MovieChat Forums > Crossing Over (2009) Discussion > I am GLAD that ingrate got deported...

I am GLAD that ingrate got deported...


now maybe she can appreciate how good she had it in the good ol US of A. Let's see how far she gets espousing her 'opinion' in the cinderblock classroom located in the wasteland she will now call home - thats if she is allowed to go to school. I know this topic has been talked to death but I felt the need to comment on it anyway - her storyline made angry to say the least. This girl who has lived in our country ILLEGALLY since she was 3 years old and had the same rights and priviledges as you and I (more than any other potential terrorist her age in her home country) has absolutely NO idea how the terrorists feel. Why not? Because she has not lived or been exposed to those circumstances or conditions. I don't care if in her own mind she 'understands', 'sympathizes', 'relates' whatever - anyone who can identify with someone who kills innocent people just living their lives because they don't see things the way they think they should is a terrorist sympathizer and should share their fate. Simplifying it with "I understand their anger but don't agree with how they chose to express it" just doesn't cut it- so maybe she though bio-weapons would have been more effective? Or maybe the more humanitarian act of strapping yourself with explosives and detonating in a public setting...I have read many posts where they try to dissect what she is saying and none of it convinces me - wonder if she would have held the same viewpoint if one of her family members died in one of the Towers...

Take all the politics out of it (liberal, conservative) and we have an ungrateful individual who's family was trying to give her opportunities that would not have been afforded to her in their own country, basically spitting in the face of all their efforts and sacrifices. Even when she was questioned by the FBI she was unsympathetic and more than willing to claim her right to "free speech". For someone who found so much fault with how this country treats the plight of others she sure didn't want to leave it - guess its not such a bad place after all. And the kicker is her parents knew it too that is why they chose without hesitation to let their children born here stay.

As an American citizen I believe in our constitutional rights to freedom of speech and religion. We can practice these rights without having to be worried about being dragged out of our beds in the middle of the night and tortured within an inch of our lives. What I cannot stomach is an ILLEGAL immigrant enjoying the opportunities, freedom, and liberties of our democratic nation and bashing it in the same breath. I would be interested to see her story line fast forwarded two years later and how this girls life compares to what she had, I bet its not all its cracked up to be. The happy ending to her story arc of deportation for me was knowing she could NEVER come back - good riddance.

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I can see that you are very angry about this storyline. I have read a lot of comments about this and I see how people in general do not support of this girl.

First of all, I think the producer's choice of this story line is extremely controversial. This is a movie about the immigrants and their struggles. Some people's effort and sacrifice were paid off, some were lucky and some weren't. The movie wasn't about politics, terrorism or wars.

Suppose she was caught for drunk driving or any other drama they can think up, the same events would have happened. They found out she was an illegal immigrant, she would be deported, she was split from her family, she will not see her parents, siblings for an indefinite time, the future as she knew it was gone forever, she was sent to a place she knows very little about and will be isolated because of cultural and language barriers. And so, the viewers would see her loss and suffering more clearly and sympathize with her. Unfortunately, it is blurred and ignored because of the controversial issue in her essay in class. So my point is that choice of adding that terrorist essay overshadowed and ruined the story that was supposed to be touching and emotional.








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3 years old...she was basically an American citizen. So if her brother or sister had made that same speech - you would be less angry? (because they were born in America). That country is the only home she has ever known...in all intensive purposes she was American. She had done nothing wrong, her only crime was being born too early.

What she had to say has merit, and it is Americans with closed minds who dont want to understand why the world hates their guts. The fact that Americans cant figure it out is appalling.

Understanding the minds of terrorists, and going beyond the horribly simplistic "they hate us for our freedom," is important. She never condoned their actions, but in a sense she was right. America has been killing, pillaging and terrorising people in that area for a long time.

I will never condone the killing of innocent people whether that be the 3000 in the WTCs or the 80,000 who died in Hiroshima, or the 100,000s who continue to be killed by terrorist-like actions in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan today at the hands of your countrymen. Terrorism comes in all forms and is just as horrible when a country condones the killing of innocent others.

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I'm also glad she was deported because I don't need sympathizers of terrorists living among us. By her definition we are terrorists. Fine. Don't let her live among the terrorists, us. Is it not written in the Koran -- do not live among the infidels. She was rightly returned to her own people.

