Radio Sputnik’s Loud and Clear speaks with author and cartoonist Ted Rall, and Robert McCaw of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, about the feasibility of such a program and whether profiling already exists in the US.
"If you look at the Department of Justice’s guidelines on racial and religious profiling it generally prohibits profiling, but makes exceptions in cases of ‘national security." said McCaw, explaining that federal guidelines also allow for the ethnic and racial mapping of neighborhoods, along with the infiltration of mosques by using informants and agents provocateurs, "That seek to solicit and trap Muslim youth into fabricated and scripted acts of terrorism." As intrusive as these guidelines are, McCaw said they at least have restrictions, and he fears such restrictions would totally disappear under a Trump administration. He said, "I’d hate to see what that looks like."
Rall feels that Trump’s anti-intellectual sentiment will contribute to an undemocratic environment. "I think he represents a clear threat of authoritarianism, that goes beyond what we’ve already seen in the post 9/11 era," he said. "He [Trump] plays very fast and loose with facts, and even faster and looser with his willingness to deploy tactics that, aside from the fact that they have very little utility, in terms of preventing or reducing or mitigating the risk of terrorism, are obviously completely anti-American and counter to what most people consider to be emblematic of a free or democratic society."
Loud and Clear host Brian Becker noted that "After Orlando there has been a wave of attacks against the Muslim community and also acts of solidarity between the Muslim community and the LGBT community, something that is without historic precedent." Becker added that, despite this, attempts have been made by various Republican politicians to demonize Muslims.
McCaw mentioned comments made by Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) who said Muslims would, "kill every homosexual in the United States of America," if they could, in response to the Democrats appeal to both communities. McCaw described how CAIR and its chapters have "issued over seventeen statements condemning the shooting, they’ve held over a dozen rallies in solidarity with the LGBTQIA community. We’ve helped raise over $70,000 in a GoFundMe for the victim’s families, and I think, as two communities, we are standing shoulder to shoulder as we confront hate crimes, bigotry, marginalization and discrimination of our communities." McCaw suggests that this kind of emotional and material support will serve to strengthen a bond that right wing political figures are not capable of understanding or accepting.
"I think we have a lot in common, but you see politicians like Representative Mo Brooks and also Donald Trump trying to use the Orlando tragedy to draw a wedge between the Muslim community and the LGBTQIA community, but we’re not buying it, it’s not going to happen."
