WHY SAN BERNARDINO MAY BE PEARL HARBOR II
On September 11, 2001, America was attacked. Brutally. Unlike the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, this particular massacre was perpetrated not on soldiers on ships, but against normal, innocent American citizens at work in buildings.
New York's World Trade Center was attacked by Muslims, this much was clear, but answers to the question as to why were not as clear-cut as those involving the Japanese attack.
We were told the WTC attack occurred because certain "radical" elements within Islamic countries wanted to send a message. It was clear they didn't want to conquer us like the Japanese, wasn't it?
The reaction on the part of the American people in 1941 was one of anger, and fear. The reaction was swift, and made no apologies for being possessed of a punitive, retaliatory flavor. Within weeks we were mobilized and our planes were above the city of Tokyo bombing factories with no thought of "collateral damage". The response was disproportionate, because it needed to be, and everyone knew it. The anger never subsided until the Enola Gay flew over Hiroshima with a single purpose.
For 75 years now, the Japanese have been among the most peaceful people in recorded history.
In the aftermath of the New York attack in 2001, there was also anger and fear. In a matter of days it became apparent that our country was not united as to what the response should be, and the anger and the fear subsided. Our response not only had to be sold to the world-not surprising this-but also some convincing had to be done to the American people in order to respond "properly". In the end, our response was deliberately crafted to have the character of a "measured", "targeted", and "limited" one with an obsessive aversion to "collateral damage".
So it failed. It is an understatement to say that at this time Muslims have not been converted into the peace loving citizens the Japanese have become.
On the home front, in the years following the 2001 attacks, it can be said that Muslims were given the benefit of the doubt, if not a second chance. Americans are very forgiving, especially when they are made to believe things that aren't true.
America bent over backwards to refrain from profiling, we accepted Muslims and accommodated them in ways we never accommodated other similar immigrant populations before. To our detriment, we accepted the meme that only a few Muslims were actually bad ones, and went about our day. It must be acknowledged that this took effort on the part of leery Americans. We couldn't help what we were thinking when we saw burkas in airports, but we never acted on our misgivings. It took a degree of restraint, restraint that ran contrary to our instincts, but we did it anyway. Suffice it to say that over time, Americans have made an investment in Muslims who live among us.
Which brings us to December 2, 2015. San Bernardino California. Our return on this investment? Fourteen dead Americans. Fourteen dead Americans who worked with colleagues who had given a baby shower to the two Muslims who subsequently shot them down in cold blood.
Syed Farook was born in America. He had American friends. He worked for the State of California. He had every reason to assimilate, and he did. Then he met Tashfeen Malik online, flew to Saudi Arabia, and brought her back as his wife. We now know that the two had been plotting terror events like this one for years. This says a lot. The child they had now looks like merely a prop to maintain their cover.
So this is a betrayal.
It is not only a betrayal, it was a deadly one. It was also a ruse, a deliberate con perpetrated on people who had not only been accepting, but coddling.
With San Bernardino there also is anger and fear. But this time the anger is different. The anger is everywhere in America, not just California, because we all believed our leaders, we did what they told us to do, and we worked hard to go against our instincts to give these people a second chance. We've been betrayed, and we've been lied to.
This is what makes San Bernardino different from 9-11, perhaps more similar to the Pearl Harbor attack. Our anger is seething, palpable, and, as with all betrayals, we will go through a few stages before the anger actually surfaces.
Politicians are grossly under-estimating the anger the American people feel. It is a different anger, it is the intense anger that always follows betrayal. This is the sort of anger that will increase with time.
San Bernardino will be looked upon as a seminal moment, a catharsis. The American people will no longer accept that they have to have the ability to read Muslims' minds in order to feel safe. Americans will clamor for measures that work.
The paradigm has changed. No more Mr. Nice Guy. No solution to the Muslim problem can be contemplated that doesn't involve consequences that may accrue to all Muslims. Americans will accept this now. No more buying that only "radical" Islam is the problem. Islam is the problem. Americans instinctively know this now.
