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Two N.C. Republicans draw fire for
‘outrageous’ ethnic comments
By PAT MORRISON
Congressional colleagues and several minority groups have blasted
recent comments made by two North Carolina House Republicans, Sue Myrick of
Charlotte and Howard Coble of Greensboro. Coble’s comments came in an
early February radio talk show, in which he defended President Franklin D.
Roosevelt’s decision to intern Japanese-Americans in
concentration-camp-style settings during World War II. Myrick caused a stir for
her remarks about Arab-Americans.
While Coble rejected a caller’s suggestion that President
Bush similarly intern Arab-Americans, he said FDR’s now-criticized move
was one that actually protected Japanese-Americans in a wartime climate of fear
and intolerance. While Japanese-Americans posed no threat, Coble said,
Roosevelt’s decision protected national security. According to a report of
the talk show in the Associated Press, Coble added, “Some
[Japanese-Americans] probably were intent on doing harm to us -- just as some
of these Arab-Americans are probably intent on doing harm to us.”
Myrick, speaking on a potential link to Arab-Americans and global
terrorism, said in her talk, “Look who runs all the convenience stories
across the country.” Later, after several Arab-American groups protested
her comments, Myrick said she only wanted to remind communities of the real
threat of terrorism, including “the illegal trafficking of food stamps
through convenience stores for the purpose of laundering money to countries
known to harbor terrorists.” To date, despite accusations, there have been
no substantiated cases of illegal food stamp commerce in the United States
linked to terrorism.
The comments of both North Carolina representatives met almost
immediate criticism. Floyd Mori, president of the Japanese American Citizens
League called Coble’s comments “outrageous” and
“uneducated.” Noting that the U.S. government recognized and
apologized for the error of interning its own citizens 60 years ago, Mori said
Japanese-Americans “expect Representative Coble to do so as well.”
The U.S. government issued a formal apology for the internment camps in the
late 1980s and offered compensation to about 60,000 survivors. Following
Mori’s statement, three Asian-American members of Congress -- Reps. Robert
Matsui, D-Calif.; Mike Honda, D-Calif.; and David Wu, D-Ore. -- on Feb. 7
requested a meeting with Coble.
Myrick’s and Coble’s comments were reported in a daily
briefing issued by the Washington-based Council on Islamic-American Relations,
which urged the Republican Party to formally condemn both lawmakers’
remarks about Arab-Americans.
National Catholic Reporter, February 28,
2003
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