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Coble, Myrick Face Heat for Comments

By Jim Morrill
Charlotte Observer
Posted on Monday January 6, 2003

Two N.C. members of Congress came under fire Wednesday for comments that Islamic groups and others say they find insulting.

In remarks about domestic security threats, Rep. Sue Myrick of Charlotte said, “Look at who runs all the convenience stores across the country.”

And Rep. Howard Coble of Greensboro defended World War II internment camps, saying 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.”

Both Republicans said later their remarks were not intended to insult any ethnic or religious groups.

But Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations, said such comments are part of “a very disturbing trend” of bigotry.

“Now we’ve got people saying everybody who works at the 7-Eleven who has a swarthy complexion is a potential threat,” he said.

Myrick’s comments came during a speech to the conservative Heritage Foundation last week about what she called Americans’ lack of readiness to deal with future terrorist attacks. During a question-and-answer session, she spoke about danger within the country.

“You know, and this can be misconstrued, but honest to goodness (husband) Ed and I for years, for 20 years, have been saying, `You know, look at who runs all the convenience stores across the country.’ Every little town you go into, you know?”

Coble’s comments came Tuesday during an interview on a High Point radio station. The chairman of a House subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security disagreed with a caller who suggested rounding up Arab Americans. But he defended President Franklin Roosevelt’s wartime decision to put Japanese Americans into internment camps.

“We were at war,” he said. “They were an endangered species. For many of these Japanese Americans, it wasn’t safe for them to be on the street. ... Some probably were intent on doing harm to us, just as some of these Arab Americans are probably intent on doing harm to us.’’

In a letter to Coble, Dr. James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, demanded an apology to Japanese and Arab Americans.

”(You) indicated your belief that there is a body of Arab Americans in this country who are `intent on doing harm to us,’ ” he wrote.

“That presumption is both false and hurtful. Arab Americans are loyal, patriotic, and dedicated to the safety of our nation. Many serve in the Administration, in Congress, and in our nations many law enforcement agencies.”

Hooper of the Islamic council said, “Once you start on that downward spiral of hate, it’s very difficult to stop it. You reach a critical mass where the mutual hatred and distrust is very difficult to correct. And we’re starting to see that now in our society.”

Jeff Lenard, a spokesman for the National Association of Convenience Stores, which represents 8,000 stores in the Carolinas, called Myrick’s comments offensive.

“To single out an industry—any industry—as being less patriotic or more apt to favor non-American views I think is very misinformed,” he said.

Myrick said Wednesday she wasn’t pointing a finger at any foreigners or ethnic groups. She said she was referring to federal investigations into “the illegal trafficking of food stamps through convenience stores for the purpose of laundering money to countries known to harbor terrorists.”

“My point is people (who) don’t like us are all over the country, and we know that,” she said in an interview Wednesday. “And my concern is that we as a government aren’t prepared. ... I’ve got Arab friends. This is not something in any way that’s condemning people. ... The point is very simply that we have to be alert to the fact that … terrorism can happen anywhere.”

Coble, meanwhile, defended his comments in an interview Wednesday while acknowledging that many Americans consider the wartime internment a bad mistake.

“Many folks may say that today,” he said, “but I say again, given the time (Roosevelt) imposed the internment program … part of that internment was for their own safety. ...Back then we were far less tolerant than we are today. And we were at war.”

Asked by an Observer reporter whether there are circumstances under which he foresees the internment of Arab Americans or foreign born residents, he said, “None comes to mind right now … I’m not inserting my oars into those hypothetical waters.”