Unless you're a foot soldier in the army of racists and bigots that regularly have their inflammatory comments approved and posted on Yahoo's message board, You'll probably find what you're about to read a little disturbing. I've actually chosen some of the less incendiary remarks you come across any day of the week courtesy of Yahoo. Just try posting there some time and you'll realize that all these remarks were approved after being screened by Yahoo staff. Not only that, Yahoo's staff loved them so much that they ported them from one article to the next. I kid you not. It's something I've never seen on another mass media site. They'll take comments from one article and post them on another to give the illusion that they have a very active community. This appears to be an organized campaign – one that is actively encouraged by Yahoo's management. If you don't subscribe to conspiracy theories – let's put aside the question of whether it's coordinated. But make no mistake – Yahoo does encourage this kind of racist graffiti on its message boards. Here's a watered down sample. Many of the posts are even more inflammatory and derogatory, but I've singled these because they are open calls for violence against Muslims and Arabs living in the United States. “START CONFRONTING MUSLIMS AND INTIMIDATE THEM INTO LEAVING” “72 VIRGINS AND A RIVER OF WINE IS WHAT THESE BONEHEADS ARE PROMISED OVER THERE, LMFAO. IF THEY DO IT HERE THEY GET 6 CRACKHEADS AND A CASE OF MAD DOG 20/20. LET'S JUST START ATTACKING THEM RIGHT HERE!” “If this is not the greatest argument in favor of internment camps for all Muslims in the USA then we have no hope. We did it justifiably in WW2 for the Japs when needed and we NEED TO DO IT NOW FOR ALL MUSLIMS in the USA until we get this under control.” “We should absolutely bring back the camps of WW2 where Japanese citizens and non-citizens in the US were isolated and placed in camps to ensure the safety of our great nation. Obviously the difference here is that the camps should be filled with the Muslim Scum that roam, take advantage of, and poison this once beautiful country. While we're at it we should through all the dead beat system workers in their as well.” “We let these diaper heads become citizens and they terrorize us. We allow dirty Mexicans to walk across the border and commit crimes, steal jobs and impose filth and lower standards upon us and we ship American jobs to the @#$% overseas. America deserves what it gets for not taking care of its own. Seems like we get all of the trash from other countries. Won't be long before we are a 3rd world country – just a matter of time. SPAY AND NEUTER MEXICANS!” “We are at war with and in the Middle East. All Muslims in the U.S. should be rounded up and placed in concentration camps until the wars are over! If the republicans don't insist that the president do something I will never vote republican again … ever!” “Until the U.S. stops allowing the dregs of society (Muslims) to come to our country and visit, study, work etc., we'll continue to see things like this happen. Close the border to Muslims and deport all those currently living here. Otherwise, grab your flak jacket and helmet and hope you're not in the path of the next attempted attack by Islamic scum.” All these comments were from one single article. But you can find similar comments and much worse on almost any article related to the Middle East or Afghanistan or Terrorism or even the Census. If you want a full dose of the vilest and most toxic racial hazing, Yahoo is the place to go. By now, we've all become accustomed to anti-Islamic bigotry and anti-Arab racism in the mass media and I can live with the fact that Yahoo is owned and operated by racists. I can even accept that the First Amendment gives Yahoo the right to roll out the red carpet and provide a platform for racist comments. But I think they cross the line when they allow a campaign that incites violence against millions of Americans based on their cultural heritage and faith traditions. The reason I want to go on record with this is to send a very clear message to Yahoo that there might be legal liabilities associated with their atrocious conduct. We shouldn't expect a sudden stroke of decency to change their attitudes. Incitement to violence is criminal behavior and this is still a country of law where even Yahoos can be sued. And if it's difficult to sue them here, it should be easy enough to do in Canada. It shouldn't take too long to put a compelling case together. You can find enough racist trash to make a case any day of the week. Just food for thought – try posting this on a Yahoo message board and see how quickly they censor views they don't consider ‘appropriate.' ** Ahmed Amr is an Arab-American and the author of “The Sheep and the Guardians – Diary of a SEC Sanctioned Swindle.” As a Pro Se litigant in the Syntax-Brillian Bankruptcy case, he was credited with unraveling systematic fraud.
