The Audacity Of Hope Page 261
Actual quote from “The Audacity of Hope” [pg. 261]: Of course, not all my conversations in immigrant communities follow this easy pattern. In the wake of 9/11, my meetings with Arab and Pakistani Americans, for example, have a more urgent quality, for the stories of detentions and FBI questioning and hard stares from neighbors have shaken their sense of security and belonging. They have been reminded that the history of immigration in this country has a dark underbelly; they need specific assurances that their citizenship really means something, that America has learned the right lessons from the Japanese internments during World War II, and that I will stand with them should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.
What did Obama mean here?
He meant American Arab Muslims are afraid of being targeted for retaliations for 9/11.
During the whole Muslim community center and mosque near Ground Zero debate, Obama said the decision to build this center near that location was O.K. Later, he said “I was commenting on the right, not the wisdom,” to build the center, which could imply anything, from a “lack of taste” in the decision to “a lack of knowing what you’re getting in to.” It was such a vague remark, we won’t really know.
Why do I bring this up? It was this that really brought the Arab-Muslim-haters out of the woodwork. Obama is standing up for their rights, like he said he would on page 261. Though it is very half-hearted and ambivalent, he has not gone back on his word.
Shep
December 10, 2010 at 1:25 am