Fueling Bigotry

Friday, September 21, 2001; Page A36

ON MONDAY President Bush visited the Islamic Center of Washington to send an unmistakable message that bigotry against Arab Americans and Muslims "will not stand in America." FBI Director Robert Mueller promised swift prosecution of anyone engaging in crimes rooted in such bigotry and declared that as his agency investigates last week's attacks it is not focusing on anyone simply because of ethnic background. "We do not, have not, will not target people based solely on their ethnicity, period, point-blank," he said. The same day in Louisiana, Rep. John Cooksey was telling a radio interviewer that anyone wearing "a diaper on his head and a fan belt wrapped around the diaper" ought to be "pulled over" for extra questioning at airports. He apologized for his shameful words after they were reported nationwide, but he continues, through a spokesman, to stand by the idea that airport security personnel should focus suspicion and attention on passengers of Middle Eastern appearance. "Because it is a war [against terrorism], we will never win it if we have to stop every five minutes to make sure we're being politically correct," he told the Associated Press.

Far more than political correctness is at stake here. To prove it, look no further than the ugly toll of incidents that have begun to pile up in the wake of the Sept. 11 attack. The FBI is investigating more than 40 crimes, including three murders, possibly related to ethnicity or religion. One of the murder victims was a Sikh, who local prosecutors said was apparently singled out because he had dark skin and wore a turban. In such a climate political leaders have a special responsibility to fight stereotyping and bigotry. While other elected officials are rising to the occasion, Rep. Cooksey has fallen flat. Louisiana voters ought to ask whether a person capable of such a blockhead remark is the best they can do.