> The immediate agenda, in my view, should be to fight
> against ethnic &
> religious discrimination and scapegoating; to defend
> civil rights &
> liberties;
http://www.gallup.com/poll/releases/pr010928.asp Americans Traditionally Have Not Held Very Positive Views of Arabs
Available historical data suggest that a negative image of Arabs existed before the September 11 attacks. A March 1993 Gallup poll, conducted shortly after a terrorist bombing of the World Trade Center, showed that just 39% of Americans had a favorable opinion of Arabs, while 32% had an unfavorable opinion and 29% had no opinion. An ABC News poll, conducted during the Persian Gulf crisis in February 1991, found that 43% of Americans said they had a high opinion of Arabs while 41% said they had a low opinion. In that poll, majorities of Americans said the following terms applied to Arabs: "religious" (81%), "terrorists" (59%), "violent" (58%) and "religious fanatics" (56%).
A July 1993 Gallup poll found that nearly two-thirds of Americans believed that there were "too many" immigrants from Arab countries entering the United States, while just 6% thought there were too few and 24% thought the number was about right. The poll was conducted at a time when most Americans thought immigration on the whole should be decreased. Still, Arab countries topped the list of areas from which Americans said "too many" immigrants were coming to this country, followed closely by Latin American and Asian countries, with African and European countries well behind. Sixty percent of respondents in an April 1998 New York Times poll agreed that "Arab-Americans are more loyal to Arab countries than to the United States," while 26% disagreed. [...] Attitudes Since the Terrorist Attacks
A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll conducted September 14-15 finds that 35% of Americans say they now have less trust in Arabs living in this country, while 63% say their level of trust has not changed. Americans with a high school education or less are more likely than those with college education to say they are now less trusting of Arab-Americans, by a 41% to 32% margin. Additionally, Republicans (45%) are more likely to say they have less trust in Arabs than are independents (29%) and Democrats (33%).
http://www.gallup.com/poll/releases/pr010928.asp
===== Kevin Dean Buffalo, NY ICQ: 8616001 http://www.yaysoft.com
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