The Implied Hierarchy of Constitutional Rights
Posted: April 20, 2013 Filed under: We are so F'd | Tags: Four legs good, two legs better 29 Comments
Well, it’s started. We are finding out in a very large way that some constitutional rights are much more important than others. The definition of “radicalized” religious zealot depends on which religion the nut carries to the extreme. The number of deaths in an attack by crazy people doesn’t matter. It’s the ethnicity and religion of the perpetrator and–most importantly–his choice of weapon. You can kill peaceful Sikhs in a temple, blow up a bomb at the Olympics and an abortion clinic, and attack Federal Buildings and employees AND day care centers and still not register on some folks’ list as a “terrorist” or possibly lose your right to a fair trial. You can spew religious hate at women and GLBT as long as it comes from the ‘correct’ religion because that’s a first amendment right but please don’t criticize the religious views because they’re “special”. Believe in the wrong religion and you’re on EVERY ONE’s radar and they will try to block you from building religious facilities in their neighborhood. You can do all kinds of crap and not lose access to military style weapons or get on any one’s radar. In fact, people will enable you by throwing money at elected officials to ensure you don’t get on any one’s radar. Your decisions can kill people, ecosystems, entire cities and regions and economies and you will only get off with a few fines that aren’t very large for you because your balance sheet is massive and your political power even more so. Plus, you will be left to do it over and over and over again.
Welcome to the nation that prioritizes rights by sex, race, economic status, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and religion. Now go hang out in your particular ghetto and don’t complain about anything.
This is an open thread.
peej
Carissa
bostonboomer
ecocatwoman
mablue2
peggysue22
quixote
skydancingguestblogger
Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)
Sky Dancing 
Yep, discussing this right now over at TW
And the all-too-common irony is that the same people eager to tell the feds to take away Tsarnaev’s rights are the ones who always complain that the government is taking away theirs. Seriously, when will this get through?
Perfect summation kat. I’d only add to the non-prioritized list 2 others: being fat and being left-handed.
The benefit of having a blog is being able to post a rant …
Rant? I thought it was a logical, sensible statement of fact.
and of course, for those of us here, it won’t be much of a surprise but avoid the ratfucking sites …
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/04/19/scholars-caution-against-drawing-easy-religious-conclusions-about-suspects-boston-marathon-bombings/a5Iucv4ntQHgSvXchQqKOM/story.html
Islam might have had secondary role in Boston attacks
From what I’m reading, I no longer buy that this is simply a Columbine-type scenario. I think Tsarnaev brothers’ Chechen background will turn out to be the most powerful influence on their lives, not Islam per se.
I think you are right about that BB.
If that were really Chechen background that had been the primary influence for the attack, they would have probably gone against Russian-related targets, like a consulate or a Russian diaspora event.
My mom said something about the bomb being located near the Russian flag? I don’t know, it all is too messed up right now.
You’re right, I just re-watched the video, and it does look like there is a Russian flag right in front of the site of the first explosion.
Here’s a link, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV8Fms8lm7Q, but I understand if you’d rather want to watch it.
I think that “How to spot a Chechen” article is a little too flattering to Chechens. Other people have pride in their eyes too (and I’m sure that Chechnya’s neighboring Ingushs, Ossetinians and Dagestanians would take the greatest offence to that article 🙂
And it’s also too flattering for Moscow police. They don’t actually recognize Chechen, they simply stop anyone who looks Caucasian or a little too dark just to get their bribes. The fact that all internal Russian passports have a section that identifies the exact place of residence (known as “registration”) – that’s how the police identify a Chechen.
Take a look at this: How To Spot A Chechen – By Aslanbek Dadaev – The eXiled
Here’s something interesting:
http://consortiumnews.com/2013/04/19/chechen-terrorists-and-the-neocons/
Well, they have the submissive one in custody so I am sure there will be a narrative about all of this from the FBI at some congressional hearing sooner or later.
List of X,
I didn’t mean that their Chechen ethnicity was the “primary influence for the attacks,” just that it likely provides the psychological context. These young men were at ages when people are searching for identity, and ethnicity is a very powerful influence on personality/identity.
Tamerlan had returned to Dagestan, where his father lives, in 2012 and spent 6 months traveling around Russia. His family there were very concerned by his growing religious extremism. Dzhokhar, who was named after the first Chechen separatist leader, was very proud of his Chechen heritage and would correct friends if they introduced him as being Russian.
Obviously, I don’t know what happened between these two, but I suspect their childhood influences and Chechen family heritage were powerful influences on their personalities. Having studied developmental/personality psychology for many years, I tend to think in terms in those terms.
I hope we’ll learn more from Dzhokhar–I’m afraid that the feds will completely alienate him.
I am waiting until more information is available before speculating on influences or motives. I confess it still surprises me that the brothers are Chechen. That possibility was not even on my radar.
I just hope the suspect survives and talks to authorities so we can get some answers. There has been way too much misinformation in the last several days from the MSM. I don’t yet know what to believe or think.
That’s an excellent article by Coleen Rowley – Chechen Terrorist and the Neocons. Wasn’t she the veteran FBI whistleblower on 9-11 flight training out of Minnesota………with Zacarias Moussaoui…….Nobody believed her. “The bttom line is never forget that “a poor man’s war is terrorism, while a rich man’s terrorism is War”…………………I’ve heard that applied to civil war “rich man’s war, poor man’s fight”. After 9/11, state of union address, Bush said, “They hate our freedoms, our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assmeble and disagree with each other.”………………..
Doesn’t make sense for these young boys…………the average age for Chechen terrorist is about 30, and WOMEN make up a large number of terrorists, most often older than men, with the oldest recorded to be 52. They are the Black Widows, because their husband died, and they take up the cause.
JJ, posted a good read earlier on history of Chechen……….and as I watched, I was amazed, how much they say they don’t want to be like Americans, but they sure act like it. I mean, clothing, flat screen tv.’s etc. What they didn’t tell you in that presentation is that they have an unemployment rate of 40/50%……………So the taxi driver is slowly inching up to be able to have some finery for his family, but meanwhile their condidtions are terrible. Which brings me to couple thoughts. These boys had to drop out of college, of the programs they seemed to connect with (boxing,etc), they have had to turn to welfare to survive here. I think the older boy who was married had a 3 year old, and had a domestic violence case against him. Correct me if I am wrong. When these countries don’t have military forces, they resort to guerilla welfare tactics, that’s all they got to fight back with. But very few Chechen are that young. Maybe it’s changing.
I don’t know, maybe they were pissed because Russia told the FBI to investigate them, and they got pissed off, and the result was the bombings, and I think they knew they weren’t going to get away with it.
I posted the link to it in response to BB above.
How is this not an example of a successful terrorist attack?
Considering the what has happened to providers in KS since then, I would say it as successful.
question – maybe some of you girls could help me out with this have you seen a pic of 2 brothers actually laying down a back pack ? before the bombing? the news keep on talking about one but if its there I have yet to see it?
I looking at everything the media says and how this story plays out with an objective opinion.
The FBI said they had such a video but it has not been released. They have hours and hours of video that now will be used as evidence in court.
yea I herd the same thing but why not release it now. ?
I don’t know what exactly is going on, since my favorite movie is on, Freaks, well one of my favorites. Anyway: Shots fired at Denver marijuana holiday rally
Three people and a dog shot at massive #420Denver pot rally – San Jose Mercury News
And of course one observation, on Drudge…no news of the West, TX explosion or the companies questionable illegal storage problems etc. Assholes.
I could tell this was a dr. Dakinikat post just by the sheer awesomeness of this title