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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 23, 2015)
20 Wednesday,December23,2015The Nugget Newspaper,Sisters,Oregon Bend bank robber armed with fake dynamite surrenders Looking Outward Dan Glode Columnist BEND (AP) — Police say employees at a Bend bank were held hostage for a short time on Friday when a man showed an employee what looked like explosives and demanded money. K T V Z r e p o r t s a 72-year-old La Pine man p l a c e d w h a t a p p e a r e d to be dynamite Friday afternoon. Policenegotiatorsarrived and the suspect emerged from the bank about 30 minutes later to surrender — shirtless and with his handsup. TheOregonStatePolice bomb squad later deter- minedthepossibledynamite and other items were hoax devices. Captain Paul Kansky said ThomasA. Henderson wasarrestedandbookedon chargesofrobbery,kidnap- ping, possession of hoax destruction devices and coercion. Several businesses were evacuated during the inci- dentandBendandMarshall high schools went into lockdown. Never take counsel of your fears Fear has never been a goodadvisor,neitherinour personal lives nor in our society. -AngelaMerkel Peter Salem was a Muslim who fought at Bunker Hill at the begin- ning of the Revolutionary War.Hewaskilledinaction. Muslim/Americans have fought in each and every major war of this nation includingtheCivilWar,both worldwars,Vietnam,Korea, IraqandAfghanistan.3,500 have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan alone. Many Muslim gravesites are at Arlington. They proudly servedandmanyhavemade thesupremesacrifice. So, when I hear Donald TrumpsayMuslimsshould be excluded from entering thiscounty,myheartsinks. We have a very diverse population.Wehaveamul- tiplicity of ideas and val- ues. We have freedom to express those values and thereissomecommonality inthevalueswedoholdas a nation. It also makes me angry, since I think we are betterthanhowTrumpand many of his co-candidates characterize us. There is a deep, dark underlay in this countryofbigotryandxeno- phobia into which some tap during times of crisis. After the killings in San Bernardinoandotherplaces this river of hate has been tapped by many.These are thetimeswearetested,all ofus. Thisisnotthefirsttime thisuglinesshasappearedor thatriverofhatredhasbeen accessed.Oneoftheworst blots on our history was the internment of 127,000 Japanese citizens during WorldWarII,two-thirdsof whom were U. S. citizens. Some were from Central Oregon.Withastrokeofa pen, Franklin Roosevelt’s executiveorderwasquickly carried out, and many had lessthan72hourstodispose oftheirpropertyandmoveto oneof10camps.Well,they didn’t even move them to campsatfirstbecausethey weren’tbuilt,sotheywent tostadiumsandwarehouses. What was particularly disheartening for me was thecaseofFredKorematsu vs. The United States. In thiscasetheU.S.Supreme Court ruled the internment was constitutional. Justice WilliamO.Douglas(whom Time magazine in 1975 called“themostdoctrinaire andcommittedcivillibertar- ianevertositonthecourt”) actuallywrotethemajority opinion. He considered it amonghisgreatestregretsin laterlife,butitshowshow everyone can get wrapped up in the fear and hysteria duringtimeswhentheyfeel threatened. There are many other examples. There were the anarchists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; they were responsible for random explosions and even the assassination of President McKinley.There wastheanti-Germansenti- ment during World War I. Thelistgoesonandon,but itisatthesetimes,likewe arehavingnow—whenour rightsandtherightsofoth- ers are most threatened — thatwehavetobethemost vigilant. It’seasytogetalumpin yourthroatwhentheyplay the National Anthem at a footballgame.Ido.Butthat iseasypatriotism.Thehard partisstandingbyourval- uesandnotgivingintothe base bigotry that Donald Trump,TedCruz,andothers espouse. Back when he was president Ronald Reagan said: “America represents something universal in the human spirit. I received a letter not long ago from a manwhosaid‘Youcangoto Japanandlivebutyoucan- not become Japanese. You can go to France and live, but you will not become a Frenchman.You can go to Germany orTurkey to live but you will not become a German or a Turk.’ Then he added: ‘Anyone can cometoAmericaandbean American.’” Let us not forget our ideals. IfwhatIreadiscorrect, ISIS recruits marginalized youth who don’t feel con- nected.WhatDonaldTrump isdoingisactuallyrecruiting forISISbyreinforcingwhat they hear about this coun- try. We need to work with Muslimleaderstobemore aggressive about reaching out to this population. We need to do a better job of intelligence-gathering. We alsoneedtostrengthenour visa process and be more carefulaboutwhoweadmit fromwhere—butwecan- notshutdownanentirereli- gion or race because of a disaffectedfew. Religion cannot be the basisofdiscrimination.Let’s remember and be what we standfor. THERE IS A PLACE... for a rewarding career Wishing you a safe & happy HOLIDAY SEASON Designate a driver! 541-549-1026 DAVIS TIRE Serving Sisters Since 1963. 188 W. Sisters Park Dr. In Sisters Industrial Park across from SnoCap Mini Storage View available positions and apply online at BlackButteRanch.com Hope for a child. Change for a nation. $35 a month. All the difference in the world. Sponsor a Ugandan child with a local organization at HopeAfricaKids.com Valid on Exclusive Signature Window Treatments only. Offer not valid with any other offers. CCB Licensed #197715 Bonded Insured 30+ Years Experience This ad sponsored by The Nugget Newspaper.