do. It. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 15, 2002, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-morons-they-didnt-do-it/128565 "2002-09-15T18:51:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2002, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-morons-they-didnt-do-it/128565/21 "2002-09-15T21:34:07Z")
If someone thinks they heard anyone of any race plotting any crime, they have a duty to report it. But did they need to close the entire state-wide highway, make it a friggin’ no-fly zone, and fire the suspects from their jobs even **after** it was shown that the worst they could have possibly done was make poor jokes? ---
**Author:** ![grendel72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/91b2a8/32.png) [@grendel72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grendel72)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2002, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-morons-they-didnt-do-it/128565/22 "2002-09-15T21:39:52Z")
The problem is, if she had heard the exact same comments coming from non middle-eastern men I guarantee she wouldn’t have interpreted it as “plotting a crime.” ---
**Author:** ![japatlgt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df705f/32.png) [@japatlgt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/japatlgt)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2002, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-morons-they-didnt-do-it/128565/23 "2002-09-15T21:51:43Z")
I’m very suspicious of this incident. Being a Georgia native (Southerner), which is of course not a qualification but an experience that I’m intimately familiar with, I think it would be only a matter of time before false accusations from dumbass waitresses in “small” towns, etc., would make the news. There is a preponderence of ignorant and bigoted people working in these “roadside taverns” along the way in the South and probably everywhere else. The kind of people that think they know all about you at first gander. I don’t mean to imply that everyone that waits tables is an idiot and a gossip but stranger things have occured. I’m afraid I’m very suspicious of this “patriot” in this matter. Also, I hope my instincts are correct. Otherwise, these “terrorists” may have delivered a device to a yet as unknown location. ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2002, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-morons-they-didnt-do-it/128565/24 "2002-09-15T22:32:41Z")
Thank you **Revtim** for that link, some of those stories showed up on Foxnews while it was happening. I think the lady misheard something the kids said, and because they were middle-eastern and it was near 9-11, it got blown out of proportion. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2002, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-morons-they-didnt-do-it/128565/25 "2002-09-15T22:37:57Z")
There seem to be some unwarranted assumptions here. The first is that nothing would have been done if good ole white boys had been joking in the same manner. You don’t know that. People still remember Oklahoma City. The second is that even though people have come out vociferously against profiling the three Middle-Eastern students, no one seems at all uneasy about stereotyping the woman in question as an ignorant, racist, bigoted cracker. For all you know she could be a card-carrying ACLU MENSA member. The third unwarranted assumption is that the whole hoopla, shutting down the highway, interrogating suspects, and so on was unnecessary. Just because _this_ was a false alarm doesn’t mean that there is no danger. Possible (but not likely) scenario: Suppose I were a terrorist outfit and suppose I knew that members of my ethnic group stuck out like a sore thumb. Wouldn’t it be a useful technique to have members of this group who are not otherwise affiliated with my organization make dumb jokes like this until people are tired of crying wolf? The OP’s statement that they Just. Didn’t. Do. It. has not been proven. Therefore, the moral indignation and outrage should be curbed until all the facts are in. ---
**Author:** ![Witch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/258eb7/32.png) [@Witch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Witch)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2002, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-morons-they-didnt-do-it/128565/26 "2002-09-15T22:45:34Z")
First off, she wasn’t a waitress, she was a patron. Ok. Let me get this straight. The woman in Goergia is "racist’? Give me a fucking break. You’d be singing a different tune if it was YOUR city or town about to be blown off the map. As far as racism, again, give me a fucking break. All the perpetrators so far have been of Arab/Muslim descent. That’s just the way it is. If it were a bunch of guys named O’Malley or Sullivan etc. me and mine would be looked at more closely. And rightly so. It’s not a witch hunt. It’s facing reality. ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2002, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-morons-they-didnt-do-it/128565/27 "2002-09-15T22:51:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by japatlgt \* > \*\*…There is a preponderence of ignorant and bigoted people working in these “roadside taverns” along the way in the South and probably everywhere else. The kind of people that think they know all about you at first gander. I don’t mean to imply that everyone that waits tables is an idiot and a gossip but stranger things have occured… \*\* So making a somewhat blanket assumption about Southern blue-collar types is fine, but making somewhat blanket assumptions about middle-eastern men is racism? You need to get your head out of your ass. ---
