Seattle Crime Reports : Seattle Crime Blog : Seattle, Washington

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Back on Veteran's Day, notorious FOX News commentator Bill O'Reilly offered his take on the "suspicious" ferry passengers we covered earlier this morning. Here's the clip (discussion of the P.I. comes in at around 50 seconds):



Before proceeding, let's be clear on a few points:

• We at Seattle Crime Blog have a collective loathing for Mr. O'Reilly and his supposed "no spin zone";
  
• the tactics of ordering cameras upon Roger Oglesby after he had already declined to comment is an extremely sleazy thing to do;
  
• Jesse Waters' questions are certainly not "fair" or "balanced"; and
  
• bringing in D. Parvaz's totally unrelated statement that "church is a repressive institution" when it has nothing to do with the matter at hand just makes you look like a bunch of ideology-driven assholes...which, of course, you very well may be.

First of all, the men were photographed by the ferry captain, not a fellow passenger. And it wasn't because they "looked Middle Eastern," as the author is so quick to suggest. It was because of what the Times calls "unusual behavior — namely that they were taking pictures below deck, in areas that don't hold much interest for most tourists."

But at this point the author is too far into his epiphany for it to matter...after all, we're just reaching the thesis:

Should a newspaper — in a free country, proud of its history as a melting pot — be stereotyping people as "suspicious" by the pigment of their skin?

Joel is missing the point completely. The newspaper isn't stereotyping at all; they're reporting (or, more accurately in this case, failing to report) on relevant local news, news that people in the community are talking about and that impacts them directly. Ultimately, such reporting should be the central focus of a respected daily paper...no matter what the political leanings of their editorial board.

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Over at the P.I., they're already gloating about this:

The FBI has called off a global manhunt for two men who looked Middle Eastern and were spotted snapping pictures and demonstrating "suspicious behavior" on a Washington ferry last summer.

[...]

Photos of the pair, taken by Washington State Ferries employees, were released to the news media in August in an effort to identify and locate them, after an investigation found that they "showed an inordinate interest in the operation of the shipboard systems," the FBI said at the time.

Turns out the duo was really just a pair of businessmen from the EU, who visited Seattle last July and wanted to take photos of the boat's interior (since their home country supposedly doesn't have car ferries). So much for an "inordinate interest."

As you'll recall, the P.I. - unlike the Times - refused to run the photo of the men, due to "civil liberties and privacy concerns, which editors felt outweighed the newsworthiness of the images." We're all for those same concerns here at Seattle Crime Blog. Problem is, this isn't a civil liberties issue.

These men were photographed in a public place. There were no names associated with their faces, nor even any information as to what country they hailed from. It's no secret that the Puget Sound's ferry system is a shockingly vulnerable terrorist target, and - rightly or wrongly - two Middle Eastern men taking photos in an obscure location of the boat is going to raise questions. Such is the world we live in.

And in their haste to earn praise as a good liberal paper, editors at the P.I. got ahead of themselves: if you'll recall, the FBI wasn't saying that they knew the men were terrorists. They never claimed that if found, the pair would be locked away at Guantanamo and waterboarded 'til the cows come home. They just wanted to talk with them...and if what happened when the pair came forth two weeks ago is any indication, it would have been determined that the men's actions were innocent enough to warrant them walking free.

Sure, the P.I. was right this time. But it would be foolish to underplay the threat of Islamic extremism in the name of political correctness. And, like a certain neighborhood blog we recently called out for not doing their job, the P.I. failed to serve the public's interest by not publishing the photos in question. More concerned about the feelings of two foreigners than the safety of the community, the paper's editors allowed their political biases to impede on good editorial judgment.

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The U.S. Border Patrol has been getting a bum rap from the media lately.

First, we heard about the sex-craved customs inspector who let drugs through at the Blaine crossing in exchange for sex acts from a Canadian prostitute.

Then, a group of uninformed Seattle University students embarrassed their entire campus earlier this month, when they protested the university's Career Day event. Their anger stemmed from the mere presence of Border Patrol agents - who, like most of the law enforcement groups represented, were there to recruit - at a Jesuit institution. From The Spectator, SU's student newspaper:

Protesters also encouraged passing students to sign a petition against recruiters at Seattle U.

“The Border Patrol should not be allowed to recruit on our campus because their tactics are responsible for thousands of deaths of migrant people trying to cross the border,” explained Lauren Ressler, freshman environmental studies major.

“The policies of the U.S. Border Patrol seem to contradict the policies of Seattle University; it’s shocking that they would be invited,” said Marianne Mork, sophomore humanities major.

You're right, Marianne. It's absolutely shocking that the university would give a legitimate government agency - an agency you and the rest of the idealistic social justice monkeys blame for doing their job effectively - the chance to give students jobs in a workforce where employment are getting harder and harder to find. It's not like the immigrants they work keep out of the country are illegal or anyth---oh wait. My bad.

Finally, in yesterday's Times, the Border Patrol is under fire yet again:

A couple of months ago, the U.S. Border Patrol began occasional "spot checks" of every vehicle and passenger arriving in Anacortes off state ferries, the lifeline between these islands and the mainland.

[...]

In the islands' coffee shops and the editorial pages of the local paper, then in a crowded, heated meeting last month, a number of people have complained that islanders are being unfairly treated and questioned, even though they haven't left the country and normally wouldn't be subject to such scrutiny.

Terms like "police state" are hurled around, as they say the searches are illegal, unconstitutional — and just a ruse to catch illegal immigrants and petty drug users.

A prime example of when rural folks with too much time on their hands let their conspiracy theories run wild. As the article points out, we're not talking Nazi Germany here; you don't have to answer any questions if you're on a domestic ferry, and Border Patrol agents have only arrested 43 people (38 of them Mexicans) in nearly two months of investigation.

While I would take issue with using the Border Patrol to make arrests for "petty drug use" - or anything that doesn't involve bringing people or products across the border illegally - the article makes no further mention of such activity other than in the sentence quoted above (unsubstantiated fear mongering, perhaps?).

The local stance on illegal immigration baffles me, when the answer to this fiery debate is simple: if you don't want to be hassled for being an illegal immigrant, then don't enter the United States illegally. And if you're an American who has problems with how we guard our borders, then do something constructive about it; immigration is an issue that has to be dealt with through an overhaul of our legal system (which is run by people we elect), not through appeals on emotional grounds. And blaming the Border Patrol is a ridiculously misguided approach to take.