Vossenas: Do you agree that the firing of Michael Italie was legal?

Shuttlesworth: Not only was the firing of Michael Italie illegal but it was also an act of persecution; a further continuation of the witch-hunt that almost ruined America during the McCarthy era.

People who would do that now at a time like this, after September 11, when we need to be united, make themselves unworthy to call themselves a good American. Not to mention, a good businessman.

America hasn't gone too far in the struggle for civil rights and civil liberties, but it has certainly gone further than allowing such injustices to prevail. It is time for all people to demonstrate and speak against these attacks and also to bring lawsuits so injustices like these can be done away with.

Vossenas: What Supreme Court cases exist barring discrimination based on one's political views?

Shuttlesworth: The Dombroski case, generated by officials demanding lists of names, bears directly on the harassment of people for their beliefs and for interfering with their freedom of association. The right of Michael Italie to express his beliefs and keep his job is legally protected by the Dombroski decision.

Vossenas: Taking into consideration the events of September 11 and the items produced at Goodwill Industries, i.e., U.S. flags and military uniforms, do you think they had just cause to fire Italie?

Shuttlesworth: The firing of Michael Italie was not only unjust, but it was a shame--to harm a person's living condition because of what someone else perceives to be their beliefs. Goodwill Industries obviously is forgetting that in America a person is free to think what they like and to speak their mind. Without these freedoms, the essence of America is far less than what we claim it is and want it to be.

Freedom-loving people should join together and jump on any company that practices racism, sexism, and McCarthyism especially at a time like this: a time when we are trying to get rid of violence, trying to address the meanness, hatred, and bigotry in society.

What we need now more than ever is to define terrorism as the mistreatment of any human being without a just cause. Now that is terror.

And so as President Bush leads the drive to stamp out terrorism in the world, he needs to redefine what terrorism is, so that Americans can get along with a variety of people and beliefs in their own country and in the rest of the world better than we do at the moment.

Vossenas: Do you view the firing of Michael Italie as an attack on constitutional rights, in particular, the First Amendment Right of Freedom of Speech?

Shuttlesworth: Well, the firing of Michael Italie is a direct, blatant, and open attack on the constitutional process in this country. No mistake about that. People are blind who can't see that.

Vossenas: As a member of the Socialist Workers Party, Michael Italie has fought to keep affirmative action alive in Atlanta, where he also worked as a garment worker, and is part of the fight in Miami and Tallahassee, Florida as well. What connection do you see between the attack on Italie's right to express his beliefs and the current attacks on affirmative action?

Shuttlesworth: I congratulate people of whatever race for speaking out against any injustice in America, from north to south, and I further congratulate people who are willing to suffer for the cause of getting rid of racism in this country. They are the true heroes just as much as those fighting on battlefields.

We must be united on what this country stands for. Since September 11, when more folk have been praying to God than before, we see that we must work together and bring an end to the causes of discrimination and violations of human rights.

Unity must mean that we can stand and speak for each other's rights and privileges.

Vossenas: Given your experience in the fight for civil rights, what do you believe is the role of civil liberties in such fights?

Shuttlesworth: There can be no civil rights without civil liberties. It was my part in the struggle to not only fight for civil rights but to combine the two. A violation of either is a violation of a person's human rights. Without civil liberties there can be no civil rights.

Vossenas: Do you think the Italie case is one of many attacks we are seeing today on civil liberties?

Shuttlesworth: Any persecution of any people for use of any freedom they have is not only terror but also a dereliction of duty. I commend the people who keep this issue alive by speaking about it and I intend to speak out on it wherever possible. I will speak about it during my January visit to St. Petersburg, Florida.

Vossenas: With the recent passing of the USA Patriot's law, the government has new freedoms to perform surveillance on its citizens, pave the way for military tribunals, and eavesdrop on conversations between lawyers and imprisoned clients. With a law that essentially makes attacks on civil liberties legal, do you think that in addition to the Italie case, there will be many others whose constitutional rights will be violated?

Shuttlesworth: Out of fear we are passing laws that impinge on people's freedom. We should be raising a big cry about that. No one has the right to snoop on what a person says or writes. If government becomes a big brother, it will become a big terror.

We can't judge one people, one class, or one religion as better than another. For example, it was a white American who blew up the federal building in Oklahoma City and we didn't suddenly become suspicious of white Americans.

America must be a melting pot or it will cease to be America. We must be vigilant; we must be ready to fight all evil, all terror.
 
 
Related articles:
At world youth event, leaders back fight of Miami garment worker fired for his political views
'Fired for expressing his views,' reports column in Cuban paper
Minnesota UFCW leader 'appalled' by firing
Art student, a native of Lebanon, framed for having a plastic utility knife at airport  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home