I miss Big Band music and talented singers. Leonard Cohen is my idol. Civility, harmony, unity!

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You have fundamentally misunderstood her. She was sympathetic to the Palestinian cause that the terrorists claimed to be representing in conducting the suicide bombing. She was NOT sympathetic to the terrorists and their methods.

It's precisely your incapability of seeing such an obvious distinction that exemplifies how dense Americans can be. It requires a little intellect and sophistication to understand nuance of which you have none.

Some fellows get credit for being conservative when they are only stupid.
- Kin Hubbard

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True, we Americans CAN be dense -- I'm the 1ST one to point that out. BUT, imagine if I -- a self-excommunicated Catholic -- went to speak at a Jewish temple (I can't spell "synogue" just now, it's late) and told the audience about some of the GOOD things Hitler and Mussolini did. Which might sound absurd, but recently a once big-time Italian politician got in hot water by saying publicly that Il Duce (ol' Benito M) went a little "too far" when it came to his "treatment" of Italian Jews but golly-gosh, he wasn't ALL bad.

I'm not saying folks in the Middle East don't have issues with the USA -- for one thing, our gov't backed that dictator the SHAH OF IRAN, for cryin' out loud. But to say, "These mass-murdering terrorists DID have a point" is being WAY naive, you dig?!? Hey, HITLER wanted to make the world a better place, didn't he? It's too bad he felt that all people that weren't properly "Aryan" had to be ELIMINATED, though, huh? Just because you have a beef (to use an old expression for "serious issues") is no justification for MASS MURDER...period.

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Yeah I understand your point. Although she was in high school, I wouldn't expect her to be anything but naive, especially in believing she was protected by the 1st amendment to say those things. She wasn't aware she was illegal.

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Agree, and you make an important distinction that we all have to make in this issue. Also the people that support the cause of a struggle but not the methods are very important to get rid of terrorists. Cause they could be as emotional about the issue but on the same time be as emotional about the solution that isn't terrorism and also condemning terrorism as destructive to their cause and killing innocent.

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Exactly. And it really doesn't do us any good to treat them all like terrorists. In fact it just makes it worse.

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Yes but on the same time I also think she really made a stupid speech. If she made it more about how you have to understand that this is a complex issue and condemn the terrorist but also condemn some of US wars and backing of dictators it would been a much better speech. Its a foolish speech even for her age. I recently saw the movie again and I must say her speech was a little worse than I remembered.

She would be wiser to only speak about US politics and wars and get the students to try to understand that this has severe consequences for the people living there. Now its a free speech issue but its not strange that the government investigate her, but they are very hard in what they do and I don't think thats the way to go.

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where in the movie does she sympathise with the terrorists? a little more effort to understand and dissect the role without looking through bigoted glasses would probablry help.

Michael

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I agree with everyone who feels that there should be no free speech in America. The government should tell us what to think. It's so much easier that way. Whew!

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In her speech, she pointed out that the 9/11 hijackers were:
- rational
- courageous
- that similarly to the Palestinians or Iraqis, they could not be heard by the world
- and that thus their only way to be heard by the world was through the hijacking / violent means.

She very clearly sympathized with the hijackers and the concept of violence as a means of political expression.

None of which is illegal in the US.

Of course, acting like a fundamentalist Islamic recruit in a high school in Los Angeles and worrying a lot of people was very stupid, and when the FBI shows up at her door to look at her more closely, she backs up a bunch and says she was simply looking at divergent views.... but that's not the truth. She was clearly supportive of the terrorist view.

She is the classic young person who gets their view migrated from teen angst to focus on injustice to recruitment to violence. Whether it is Al Queda, KKK, Neo Nazism, or whatever... the story is basically the same.

In her case, her parents made the devastating error of not legalizing their presence in the US, and obviously we aren't going to allow foreign national terrorist sympathizers illegally in the US to remain here.

To call recognizing her support of them bigotry or to defocus the subject to US actions in the WOT is being very simple minded indeed.

She said it: "...and the only way for them to be heard was to scream, with the might of tons of steel and thunderous jet engines behind them upon impact!"

