Who Is Entitled to Fear?

Privilige and entitlement, depending on who's doing the theory, are either the same or the go hand in hand.

Let's consider some guys who wanted to kill the presidential nominees:

*Three men conspire to kill Obama.

They get guns, with scopes (one of which may have been stolen).
The rent a vehicle under someone elses name.
They have body armor.
They express a, violent, antipathy to the candidate.
They have travelled to the city the candidate is going to be in.

This is, "not a credible threat and no charges related to that aspect of things are entertained.

*One man, already in jail sends a nastygram to to Mccain's office.

He says there is some lethal powder in the letter, and the person reading it is dead.
He admits McCain might not be reading it.
He has no actual poisons.

This something we won't tolerate.

So, here you have it.

Death threats, from those incapable of carrying them out against the Republican candidate = charges

Death plots, with overt acts, weapons and actual plans... not credible; not worthy of charges.

(From pecunium) The fears of the white Republican candidate's camp is given credence, while the fears of the black Democratic candidate are dismissed.

Too political? Let's consider some children:

Nancy Grace doesn’t have an aneurysm on camera when LaToya goes missing. Dan Abrams doesn’t get outraged when Marcus or Jamar vanishes. Katie Couric and Barabara Walters don’t break down in tears when kids from South Central are murdered. Bill O’Reilly and Keith Olbermann don’t interrupt your program when Jaunita is found chopped up into pieces. Magazines and newspapers aren’t tracking those cases. They’re just not news enough or “human interest” enough for all of that.

Ironically, according to the FBI, the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children and other orgs, most of missing children (those under 18) in America are neither white nor female. In fact 33% of all missing children under 18 are African American girls; overall, it’s believed that Black, Hispanic and Asian Americans account for over 40% of all missing children under 18. As for missing adults (those over 18), the National Center of Missing Adults, FBI, and other orgs have report similar findings.

(From Racialicious) The fears of white Americans (of violence to themselves and their family) are fostered and pandered to, while the fears of those in minority communities are made invisible despite their greate likelihood.

On Friday, somebody sprayed chemicals into a room of a mosque full of women and children who had gathered to pray. Here's how someone who was there described it:

She told me that the gas was sprayed into the room where the babies and children were being kept while their mothers prayed together their Ramadan prayers. Panicked mothers ran for their babies, crying for their children so they could flee from the gas that was burning their eyes and throats and lungs. She grabbed her youngest in her arms and grabbed the hand of her other daughter, moving with the others to exit the building and the irritating substance there.

The paramedic said the young one was in shock, and gave her oxygen to help her breathe. The child couldn't stop sobbing.

. . . .

She tells me that her daughters slept with her last night, the little one in her arms and sobbing throughout the night. She tells me she is afraid, and will never return to the mosque, and I wonder what kind of country is this where people have to fear attending their place of worship?

(From Daily Kos) Today, the local paper removed its original story, links to it now point to a later article:

"The men didn't say anything to her (before she was sprayed)," [the police chief] said. "There was nothing left at the scene or anything that makes us believe this is a biased crime."

(From the Dayton Daily News)

Now, in the United States, white Christians feel entitled to fear from attacks from Muslims. So entitled that in the name of their fear, they feel entitled to strip the civil and human rights of citizens and visitors, to demand racial profiling, to attack other nations. Anonymous whispered possibilities of threats are enough to blare across the country and put all Americans on the lookout for "suspicious persons." People far from any sort of terrorist target feel entitled not only to their fear, but for their fears to override those of everyone around them. "Better safe than sorry" is the watchword, without regard to how safe they already are and who will be made sorry to massage their psyches.

Meanwhile, Muslims, people from countries where Islam is the dominant religion, and people who Americans think might be from countries where Islam is the dominant religion are the ones who are killed, detained, arrested, and harrassed.

Muslims are the third-largest religious group in the United States. They live amid millions of people who believe them to be evil and untrustworthy; people who are perfectly willing to sacrifice Muslims to preserve their own entitlement; people who have the power and numbers to make that sacrifice happen.

But tomorrow, they will gather together all across the United States to celebrate their religion—a celebration ostensibly guaranteed by this country—knowing that doing so makes them the largest target for a terrorist attack in the country.

So who really is entitled to fear?

Further reading:

• Language Log on what is "suspicious" and how police resources are used in privileged communities.
  
• The Angry Black Woman on the history of the United States ignoring attacks of people of color in their places of worship.
  
• Orcinus's ten-part series Eliminationism in America, which details how the rhetoric of elimination has led to atrocity again and again and again in American history.