How have terrorists directly and negatively affected your life personally? (read details)?

Question

when confronted about the anti-constitutional aspects of the patriot acts and this present administrations domestic spying programs and databases neocons often come back with the question "how have your freedoms been infringed or damaged by this legislation?" implying that it is and should not be of any concern to American citizens that the constitution is being abridged.

So my question above relies on this same logic, implying that since the overwhelming majority of Americans have in no way been significantly impacted by terrorists, they are and should not be of any concern to Americans and that the Bush administration has greatly inflated the genuine threat posed by terrorists.

Answer 1

Terrorists are just people fighting for a cause.

They are extremists because they have been pushed into extremes. They are misled and misguided and start off as children, many of them...and by the time they are adults are just brainwashed.

You and I could very well be transformed into a terrorist just as easily if you had a cause you felt your life was worth sacrificing for.

Would you not jump in front of a bullet to protect your child? Would you not rip someone's face off who tried to harm them?

I would.

So think long and hard about life because it's not as black and white as you are brainwashed into believing.

There are crazy people in this world and extremists, but what is happening here and now CIVILIZED people can put an end to, and it could and should have been handled diplomatically.

Who are the sane and who are the insane?

The line isn't so clear anymore is it?

Do you really expect all those people now who had no grudge against anyone in the USA but who have watched thier families blown up, their homes destroyed, are starving, living in fear.....to not be traumatized by all this? Do you REALLY think they are gonna say thank you and kiss your feet?

God, all that's happened here is that America has sealed its fate and will always be a target of terrorism. Thank your pal Bush and give him a nice handshake and kiss at his goodbye party.

You know a lot of people would say the Americans are terrorists, bringing this on not only them but others around them as well.

Answer 2

Well, I live in NYC and I see the police everywhere (and occasionally hard-looking guys in body armor with wicked-looking "black arms" who do not look like city cops), which leaves me with mixed feelings. Nice to know they're trying, but what difference will they really make if that truck pulling up to the red light is packed with ammonium nitrate?

Other than that, and the inevitable need to pay for operations in Afghanistan, war in Iraq, and all the homeland security, we really don't SEE the impact. It's largely invisible. You call overseas, and someone may be listening. You do any business in the mideast, and someone may be checking it out. I am very unhappy that we're being told to just trust the guys in charge of all this, given the ideologues our idiot president appoints to these jobs. Guys like Cheney and Gonzales are precisely the sort of people we cannot trust to look after civil liberties. What level of anti-Bush activity will they consider a "threat"? We don't know, they won't tell us, and if they haul your @ss away they can refuse to show the evidence and hold you without charges, all in the interest of "national security". It's a proven fact that they'll arrest anyone who tries to wave an anti-Bush sign within sight of the president. (What country did you say this was?) These are scary people with way too much power already, and precisely the thing the Constitution was designed to prevent. The founders (to whom Scalia and Thomas give so much lip service) knew they could not trust any government with any degree of power, without checks and balances, and I'm sure they would be horrified if they saw what's going on today. What makes this all so bizarre is that it's the right-wing neocons who ought to be most outraged. (Maybe they only care whether THEIR rights are infringed?)

The people most impacted by domestic security measures are the arabic-looking guys who have their backpacks picked through at the subway turnstiles time after time, who get stopped at the tunnels for vehicle searches, and generally have to put up with a lot of crap day after day. I can't imagine what that feels like, but it can't be good. The motto of the Bush administration should be "This is not your father's America."

Answer 3

In no way.

Unless you are the 25% of New Yorkers who were caught up in 9/11 or the same percentage in Oklahoma City, terrorism (or the threat of) doesn't affect your life at all.

The Patriot Act (et. al) is about government control over the people. Provisions like the word "terrorist" are not clearly defined purposely, with the intent on being used on whomever the adminstration wants to label as such.

The Patriot Act as it stands, doesn't bother me. Its the actions that the government is going to take with the legislation after the next terrorist attack that scares the hell out of me.

Answer 4

Well, I know people who were in NYC, near the Towers on 09/11. They didn't get physically injured, but the emotional scars will probably never heal.

Alaska has been on the "hit list" because of our pipeline and oil supplies. That's not a very comfortable feeling - we're so used to being ignored. (Hell, we prefer it!)

My friends and family are fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq. So I think that it has had an impact on me.

To this day, I get pretty jumpy if a plane or a helicopter is doing something odd. We recently had a fire near our house, and an unmarked BLM helicopter kept circling the fire. Of course, we didn't know there was a fire at first - the entire neighborhood was in an uproar. Several of us called the State Troopers, and *they* didn't even know what the hell was going on. It wasn't until we saw the firetrucks streaming down the hill that we realized what was going on. It probably sounds weird, but it was f*ing SCARY.

Answer 5

Are you serious? You can't possibly live that deeply inside a bubble of unreality to believe that rationale. I've been shot at but never hit by a bullet...does that mean I cannot be shot? And I guarantee there are more affected people in the NY FD and their families than have ever been unjustly scrutinized because of the patriot act. Don't waste the time of those that have lost loved ones to a terror attack with this sort of crap.

Answer 6

there are protest groups who we now know were held longer than is the usual procedure during the rnc convention in nyc for the last election.

also, i'd say any across the entire nation who have been subjected to 'free speech zones' have had a taste of what it is like to have your rights restricted.

the entire usa is a free speech zone - it's not a conditional right.

we also know that such groups as the billionares for bush and the anti war quakers have been investigated.

Answer 7

the terrorists had an impact on everyone in the U.S. Because of their mere existence, it led to the reelection of George W. Bush. The rest is painfully self explanatory.

Answer 8

No, my life has not been affected personally by terrorists, but it hasn't by the USA PATRIOT ACT or anyother legislation. You know what, my life as not been directly affected by drug dealers or gangs, but that doesn't change whether we should try to stop crime.

In worst case scenario, some government agency is listening to my phone calls and making fun of me. Or worst case scenario, myself or a loved one is killed in a terrorist attack. I will take my chances with my personal phone calls.

Answer 9

My husband was killed by domestic terrorists. The "patriot act" does nothing against them.

Answer 10

They have very cunningly scared the leaders of the USA to the extent that they have to do nothing but make a threat. That in itself is enough for the government to ignore American Values, disregard the constitution, and erode all civil liberrties. That's an easy victory for terrorists. they don't have to spend a cent and can destroy the fabric of a nation. Cunning little ragheads aren't they.