If you think that sentence isn't an endorsement of violence... you aren't very good at English.

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She said it: "...and the only way for them to be heard was to scream, with the might of tons of steel and thunderous jet engines behind them upon impact!"

If you think that sentence isn't an endorsement of violence... you aren't very good at English.


That's wasn't and endorsement.

She was regretting that 9/11 was the only way America could wake up from its slumber.

Passenger side, lighting the sky
Always the first star that I find
You're my satellite...

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Your also an ignorant person and you definitely didnt "get" the point of the movie. I guess it was too complicated for you.

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@bb_bryson
As a proud American I want to thank you for your comments because once again they highlight the IGNORANT view that self-deluded foreigners have of Americans. It may surprise you but I have lived abroad for years (Europe, South America, Africa) and I have seen the desperation and extremes foreigners will go to to get to the United States. It is amazing how a country filled with "ignorants" can still be a beacon of light for millions around the world! But I digress...this girl is NOT an American citizen - period. That was decided by law, not by my opinion or anyone elses. It is true the US may have been the only home she has ever known but she didn't appreciate it at such and that is the point I am arguing. I am not against immigrants or foreigners wishing to come to the US, I am against anyone with a hypocritical idealogy that lets you live the principles of democracy when its convenient while preaching sympathy for terrorists. I also want to state that if it was not for the Twin Towers massacre there would never have been the immense surge of US troops in the Middle East like there is today. They brought this on themselves.

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Please be a little less ignorant in your response. When you say "they brought this on themselves" remember that the 9/11 attack were planned by one group of people originally from Yemen. So to say that the people of Iraq and Afghanistan brought war on themselves is extremely insensitive and ignorant. Please remember that these people and their governments had no control, decision or say when it came to 9/11 so THEY haven't done anything wrong.

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Wow - gotta love the bleeding hearts (not really). How about this - try reading the context of the comment, I was speaking about the "terrorists". I am only responding to clarify an already obvious point otherwise it would be beneath me to respond to namecallers.

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your statement about 9/11 planning is completely false.. it wasn't just Yemen

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The Afghanistan people and government allowed the mass murdering terrorists to live and train in their country. There was a base there. They supplied support, sanctuary and at the least a tacit acceptance of those xenophobic killers.

Stay Gold
Marty

PS Canada and The Netherlands are great places.

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For a person that claims to be a cosmopolitan (at least as living in many countries around the world can open your mind to other's ideas and point of views) I find that your words come from a very narrow frame of mind. It is true that the U.S.A. has attracted, attracts and will be attracting many foreigners because they think they will find a better way of living there. The reasons for that are very complex and different for each other, but affection to the country that receives you is not mandatory to someone who decides to be an immigrant or to someone who is made an immigrant for reasons he or she can't control. Many people emigrates every day and that doesn't mean that they have to be grateful with the country where they go to live in.

On another hand, I think this discussion is missing one important point of the plot of the movie. The girl is an illegal, ok. But she's forced to return to her home country not for being and illegal person but because she expressed her own ideas. Freedom of speech is something that American people appreciates very much and even many Americans are willing to fight for free speech. Ironically, this girl is deported because she strongly believes in one of the most important values of the United States and she wants to express her own ideas, exactly as many American people do every day.

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...What she had to say has merit, and it is Americans with closed minds who dont want to understand why the world hates their guts. The fact that Americans cant figure it out is appalling.Understanding the minds of terrorists, and going beyond the horribly simplistic "they hate us for our freedom," is important. She never condoned their actions, but in a sense she was right. America has been killing, pillaging and terrorising people in that area for a long time.


Agree with you. US. is a great country, but is not the center of the world, with the right to invade and ban a certain country or just put pressure on Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela... and even Europe. In my opinion the girl was trying to say that violence brings more violence, but it was't the place and the best way to express her views.

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"Intensive purposes?" I think you mean intents and purposes. :)

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She was deported because she was illegal and rightfully so. By law she has NO right to enjoy our freedoms and opportunities because she is not a citizen, nor did she have any type of visa to allow her here..And the fact she sympathized with the 9/11 terrorists seals it. She was rightfully banned from the greatest country on earth never to return. You cannot claim free speech and sympathize with the very people who want free speech taken away. Good riddance don't let the door you on the ass on your way out....Future terrorist.

