The Japanese American Citizens League is protesting a statement on a Fox News Channel show that America’s successful prosecution of World War II was attributable to Japanese American incarceration.
That opinion was offered on the Sept. 20 broadcast of “Cashin’ In,” moderated by Eric Bolling, during a discussion on whether there is a need to profile Muslims due to the threat posed by ISIS.
Jonathan Hoenig, founding member of the Capitalist Pig hedge fund and a regular contributor and panelist on Fox News, said, “We should have been profiling on Sept. 12, 2001. Let’s take a trip down memory lane here. The last war this country won, we put Japanese Americans in internment camps; we dropped nuclear bombs on residential city centers. So, yes, profiling would be at least a good start.
“It’s not on skin color, however. It’s on ideology — Muslim, Islamist, jihadist. That’s a good start but only a start. We need to stop giving Korans to Gitmo prisoners. We need to stop having Ramadan celebrations in the White House. We have to stop saying the enemy is not Islamic; they are. That’s how you get started.”
Panelist Wayne Rogers, head of Wayne Rogers & Co., a stock trading investment corporation, and actor (“MASH”), expressed similar sentiments: “It just makes common sense. If you’re looking for a fugitive, let’s say a white male over 50 years of age, you’re going to profile. You’re going to look for that person. You’re not going to look for somebody who’s 21. Yes, absolutely you should profile. You’ve got to profile.
“I know there’s a delicate balance between liberty … and security in these cases, but there’s no other way to do it. You’ve got to do it. Yes, of course. It’s stupid not to.”
Panelist Michelle Fields, a commentator and Fox News contributor, said, “The fact of the matter is … we have a problem with extreme Muslims. To ignore that is not fair.”
Panelist Jessica Ehrlich, a Democratic strategist and former congressional candidate, cautioned, “As Jonathan said — the one thing I agree with him on — is it’s not about going after the color of someone’s skin, or whether someone has dark hair or looks swarthy … There’s certain things they look for in terms of a profile that need to be addressed.”
“The JACL rejects the absurd extreme of profiling that would lead to mass incarceration as suggested by Hoenig’s statement,” the civil rights organization said Tuesday. “The policy adopted by the Bush Administration to avoid the use of profiling as anathema to our civil liberties values continues today. It is a policy that must be maintained despite temptations to give in to the fear and hysteria that some would create about Muslims in America.
“During World War II, our country was led to believe that Japanese Americans were to be feared and thereby posed a security risk. This belief led to the dire consequences of establishing and operating American concentration camps based on the racial profiling of a group of people.
“Our system of government was established with important guiding principles that do not allow for the selective treatment of individual groups of Americans. It is a lesson we learned in the aftermath of World War II that must be repeated whenever the suggestion of disparate treatment of vulnerable groups arise.”