ACLU discusses civil liberties
By Sonejuhi Sinha
The Flat Hat
Wednesday night a teach-in regarding the effect of the Sept. 11 attacks on American civil liberties was held in Millington 150. It was organized by junior Sarah Ingle. Kent Willis, a representative from the Virginia American Civil Liberties Union and government professor Hans John Hacker spoke. They addressed issues ranging from freedom of speech to privacy rights that have been threatened by the nationwide response to terrorism. Afterward, students had a chance to voice concerns.
"I hoped that this teach-in would spark thoughtful debate on campus and in the Williamsburg community about the extent to which we should be willing to compromise our liberties in the interest of national security," Ingle said.
Willis began by clarifying the image of the ACLU. He said that the ACLU is similar to any other advocacy group, except that the primary goal is to influence government efforts on issues of justice and individual civil liberties.
"[The ACLU's] goal is not to let democracy become tyranny and to protect the rights of individuals in a free nation," Willis said.
He continued discussing the ACLU's standpoint before and after the Sept. 11 attacks. Willis said that before the Sept. 11 attacks, the ACLU was dealing with civil liberties violation cases relating to the drug war. Now Willis believes that the Sept. 11 attacks have been used to rationalize violations of the Fourth Amendment, concerning search and seizure, and other rights. He compared the current situation to McCarthyism in the 1950s and gave examples of random car checks, racial profiling and unjustified arrests taking place around the country.
Willis said politicians often repeat that if the United States concedes, the terrorist have won. He countered with the argument that if individual rights have been violated, the terrorists have also won.
"We refuse to attack the problem at its roots," Willis said, "and instead attack it through racism and class discrimination."
Hacker also spoke on related issues. He began by addressing two main issues: revisions in law and policies and the implications of Sept. 11. Rising patriotism was first on his list to address.
"Americanism, patriotic or nationalistic sentiment is a double edged sword," Hacker said. "It creates a sense of community and common purpose but has potential for significant abuse."
According to Hacker, Sept. 11 brought people together, but also created the U.S. mentality of isolationism. He said that mentality leads people to ignore the rights of others.
"This is a nation that values these freedoms," Hacker said. "It is part of what defines us."
Both speakers discussed the Patriot Act, also known as the anti-terrorist pact. They addressed some criticisms of this act.
"Government officials want to generalize and expand their definition of terrorism to rationalize a lot of their actions," Hacker said.
Willis gave the example of a store owner in Northern Virginia who was arrested for giving directions to a group of unknown strangers on where to obtain false identification. It was later found out that these strangers were related to the attacks on Sept. 11. The man was arrested and detained without charges since Sept. 13, according to Willis.
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