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Finally - a voice of reason!

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Uhm one mistake there. The greatest country on earth is called The Netherlands ;)

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Were we suppose to feel bad she got deported? I sure as hell didn't...I was glad to see a future terrorist kicked out of the greatest country in the world. Now she can go back to her third world *beep* and really see what its like...

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Err, no no no, the greatest country on earth is called CANADA!

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Not if you like freedom of speech. Canada is about polite speech, unless you're ranting against white people, America or Israel. But you better not be hateful otherwise. Canada is as repressive as many communist countries when it comes to questioning racial issues.

-
You did just fine, Clarence. Now go git yo'self some hot cornbread!

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Hate speech is hurtful to others so it's wrong. Freedom of hate speech is what caused the Holocaust. I don't feel repressed or that I'm living in a communist country. Canada is the best country in the world, period.

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Is it not hate speech to bash Christians, Whites, Jews? Oh no , that is fine in your frigid world EH? *beep* Canada...You are nothing of a country.

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Xina did not say Canada condoned making hateful statements about Christians, Whites, and Jews. That was guncrazy who was making those claims. Try and direct your criticism appropriately.

Some fellows get credit for being conservative when they are only stupid.
- Kin Hubbard

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Hell no the greatest country on Earth is Narnia...i mean they have a lion in charge how frecking cool is that :)

"Nee ta ma duh tyen-shia suo-yo duh run doh gai si"

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Err, no no no, the greatest country on earth is called CANADA!
You meant to say the most pathetic, liberal, bleeding heart country on Earth is CANADUH!

Gays Are Not To Be Hated, The Gay Agenda Is...

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She was deported because she was illegal and rightfully so. By law she has NO right to enjoy our freedoms and opportunities because she is not a citizen, nor did she have any type of visa to allow her here..And the fact she sympathized with the 9/11 terrorists seals it. She was rightfully banned from the greatest country on earth never to return. You cannot claim free speech and sympathize with the very people who want free speech taken away. Good riddance don't let the door you on the ass on your way out....Future terrorist.






http://www.fanfiction.net/~tutorwife93

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[deleted]

Call it American paranoia or whatever any non-Americans would like, but anything that sounds as if it is sympathetic to the 9-11 terrorists and their cause (regardless if it is meant to or not) isn't generally going to be greeted with a lot of understanding.


I will give her credit, though, it took a TON of intestinal fortitude to get up in front of her class and read that essay, knowing how unpopular it would be.

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I totally agree with what BrotherZero said here. Ofcourse it was not wise of Taslima to put the future of her family in danger. But it seems Americans always defend their holy "First Amendment" (Freedom of Speech), but when someone has the guts to talk about 9/11, it is somehow not allowed to "talk freely". Remember how the classmates of Taslima reacted (raising middle fingers and calling her Taslima Bin Laden? WTF?).

What is the value of the first amendment if you can't use it in the real life, and if you use your "freedom of speech" right, you get deported?

Before the topic starter responds: yes, I know Taslima was illegal, so in fact, she had "no rights at all"... that is what the topic starter means, right?

By the way, this movie is a good example of "no exceptions". I only visited the USA once, by crossing the Quebec/New York border by car, the customs officer asked me to fill out a form, with 10 default questions, and 8 out of 10 questions were regarding World War II, the Nazi regime, asking me if I took part in the Nazi regime. WTF? I politely asked the customs officer if he was serious regarding the Nazi regime, BECAUSE I WAS NOT BORN YET in World War II, I'm from the 70's. ;) He replied with 2 simple words: no exceptions. :(

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Free speech is a two-way street. Insults and middle fingers are free expressions too, just not the most intelligent.

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it seems Americans always defend their holy "First Amendment" (Freedom of Speech), but when someone has the guts to talk about 9/11, it is somehow not allowed to "talk freely".
She didn't just talk about 9/11, she made a crystal clear statement of support for violence against innocent people as a means to be heard. She glorified the 911 terrorists as courageous and you conveniently or stupidly ignore that she was and illegal immigrant and as such she does not enjoy the freedoms that American citizens do. That's the bottom line and ends all bleeding heart wailing over her deportation.

