I disagree. Both sites nicely encapsulate large blocs of voters’ opinions on general issues. I think that’s why they’re so popular.
And what makes you think they were taken from a battlefield ?
And what likelihood is there that they will ever see a courtroom ?
And even if they really were shooting at American soldiers, they are still innocent. There’s nothing wrong in shooting at an army of conquest. And no, American soldiers have no moral right to self defense in Iraq, any more than a murderer who breaks into your house has a moral right to shoot you in self defense.
Gosh you’re dense. Your own freakin cite is about “children” detained in Afghanistan. What does Iraq have to do with anything?
Because we’ve grabbed children there too. That was just the first story that I found.
Since we’ve made the whole fucking country a “battlefield”, I guess the entire population is fair game, right? :rolleyes:
It’s not Godwinizing if it’s true. We started the concentration camps several years ago.
The whole of Afghanistan is battlefield? Who knew?
When Germany and Japan were battlefields, did Americans whine and mewl about “innocent” Germans and Japanese? I rather doubt it.
These people were not captured on a battelfield, retard.
My God, you’re a stupid cunt, aren’t you?
We’re not at war with either Iraq or Afghanistan, peabrain.
I don’t know much about Kos but I think that Freepers are representative of how the majority of Americans think? Have you ever tried to talk to an American? They’re fucking morons, man.
Why don’t you tell us all about the “enemy combatants” of WWII that were held without benefit of civil or military court proceedings? Y’know, all those captured Japanese and Germans that we hid away indefinitely?
Hey! I resent that remark. I’m an idiot, not a moron. Get it right, will you?
In all seriousness, I just think that most people in general (not just Americans) are reflexively tribalistic, xenophobic and not very thoughtful. The perception among rank and file Americans that Muslims are all wild eyed, backpack bombing zealots who want to kill “infidels” is depressingly pervasive. They aren’t very amenable to education about it either. They don’t want to have to read or have to actually think about anything. They are very complacent in their self-perceived moral superiority and “America, fuck yeah” assumptions and don’t want to be shaken from them.
It isn’t hard to get people to go along with the dehumanization and genocide of other groups of people. Read Hitler’s Willing Executioners. Americans aren’t so different.
Not sure what your point is , but there were over 400,000 prisoners of war held in 500 camps in the US indefinitely without benefit of legal proceedings until the unconditional surrender.
They were prisoners of war and treated as such, and when we won the war, they were released. We’ve won this war-when do we release these “enemy combatants”? When the WAR ON TERROR is over? Under those conditions, these uncharged prisoners can be held forever.
Are you saying we should declare them to be “Prisoners of War”, with all rights given by the Geneva Conventions? Hell, I’m all for that! Sorry I misunderstood ya, buddy.
While I tend to agree with you, I also wonder what perception of Americans is espoused by rank-and-file Muslims (whatever that may mean) outside the U.S. I suspect it is similarly skewed, and for similar reasons.
Xenophobia is the sin of peasants everywhere. The Free Republic does not represent the mass of the populace. People on this forum (The SDMB) like to think of themselves as a sort of unique set of the populace. In all likelihood it’s not. The SDMB is fairly highly representative of the American left I would say, with some nutters like Der Trihs, on to the more rationally extreme like Brainglutton or moderate like tomndebb. You get all kinds here, and the left is about 50% of the population. Then you get other more extreme leftist blog sites like Daily Kos and they are the counterpart of the Free Republic. Most people are going about their daily existance and probably don’t think about Muslims all that much. The hysteria is far less extreme today than it was during the Cold War. People still buy their newspaper and slurpee from the Muslim at the 7/11 and do it without beating them to death. Hate crimes have been few and far between. Muslim hate in this country today is less extreme than Anti-Semitism in Europe today, let alone in Nazi Germany.
Certain websites and news outlets represent voting blocs, but there is really no voice in the entire country that represents the bulk of opinion, because we are bitterly divided by the 60s culture war fault lines.
I think people in this thread should do more reading about the climate of anti-semitism in Europe prior to World War II, and compare it to the climate of anti-Muslim hatred today. I think you’ll find that what we’ve got here doesn’t even compare.
I think Americans really are different. At least in degree, if not in kind.
Define “an American” first. And then I’ll come back and tell you just how much of a xenophobic, inbred simpleton you are.
Not that it should be news to you.
Where were they captured, then, Woodfield Mall?