If your name is Ahmed or Fatima, you live in fear of NSA surveillance

[cali]

One of the most common responses from the 66% of American citizens in favor of the NSA's data-collection programs is, "I have nothing to hide, so why should I have anything to fear?"

But what if you have nothing to hide but are targeted as a suspect nevertheless?

By that I mean, what if your name is Ahmed, Jihad, Anwar or Abdulrahman? Fatima, Rania, Rasha or Shaima? What if some of your phone calls – which the NSA is tracking with particular interest – are made to loved ones in Pakistan, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Lebanon or Palestine? What if the language you speak on these phone calls is not English, but Arabic, Urdu or Farsi, not because it is a special jihadist code, but because it is your native language that you still speak in your home.

In other words, what if you are one of America's 1.9 million Arab-Americans or 2.8 million Muslim-Americans?

<snip>

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jun/19/nsa-surveillance-muslim-arab-americans

[Scootaloo]

1. Can't wait to see the usual suspects creep from under their rocks for this one

[HooptieWagon]

3. Shortly...as soon as they get their talking points from HQ. nt

[JI7]

2. no, those people are more fearful of random bigots and they would be targeted regardless of NSA

we all know the outrage right now is that it wasn't just "those people" who were being targeted.

[HooptieWagon]

7. Correct. I have friends who participated in Occupy and anti-Monsanto activism.

I regularly exchange calls, texts, email, and fb posts with them...in matters unrelated to their protest activities. Am I on a surveillence list? I don't know.

[JI7]

4. just look at who was targeted after the Boston Bombings

before the actual suspects were shown by authorities. who did the internet activists point out. and why ?

[Prism]

5. That's what I don't get about Democratic defense of this program

Minorities are clearly going to be disproportionately targeted in any kind of surveillance regime. Under a Republican, this racist threat was a given. Muslim Americans and anyone from a foreign country with vaguely tan skin knew the American government under Republicans was keeping tabs.

Why do we defend this?

I feel like "Well, I have nothing to hide!" is being spoken mainly by people of privilege who have had the luxury of largely being left alone by the government because of their pallor or economic station.

And if you're dark and have friends or family outside of the country? Forget it, you're suspect.

This is some dystopian shit, now mainstreamed. Science fiction stories often open with the authoritarian surveillance state, and people always say, "We'd never let something that awful happen here!"

Tch, this is it. This is what it looks like. How are people so blind?

[jberryhill]

6. "1.9 million Arab-Americans or 2.8 million Muslim-Americans"

How many people, do you estimate, are tasked with keeping an eye on 1.9 million other people?

[HooptieWagon]

9. A computer algorythm will select targets for closer scrutiny.

Did your Jordanian gf visit home for a holiday, and you talked to her every day? You might be flagged for closer surveillence.

[Romulus Quirinus]

11. It works the same way as Google's search engine

First, you enter your search terms at google.com. Then, your search terms are printed up at Google's HQ in Mountain View on a little strip of paper. They are given to unpaid interns, who wade into the internet to gather your search results using Google Glass and Power Gloves. Once they gather over nine-thousand results, the interns write them down and scan them into PDFs. Finally, an OCR routine translates the written text into digital text, which is forwarded back to you.

This is how you can get to facebook.com by opening google and searching for "facebook."

[quinnox]

8. Hold on, the government would never target people on the basis of race or religion

right? I mean, history clearly shows us that the government would never do this. For the sarcasm impaired - >

[hughee99]

10. It's okay, I'm sure even if your name is Sven they're still collecting your data. n/t

[eissa]

12. I'm one of those people

I posted this before, but I'll do it again. Family is originally from Iraq, in-laws are all in Syria. Spoke regularly on the phone with relatives in Iraq during both Gulf Wars, usually trashing our presidents in every conversation. In-laws in Syria are unapologetically pro-regime, and spouse continuously posts FB messages openly criticizing decision to arm rebels/terrorists.

To date, no black helicopters, and no G-men have shown up at my doorstep to whisk me away to FEMA re-education camp. If they're listening in (which I've always figured they were) I'm not too concerned.

[Skidmore]

13. Having children with

Middle Eastern names, we worry even more about the guy down the street.

[corkhead]

14. or eat hummus...

[rhett o rick]

15. I make my own hummus so no one knows. Oops. nm

[AnotherMcIntosh]

16. The name Ted Kennedy, even for a well-known Senator, caused him to be a victim of the no-fly list.

With respect to the nationally known Ted Kennedy, in two months alone, he was stopped five times
from boarding planes in a normal manner by TSA agents and their no-fly list.

"Instead of acknowledging the craggy-faced, silver-haired septuagenarian as the Congressional leader whose face has flashed across the nation's television sets for decades, the airline agents acted as if they had stumbled across a fanatic who might blow up an American airplane. Mr. Kennedy said they refused to give him his ticket.

"He said, 'We can't give it to you,' " Mr. Kennedy said, describing an encounter with an airline agent to the rapt audience. " 'You can't buy a ticket to go on the airline to Boston.' I said, 'Well, why not?' He said, 'We can't tell you.' "

"Tried to get on a plane back to Washington," Mr. Kennedy continued. '' 'You can't get on the plane.' I went up to the desk and said, 'I've been getting on this plane, you know, for 42 years. Why can't I get on the plane?' "

The hearing room erupted in laughter.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/20/national/20flight.html

It could have been worse, perhaps, if his name had been Anwar Kennedy.