Talk:Arab American

We are not going to create a crisis where there is none. If you believe the 15% increase in reported cases is significant, then get data showing the numbers. I think you will find it amounts to 10 or 15 more complaints. If you have information to the contrary, then we will consider it then, but it is not our intention to parrot articles targeting how horrible America is when our country responded with incredible tolerance and should be praised. Learn together 17:33, 11 June 2008 (EDT)

I think we should report the data and not our (or in this case: your personal) interpretation of said data. Saying that the increase in violence was 15% in one year is encyclopedic style. Removing said data and inserting "Incidents of harassment were up slightly from year to year" is personal interpretation and too vague.

Additionally, your other sentence is purely unencyclopedic:

After the horrible events of Sept. 11, 2001, Arab-Americans braced for the worst, but thankfully the fears of heavy reprisals did not come as the vast majority of America realized they were not to blame.

Let's see... The horrible events! But thankfully the fears of heavy reprisal (what is light reprisal, what is heavy?) did not come! ...wait, what? The fears did not come? I think you wanted to say that the heavy reprisal did not come or that the fears did not come true (not that you supplied with a source for either claim), and as the article pointed out, there was a 15% increase in violence. If you think that's insignificant, that's a fairly bold position, and you better justify it with some hard data. If it was an increase from 20 to 23 cases, we could talk, but I somehow don't think we're talking about such small scales here. Until you provide proof for the insignificance of hard numbers, the hard numbers are more trustworthy than your opinion. And lastly, the vast majority of America realized they were not to blame... awwwwwww... too bad you failed to provide a source for your truly heartwarming tale. From what I remember and saw, things had been fairly tense, and opinions in America ranged from "We should not act hastily" to "Everybody looking anything like an Arab is the enemy". So making such bold claims about the "vast majority" of such a widely diverse and torn group really needs a trustworthy citation.

Your edit might be suitable for an opinion column, but an encyclopedia should stick to the facts and to hard numbers. Opinions and consciously vague and uncited claims do not belong into the article. --JamesM 18:41, 11 June 2008 (EDT)