**Author:** ![grendel72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/91b2a8/32.png) [@grendel72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grendel72)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2002, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-morons-they-didnt-do-it/128565/28 "2002-09-15T23:16:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Finagle \* > \*\*The OP’s statement that they Just. Didn’t. Do. It. has not been proven. Therefore, the moral indignation and outrage should be curbed until all the facts are in. \*\* So wait a minute… I am not allowed to be outraged at the death threats and the fact that these guys lost their internship? What the fuck are you talking about? ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2002, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-morons-they-didnt-do-it/128565/29 "2002-09-15T23:28:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Witch \* > \*\* As far as racism, again, give me a fucking break. All the perpetrators so far have been of Arab/Muslim descent. That’s just the way it is. If it were a bunch of guys named O’Malley or Sullivan etc. me and mine would be looked at more closely. And rightly so. It’s not a witch hunt. It’s facing reality. \*\* I’m sure you’d just be “Go ahead boys!!!” if the cops were stopping you because you look like the IRA people. Would this be right before or right after you cure world hunger and heal the lepers? ---
**Author:** ![TeaElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@TeaElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaElle)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2002, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-morons-they-didnt-do-it/128565/30 "2002-09-15T23:36:05Z")
Outrage at death threats is fine. Outrage that they did, by all accounts (save their own, which means little) do something really stupid and failed to handle themselves well in the aftermath and as a result have lost their jobs, no, sorry. Can’t muster that up. Stupid choices = sad consequences. Some people clearly need to learn that the hard way. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2002, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-morons-they-didnt-do-it/128565/31 "2002-09-15T23:39:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tars Tarkas \* > \*\*Thank you **Revtim** for that link, some of those stories showed up on Foxnews while it was happening. I think the lady misheard something the kids said, and because they were middle-eastern and it was near 9-11, it got blown out of proportion. \*\* No problem. You know, it is quite possible that the majority of hype really did originate from our local channel 7 news. It’s an absolute joke how sensationalistic this “news” show is, we’ve been laughing at it for years. ---
**Author:** ![Witch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/258eb7/32.png) [@Witch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Witch)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2002, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-morons-they-didnt-do-it/128565/32 "2002-09-15T23:45:00Z")
**Tars, Tars, Tars.** You made a semi-coherent argument with the IRA statement but then you went and blew your proverbial load with you nonsensical drivel about world hunger and healing lepers. If you can’t intelligently refute someone’s opinion, you should keep your fucking gob shut. ---
**Author:** ![grendel72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/91b2a8/32.png) [@grendel72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grendel72)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2002, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-morons-they-didnt-do-it/128565/33 "2002-09-15T23:47:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tlw \* > \*\*Outrage at death threats is fine. Outrage that they did, by all accounts (save their own, which means little) do something really stupid and failed to handle themselves well in the aftermath and as a result have lost their jobs, no, sorry. Can’t muster that up. > > Stupid choices = sad consequences. Some people clearly need to learn that the hard way. \*\* I find it hard to believe that they were joking. Given the current atmosphere, I know Indians who didn’t even leave the house on the 11th… “By all accounts (save their own)”, I assume by that you mean the _one_ woman who said she overheard them. I see no reason to give her story any more credence than the guys’. ---
**Author:** ![hazel-rah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hazel-rah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hazel-rah)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2002, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-morons-they-didnt-do-it/128565/34 "2002-09-16T00:10:33Z")
> [@](#): > > After Oklahoma City, white christian male ‘survivalist’ and ‘militia’ groups were given added scrutiny. Just like now, young arab muslim men are given added scrutiny. Your analogy sucks, **Brutus**. The only valid comparison would be if after Oklahoma City _all white Christian males_ were given added scrutiny. That didn’t happen. Members of survivalist or militia groups are who got greater scrutiny. Young Arab Muslim men should only be given added scrutiny if they belong to extremist groups like a militia. It’s a question of association, not religion or race. -fh ---