New York's World Trade Center was attacked by Muslims, this much was clear, but answers to the question as to why were not as clear-cut as those involving the Japanese attack.
We were told the WTC attack occurred because certain "radical" elements within Islamic countries wanted to send a message. It was clear they didn't want to conquer us like the Japanese, wasn't it?
The reaction on the part of the American people in 1941 was one of anger, and fear. The reaction was swift, and made no apologies for being possessed of a punitive, retaliatory flavor. Within weeks we were mobilized and our planes were above the city of Tokyo bombing factories with no thought of "collateral damage". The response was disproportionate, because it needed to be, and everyone knew it. The anger never subsided until the Enola Gay flew over Hiroshima with a single purpose.
For 75 years now, the Japanese have been among the most peaceful people in recorded history.
In the aftermath of the New York attack in 2001, there was also anger and fear. In a matter of days it became apparent that our country was not united as to what the response should be, and the anger and the fear subsided. Our response not only had to be sold to the world-not surprising this-but also some convincing had to be done to the American people in order to respond "properly". In the end, our response was deliberately crafted to have the character of a "measured", "targeted", and "limited" one with an obsessive aversion to "collateral damage".
So it failed. It is an understatement to say that at this time Muslims have not been converted into the peace loving citizens the Japanese have become.
On the home front, in the years following the 2001 attacks, it can be said that Muslims were given the benefit of the doubt, if not a second chance. Americans are very forgiving, especially when they are made to believe things that aren't true.
America bent over backwards to refrain from profiling, we accepted Muslims and accommodated them in ways we never accommodated other similar immigrant populations before. To our detriment, we accepted the meme that only a few Muslims were actually bad ones, and went about our day. It must be acknowledged that this took effort on the part of leery Americans. We couldn't help what we were thinking when we saw burkas in airports, but we never acted on our misgivings. It took a degree of restraint, restraint that ran contrary to our instincts, but we did it anyway. Suffice it to say that over time, Americans have made an investment in Muslims who live among us.
Which brings us to December 2, 2015. San Bernardino California. Our return on this investment? Fourteen dead Americans. Fourteen dead Americans who worked with colleagues who had given a baby shower to the two Muslims who subsequently shot them down in cold blood.
Syed Farook was born in America. He had American friends. He worked for the State of California. He had every reason to assimilate, and he did. Then he met Tashfeen Malik online, flew to Saudi Arabia, and brought her back as his wife. We now know that the two had been plotting terror events like this one for years. This says a lot. The child they had now looks like merely a prop to maintain their cover.
So this is a betrayal.
It is not only a betrayal, it was a deadly one. It was also a ruse, a deliberate con perpetrated on people who had not only been accepting, but coddling.
With San Bernardino there also is anger and fear. But this time the anger is different. The anger is everywhere in America, not just California, because we all believed our leaders, we did what they told us to do, and we worked hard to go against our instincts to give these people a second chance. We've been betrayed, and we've been lied to.
This is what makes San Bernardino different from 9-11, perhaps more similar to the Pearl Harbor attack. Our anger is seething, palpable, and, as with all betrayals, we will go through a few stages before the anger actually surfaces.
Politicians are grossly under-estimating the anger the American people feel. It is a different anger, it is the intense anger that always follows betrayal. This is the sort of anger that will increase with time.
San Bernardino will be looked upon as a seminal moment, a catharsis. The American people will no longer accept that they have to have the ability to read Muslims' minds in order to feel safe. Americans will clamor for measures that work.
The paradigm has changed. No more Mr. Nice Guy. No solution to the Muslim problem can be contemplated that doesn't involve consequences that may accrue to all Muslims. Americans will accept this now. No more buying that only "radical" Islam is the problem. Islam is the problem. Americans instinctively know this now.
posted by corndog at 6:24 AM
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