First they came for the Muslims and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Muslim.
Then they came for the immigrants detaining them indefinitely solely upon the certification of the Attorney General and I didn't speak up because I wasn't an immigrant.
Then they came to eavesdrop on suspects consulting with their attorneys and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a suspect.
Then they came to prosecute non-citizens before secret military commissions, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a non-citizen.
Then they came to enter homes and offices for unannounced "sneak and peek" searches and I didn't speak up because I had nothing to hide.
Then they came to reinstate Cointelpro and resume the infiltration and surveillance of domestic religious and political groups and I didn't speak up because I no longer participated in any groups.
Then they came to arrest American citizens and hold them indefinitely without any charges and without access to lawyers, and I didn't speak up because I would never be arrested.
2006-08-17 08:14:49 · 9 answers · asked by abascious 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Politics
then they came to institute TIPS, the " Terrorism Information and Prevention System," recruiting citizens to spy on other citizens, and I didn't speak up because I was afraid.
Then they came to institute Total Information Awareness, collecting private data on every man, woman and child in America, and I didn't speak up because I couldn't do anything about it.
Then they came for immigrants and students from selective countries luring them under the requirement of "special registration" as a ruse to seize them and detain them, and I didn't speak up because I was not required to register.
Then they came for anyone who objected to government policy because it only aided the terrorists and gave ammunition to America's enemies and I didn't speak up . . . because I didn't speak up.
Then they came for me and by that time no one was left to speak up for me....
2006-08-17 08:15:11 · update #1
thats is how it starts
2006-08-17 08:20:21 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Worth telling and retelling. Hope it serves always as a warning and never an 'I told you so'!
When Joseph McCarthy was witch hunting. People who had belonged to organizations or attending public meetings as long as 30 years before and were brought in for questioning. Told that they would be released if they could name friends, associates, officers, anything they could remember.
Many of the people they named were called before the McCarthy committee. People were branded by former friends, jobs, social standing and positions were lost.
The organizations that these people belonged to in the depression years were not illegal. They were the only places people could speak out about the horrible desperation of joblessness, hunger, and poverty. The government was doing squat!
For all we know someday if things continue in this vein, everything we've written here can go into a great big computer and spit out key words. Dissidents could all go to an American Gulag.
As for those who are so smug about breaking a law, those people didn't break any law!
2006-08-17 08:40:58 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Dude?? What? Barney interior the 60s? Incapable of landing in area??? The moon has a floor.. and particular we despatched men to the moon.. its rather no longer that a lot of a stretch. There are greater clever issues to waste it slow debating. i'm exceedingly particular the Barney of the 60s replaced into J.R puffinstuff besides
2016-09-29 09:19:22 · answer #3 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have rights as long as you remain within the law of the United States. If you don't break the laws, you don't get your rights taken away. I understand the concept of this e-mail, but it has to be kept in mind that the government makes the rules. The subjects are expected to follow those rules. It's the same everywhere. It's why people couldn't shave beards or listen to music in the middle east. Their government did not allow it. If you did it anyway, you were punished.
2006-08-17 08:22:44 · answer #4 · answered by gilgamesh 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Non-action is still an action. No choice is still a choice. But with that said, I do speak up even if I'm not what they're hunting. And no, my rights are still intact.
2006-08-17 08:22:56 · answer #5 · answered by Ananke402 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You paraphrased that from somewhere...
If I remember right, it has to do with Nazis and WWII. I just can't put my finger on it.
2006-08-17 08:21:41 · answer #6 · answered by Leah 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
NO it hasnt,
Why?
Because i havent broken the LAW
2006-08-17 08:27:54 · answer #7 · answered by smitty031 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Awesome question.
2006-08-17 08:54:01 · answer #8 · answered by supernaturaldj2000 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Don't forget that they also violate women by trying to control what they can and can not do.
2006-08-17 08:21:13 · answer #9 · answered by Scully 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