**Author:** ![chula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@chula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chula)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2002, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-morons-they-didnt-do-it/128565/35 "2002-09-16T00:22:04Z")
**Brutus** , it’s perfectly understandable that Islamic fundamentalist groups that espouse violence was given added scrutiny after 9/11. It is not acceptable that every aspiring doctor with dark skin is caught up in that net. It’s possible that this woman isn’t an ignorant racist who imagined the whole thing. It’s possible she’s a liar. In which case she should be prosecuted and the young men should sue for civil damages. We’re not stereotyping by calling this one woman an idiot. The only person who came close to stereotyping is a Southerner herself. Why is anyone assuming that these guys did anything at all to provoke this woman? ---
**Author:** ![Witch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/258eb7/32.png) [@Witch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Witch)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2002, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-morons-they-didnt-do-it/128565/36 "2002-09-16T00:53:59Z")
japatlgt stated “There is a preponderence of ignorant and bigoted **people** in the south” (sorry, haven’t mastered that quote thing yet). Doesn’t sound to me that just one single southern woman was being singled out an “idiot.” And why on earth does the fact of her being a southerner make it OK to make blanket staements of that sort? I fail to see the logic. And you’re right. That woman could be lying. But so could those men. Guess we’ll never know will we? ---
**Author:** ![chula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@chula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chula)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2002, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-morons-they-didnt-do-it/128565/37 "2002-09-16T01:11:19Z")
**Witch** , the person you’re quoting is a Southerner him/herself, so how can you accuse him/her of stereotyping all Southerners? You might also want to read the part that says “in the South and probably everywhere else.” ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2002, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-morons-they-didnt-do-it/128565/38 "2002-09-16T01:48:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by chula \* > \*\ ***Brutus** , it’s perfectly understandable that Islamic fundamentalist groups that espouse violence was given added scrutiny after 9/11. It is not acceptable that every aspiring doctor with dark skin is caught up in that net. > \*\* And this will be a very useful guideline for law enforcement once you get all the Islamic fundamentalist terrorists to tattoo that fact on their foreheads so that no one has to guess which is which. ---
**Author:** ![Milossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Milossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milossarian)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2002, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-morons-they-didnt-do-it/128565/39 "2002-09-16T01:56:06Z")
There’s been some speculation that maybe joking about terrorism should now move into the realm of how it is regarding joking about a bomb in an airport. uh-uh. An airport is a secured, highly regulated area. It makes sense there. You don’t want to be cracking down on what people say in a Denny’s or a Piggly-Wiggly, or anywhere else. Granted, if it’s true, it was in incredibly bad taste. Incredibly bad taste isn’t a crime. All that said, if the woman did hear what she heard, did she do the wrong thing? Aren’t we supposed to report suspicious stuff like that? Under the supposition that her recollections of what was said were accurate, I’d say SHE did the right thing, and it was the LAW ENFORCEMENT that was overzealous. And the news coverage of it was ridiculous. As one Florida local news director said, “This is exactly what is bad about local news television.” ---
**Author:** ![black\_rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@black\_rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/black_rabbit)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2002, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-morons-they-didnt-do-it/128565/40 "2002-09-16T02:06:41Z")
Quoth **Finagle** : > [@](#): > > The OP’s statement that they Just. Didn’t. Do. It. has not been proven. Therefore, the moral indignation and outrage should be curbed until all the facts are in. …and **tlw** > [@](#): > > Outrage at death threats is fine. Outrage that they did, by all accounts (save their own, which means little) do something really stupid and failed to handle themselves well in the aftermath and as a result have lost their jobs, no, sorry. **grendel** nailed it, natch. So far, we’ve got statements from _four_ people: the tipster, and the three med students. Unless somebody happened to record what was said at the Shoney’s, that’s all we’re going to get. So given a few things: [ul] [li]3 \> 1[/li][li]The police found absolutely no evidence that the med students were up to anything.[/li][li]A person of Middle Eastern descent would have to be an oblivious box of rocks to make fake bomb threats in public. I mean, shit, remember when people were shooting at _Sikhs_???[/li][/ul] …I’m inclined to believe that Mrs. Stone is either a racist, a liar, an ignorant tub of shit, a hypersensitive busybody with a superhero complex, or all four. The fact that the med students have since suffered the consequences of the eminently obvious racism and ignorance of the superfluous chromosomes who made the the death threats and the numbnuttedness of the mooks at the hospital who caved only compounds the injustice, and in a perfect world, the damages awarded after the inevitable lawsuit. The only real transgression I’ve seen from the med students is the fact that they stopped at a fucking Shoney’s. Big Boy 0wnz j00!!! One last thing: Note the opening paragraph of the Fox story linked in my second post: > [@](#): > > Officials said Friday that the Georgia woman did exactly what the government has asked of all Americans in the name of national security. This TIPS program is gonna work grrreat. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-morons-they-didnt-do-it/128565.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-morons-they-didnt-do-it/128565.md?page=3)