Has anyone seen this movie? It's a few years old, early 1999. It has Bruce Willis, Denzel Washington and Annette Bening.
An attack on FBI headquarters brings a state of martial law to NYC; the military is called in to police the city. Arab-Americans are rounded up and confined to football fields until the attackers can be found.
At the time, I remember watching it and feeling that it was soooo far out there, such treatment of ethnic groups would never happen in America. (Granted I was a few years younger then too) In fact, I forgot almost completely about the movie for a couple of years; until events of the two or so years brought it back to my consciousness. I'm now struck by the realization that it no longer seems unfathomable, but rather entirely possible.
If anything, it's already happening; not just to a particular group, but thanks to the Patriot Act, it could happen to any American. Perhaps not in a literal sense of being rounded up into groups; but certainly in the sense of targeting certain ethnic groups for heightened surveillance.
Is anyone else scared by where this is heading?
"The Siege"
by starfish422 1 Replies latest social current
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starfish422
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invictus
hi starfish,
I `ve seen the movie and it made me think how everyday we walk a fine line in relationship with other people and how quickly some things can change. it is understandable for governments to act when there is either outside or inside treat, but how to avoid taking exclusive power and preventing human abuse is different thing.and human rights abuse will always be result in bigger or lesser degree, because wery often we act out of fear and not having all the facts.
where I lived before we had to deal with national groups who were pretty hostile towards us and we always felt treatened.action was demanded from our government and they did act, but according to world comunity that action was deemed to harsh so at the end my country was punished and not the real bad guys.what is so sad is that after any kind of intervention like this all the trust between people is gone; they may be forced to live in peace but they will always hold the grudge against each other.
so I guess it all goes with how much power authorities are given and how they use that power.
invictus