What is the value of the first amendment if you can't use it in the real life, and if you use your "freedom of speech" right, you get deported?
No stupid, you don't get deported if your an American citizen, but again, she was not an American citizen! Is it starting to sink in?

Before the topic starter responds: yes, I know Taslima was illegal, so in fact, she had "no rights at all"... that is what the topic starter means, right?
If you truly understand this, then why contradict your own understanding with the first two paragraphs of your bleeding heart Canadian opinion? You do see that saying you understand that she was illegal and had no rights as a US citizen nullifies all of your America bashing points, right?


Gays Are Not To Be Hated, The Gay Agenda Is...

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"She was rightfully banned from the greatest country on earth"

Hahaha, how on earth do you think you'll be taken seriously after such a comment... not to even mention the rest of your silly, chauvinistic rant.

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All politics aside, what bugged me about that storyline was the fact that the parents weren't the least bit angry with their daughter for destroying their entire family as a result of being too dumb to realize that Americans are still quite sensitive about the memory of 9/11 and maybe it wasn't such a good idea to draw so much attention to herself and her illegal parents like that.

I realize that she was "just a kid", and of course, they're gonna love and support and forgive her...well, eventually anyway.
But if I was an illegal alien (especially middle-Eastern), I'd be rather strict about the idea of my family members keeping a low profile, and I'd be pretty pissed if my kid ignored that concept so blatantly.

I can only assume that the parents knew about their daughter's opinions and, given their status (or lack thereof), they must have warned her now and then (or even regularly) to be a little more subdued about expressing them so openly.

Again, yeah, I'd be understanding and forgiving at some point (I do have a kid), but I would've liked to have seen at least some semblance of anger and disappointment from the parents.

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Her family allows this young girl to educate herself and express herself. Then when her thoughts and words get the family in trouble they stand behind her and do not forsake her or cast blame and shame upon her. That's pretty "American" for a muslim family from Pakistan. Hell, they were even eating mac & cheese with ketchup when ICE/FBI beat down their door. Yet, people don't want to allow her the same freedom of expression that they would grant a blue eyed, blonde haired "all American" girl? Freedom of expression is a HUMAN RIGHT not the exclusive privilege of people born in certain countries due to a fluke of geography.

There was never any debate from her that the actions of 9-11 were wrong. She simply stated that she can understand why those terrorists did what they did. Where I live there is a lot of gang related homicide and violent crime. I don't condone it, and I certainly don't absolve the gang-bangers terrorizing the community. But unless we try to understand why this happening we will never effectively deal with the issue. That doesn't mean it is OK to kill because you are poor, or unemployed, or fatherless, or black... but we need to understand that in the minds of the people committing these crimes those ARE valid excuses to THEM.

So back to the young woman in movie... if you want to prevent another 9-11 then it makes a lot of sense to explore every contributing factor as to what made it happen in the first place. That includes understanding the mindset of the terrorists. That's what this young woman was trying to discuss in her classroom. Instead the actions of the US Government only helped validate her ideas of why someone would hate her country so much that they could commit an act of terrorism against it. Most likely she now also hates the USA.

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Wow. Thank you for that fresh voice of reason in this suffocating thread. I was beginning to wonder how it was that not a single person until you seemed understand this issue. I'm glad at least you have demonstrated an understanding of her character in this movie.

Some fellows get credit for being conservative when they are only stupid.
- Kin Hubbard

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Her family allows this young girl to educate herself and express herself. Then when her thoughts and words get the family in trouble they stand behind her and do not forsake her or cast blame and shame upon her. That's pretty "American" for a muslim family from Pakistan. Hell, they were even eating mac & cheese with ketchup when ICE/FBI beat down their door. Yet, people don't want to allow her the same freedom of expression that they would grant a blue eyed, blonde haired "all American" girl? Freedom of expression is a HUMAN RIGHT not the exclusive privilege of people born in certain countries due to a fluke of geography.

There was never any debate from her that the actions of 9-11 were wrong. She simply stated that she can understand why those terrorists did what they did. Where I live there is a lot of gang related homicide and violent crime. I don't condone it, and I certainly don't absolve the gang-bangers terrorizing the community. But unless we try to understand why this happening we will never effectively deal with the issue. That doesn't mean it is OK to kill because you are poor, or unemployed, or fatherless, or black... but we need to understand that in the minds of the people committing these crimes those ARE valid excuses to THEM.

