Rhetorical hypothesis

A rhetorical question is one where the answer is obvious from the question itself ("don't you think it'd be stupid to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge if you're not suicidal?"). A rhetorical hypothesis, conceptually, is one where the theorist seeks support for the premise that he already knows is true.

That premise: Arabs in America are treated worse post-9/11 than pre-9/11. Here is the article on the results of a University of Michigan survey indicating that 60% of Arabs are more fearful for their families.

Of course, 99% of rational Americans are more fearful for THEIR families in the wake of 19 ARAB suicide jihadists flying four airplanes into the World Trade Center, Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania (only thanks to heroic passengers for the last) about three years ago. So Monkish sympathy shant pour forth. Moreover, only 3% of the respondents ever faced any serious negative experience (whatever that meant). So the survey shows only the FEAR of reprisal and DISPROVES a climate of anti-Arab feeling.

Most telling is this result:

Only 38 percent of 508 members of the general population surveyed by researchers said they believe Arab Americans are doing all they can to stop terrorist attacks, the report said. The percentage of Arabs and Chaldeans who said so was 73.

Got that? The Arabs in America believe they're doing everything they can to help. That will come as a surprise to all of us stunned by the silence of CAIR in the face of Arab brutality to their own citizens in the Middle East and to American soldiers who have fought bravely for the freedom of Iraqis.

Hat-tip: Michelle Malkin.

Further comment from Captain Ed:

In terms of respect for their religion, it would help if groups like the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and other such organizations would worry less about namecalling and more about urging American Muslims to cooperate with law enforcement. Instead, we mostly hear how our foreign policy led to 9/11 and our need to listen to the terrorists rather than hunt them down and kill them.

And now we have this ridiculous study that claims 15% have received serious harrassment, only to find out that tasteless jokes count in the survey. Gee, can I start a survey among Irish-Americans that count every alcohol-related wisecrack I ever heard? How about having the Italian-American Anti-Defamation League ask their members if they've ever been asked, "What do you hear from the mob these days?" (On second thought, let's not. They'd actually take that suggestion seriously.)

You want our respect? Suck it up, buttercup, and quit whining when people dislike you. Idiots existed before 9/11, and they'll be around after we beat the Islamofascists, too. You're alive and overwhelmingly unharmed, which is more than I can say for 3,000 people in New York who made the mistake of going to work on 9/11.