russ_watters said:
C'mon. You did indeed say we shouldn't even be discussing the connection because no connection exists, despite clear - if thin/preliminary - evidence that a connection did exist. And poison the well by bringing the issue of reactive hatred into the discussion when no one here has expressed any.
russ, here are my exact quotes on this previous thread:
"mheslep, you know that being "Arab" or "North African" includes groups from at least 25 countries, right? Including Turkey -- there is a large Turkish community in Germany, many of whom have been established there since the 1960s if I'm not mistaken, and certainly many Turks can be mistaken for being "Arab" or "North African" in appearance. You can't therefore conclude that somehow these young men are Syrian refugees (which you are clearly trying to link in your posts)."
"According to reports I've read, some of the suspects have been known to police for other types of crimes, which to me indicates that these are members of organized gangs involved in a range of criminal activity. Sexually assaulting 90 women is new because we're hearing about it now, but there is no link as of yet that this is in any way tied to the refugee situation."
These were posted back last Thursday, when at the time there wasn't evidence that Syrian refugees were involved in the mass assaults. Now there is some preliminary reports that there may have been some Syrian refugees/asylum seekers/immigrants involved. As you can clearly see, I was making the argument that we should not jump to conclusions and make a link between the refugee crisis and these mass assaults without more information.
As for poisoning the well by talking about reactive hatred -- again, at no time did I say that anyone on this forum expressed reactive hatred. What I was saying was that right-wing elements in the US (e.g. Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Fox News commentators) have sought to link the mass assaults to the Syrian refugee crisis and therefore insinuate that Syrian refugees are dangerous. I have heard similar talk coming out of Germany from right wing elements that sought to inflame public opinion by pointing to the mass assaults and thus blame Syrian refugees as a group. That is what I am responding to when I choose to bring up the reactive hatred.
Not as a moderator, but as a fellow participant in the debate, I ask you to try harder and to add logical to the list.
russ, my arguments and counter-arguments are based on the information that I have gathered from various different news and documentary sources online and in print (the CBC and documentaries on TVO in Canada, PBS Newshour, BBC, Al Jazeera, the Young Turks website, VICE news, the Economist, among many others). I am taking the evidence, making logical inferences to the best of my ability, and then responding to the forum. I am not posting these threads lightly.
Are we allowed to discuss that without being pegged as racists for bringing-up the question? Let's try: what criteria may the US government use to decide on who and how many immigrants/refugees to let in?
russ, for question #1, what are you specifically asking? Whether you are allowed to ask to have a discussion on whether people can be denied the right to immigrate to the US based on their religion (i.e. religious test)? Whether such a question should even be asked? My answer is another question, what is the point of bringing up the question?
As for question #2, each government in different countries can use their own particular set of rules and regulations on the number of immigrants that are allowed to come in. These may include opportunities for employment, family reunification, and other such criteria. My personal bias is to allow greater flexibility in allowing people to immigrate to the US, in much the same way and using the same criteria that Canada (where I live -- I am a dual Canadian/American citizen) does.
Specifically on the number of refugees, I think the current Liberal government under Prime Minister Trudeau is carrying out the right balance of ensuring at refugees who wish to come to Canada are able to do so while also carrying out reasonable security measures. So far, Canada has committed to bringing in 25000 Syrian refugees into Canada by early this year (this is in addition to 23,218 Iraqi refugees resettled in Canada as of Nov 2015 and the 3089 Syrian refugees who have already arrived between Jan 2014 and Nov 2015, and the tens of thousands of regular immigrants who arrive to Canada on a monthly basis).
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/refugees/welcome/index.asp
http://www.international.gc.ca/development-developpement/humanitarian_response-situations_crises/syria-syrie.aspx?lang=engThe above links are from the official Canadian government website outlining their efforts regarding the Syrian refugees (I admit that these links are biased in favour of the current government policy of the day, but at least it should give you an idea of what Canada is doing on this issue). I think the US has the resources to do something similar, but again, that's just my opinion.