So back to the young woman in movie... if you want to prevent another 9-11 then it makes a lot of sense to explore every contributing factor as to what made it happen in the first place. That includes understanding the mindset of the terrorists. That's what this young woman was trying to discuss in her classroom. Instead the actions of the US Government only helped validate her ideas of why someone would hate her country so much that they could commit an act of terrorism against it. Most likely she now also hates the USA.




Passenger side, lighting the sky
Always the first star that I find
You're my satellite...

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I believe in constitutional rights to freedom of speech and religion. What confuses me in the film is whether the young girl was AWARE that her parents had come illegally and that she herself was not a citizen? Did she know that? If she did not, then she is guilty only of voicing her opinion in a country in which she thought she was a citizen and must unfortunately suffer the consequences of formal investigation, no matter how harsh. Note that if she were a citizen, the investigation would not have resulted in deportation or any sanction. There is no link between her opinion (however distasteful) and her deportation. The deportation is the result of her illegal presence. If she WAS aware of her illegal status, and still spoke in this way, then I too am angered. If she was NOT aware, then one must ask why. Why her parents did not tell her. In this interpretation, moral guilt lies with the parents and legal guilt lies upon them all, and deportation must still result. If she was AWARE - I grant no sympathy. I she was UNAWARE - I do grant her sympathy, because she did not know 'what she was' under American law; her parents however, I would consider GUILTY. My point: whether the girl is aware or unaware of her status, I support her deportation based on the fact that she WAS illegally living in America. Her opinions about terorrism are irrelevant.

Hope that makes sense. Good debate/discussion on this thread.

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I am surprised that of all the threads here, many have talked about "free speech", but no one has mentioned the fact that in the USA, you can't go around spouting off terroristic threats and not expect the FBI to not show up at your doorstep. The FBI has a list of "people of interest" that check out books from the library that have titles about suicide bombings. If you check out one of those books, expect your name to end of on the list of the FBI. They may not show up at your house right away, but I guarantee, it will get you noticed and watched. Also people who routinely join certain groups known to have ties to certain terroristic organizations. People who donate money to foundations with ties to terroristic organizations. All these things can get you noticed by the FBI and get you "watched". I mean, this girl didn't quite come out and say she wanted to be a suicide bomber, but she said she SYMPATHIZED WITH THEM.

In the US, we do have a right to free speech. We also have a right and a responsibility to protect our citizens from the people who want to blow us up and kill us. If you stand on a public soap box and say that you sympathize with terrorists, you will likely get at least a passing call from the FBI just to make sure you"re not some nut job like that psychiatrist at the Army base who killed all those people. Since 911, people are scared AND paranoid. In America you can feel free to say what you want, but I think it is wise to be sensitive too about people's feelings and to be thoughtful about what comes out of your mouth. Just my two cents. Americans have fought hard and lost many lives for hundreds of years to maintain our freedoms, including speech, but you need to use your brain as well.

To each their own...opinion

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Once again, as I've repeated a number of times up thread, she did NOT sympathize with the terrorists or their methods. She sympathized with their CAUSE in solidarity with the Palestinian people. There's a huge difference and this distinction was made very clear in the movie. It's the FBI who kept twisting her words to make her out like she was sympathetic to the terrorists themselves and all the red blooded Americans in a rush to judge her bought their claims. She even pointed out that they were twisting her words and I thought the dialog made very clear that they in fact were putting words in her mouth that she did not say.

You're not alone, as there appears a lot of people on this board that have also fundamentally misunderstood her, probably because they thought that by that point they had already figured her out and dismissed anything she had to say out of hand.

Some fellows get credit for being conservative when they are only stupid.
- Kin Hubbard

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Well said..This site is filled with American Bashing Liberals that sympathize with Islamic Terrorists just like this chick in the movie did.

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I wonder how that Muslim girl officially feels today about the death of Osama bin Laden? Maybe, in some time, we could get to know in a sequel "Crossing Over 2"?

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[deleted]

Such a small continent with so many morons, how does that happen!?

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