Jeroen wrote: >How hard did the American population try to help their blacks when racism >reared its ugly head? How many of them protected the blacks and fought >against the racists?
Ever hear of a little thing called the Civil Rights Movement? Martin Luther King, Jr.? Hundreds of thousands of American, black white and every other color, engaging in non-violent (and sometimes violent) protest? (See http://www.wmich.edu/politics/mlk/ for a *very* brief timeline of the Civil Rights Movement. I also recommend "Warriors Don't Cry" by Melba Patillo Beals, one of the "Little Rock Nine.") How about Affirmative Action laws (which were a good attempt, whether you agree with them or not)? The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission? Hate crimes legislation? The American population has done an awful lot to help their African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans and Asian-Americans and other Americans of various ethnic backgrounds. It is one of the things that makes me the most proud to be an American. Also, just for the record, I am an American of Hispanic, Native American, and Scottish descent. >How hard did the American population try to join the fight against >terrorism after planes crashed into the WTC and the Pentagon last year? Let's see... The Associated Press reported that recruiting for the military was up significantly after September 11, and the military has been literally on the front lines of the fight against terrorism. And that's not increases in the military's attempt to recruit, that's increases in the number of people showing up at recruiting stations and volunteering for duty. There were prayer vigils held across the country where people of all faiths proclaimed how evil terrorism is, and calling for an end to terrorism across the globe. American Moslem churches in particular took a public stand saying that their religion does not call for the slaughter of innocent civilians, and that they were saddened and angered at the attacks. And of course, there is the heroism of the passengers of Flight 93, who, after hearing via cellphones about the planes that crashed into the WTC and then being hijacked themselves, decided to fight their hijackers. John Horn wrote that every person he talked to said that they would have fought if they had been a passenger on Flight 93. That matches my experience also. We Americans continue to fight terrorism with our attitude and our refusal to be bullied and butchered by terrorist monsters. If that isn't enough, Jeroen, I don't know what is. Reggie Bautista _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com
