phism
09-15-2001, 06:40 PM
>Subject: Newspaper article.. interesting.
>Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2001 23:01:17 EDT
>
>Subject: FW:A must read from the Miami Herald
>
>by Leonard Pitts Jr. of the Miami Herald
>
>"It's my job to have something to say. They pay me to provide words that
>help make sense of that which troubles the American soul. But in this
>moment of airless shock when hot tears sting disbelieving eyes, the only
>thing I can find to say, the only words that seem to fit, must be addressed
>to the unknown author of this suffering. "You monster. You beast. You
>unspeakable bastard.
>"What lesson did you hope to teach us by your coward's attack on our World
>Trade Center, our Pentagon, us? What was it you hoped we would learn?
> Whatever it was, please know that you failed.
>"Did you want us to respect your cause? You just damned your cause.
>"Did you want to make us fear? You just steeled our resolve.
>"Did you want to tear us apart? You just brought us together.
>"Let me tell you about my people. We are a vast and quarrelsome family, a
>family rent by racial, social, political and class division, but a family
>nonetheless. We're frivolous, yes, capable of expending tremendous
>emotional energy on pop cultural minutiae-a singer's revealing dress, a
>ball team's misfortune, a cartoon mouse. We're wealthy, too, spoiled by the
>ready availability of trinkets and material goods, and maybe because of
>that, we walk through life with a certain sense of blithe entitlement. We
>are fundamentally decent, though-peace-loving and compassionate. We
>struggle to know the right thing and to do it. And we are, the overwhelming
>majority of us, people of faith, believers in a just and loving God.
>"Some people-you, perhaps-think that any or all of this makes us
>weak. You're mistaken. We are not weak. Indeed, we are strong in ways
>that
>cannot be measured by arsenals. "Yes, we're in pain now. We are in
>mourning
>and we are in shock. We're
>still grappling with the unreality of the awful thing you did, still
>working to make ourselves understand that this isn't a special effect from
>some Hollywood blockbuster, isn't the plot development from a Tom Clancy
>novel. Both in terms of the awful scope of their ambition and the probable
>final death toll, your attacks are likely to go down as the worst acts of
>terrorism in the history of the United States and, probably, the history of
>the world. You've bloodied us as we have never been bloodied before.
>"But there's a gulf of difference between making us bloody and making us
>fall. This is the lesson Japan was taught to its bitter sorrow the last
>time anyone hit us this hard, the last time anyone brought us such abrupt
>and monumental pain. When roused, we are righteous in our outrage, terrible
>in our force. When provoked by this level of barbarism, we will bear any
>suffering, pay any cost, go to any length, in the pursuit of justice.
>"I tell you this without fear of contradiction. I know my people, as you, I
>think, do not. What I know reassures me. It also causes me to tremble with
>dread of the future.
>"In the days to come, there will be recrimination and accusation, fingers
>pointing to determine whose failure allowed this to happen and what can be
>done to prevent it from happening again. There will be heightened security,
>misguided talk of revoking basic freedoms. We'll go forward from this
>moment sobered, chastened, sad. But determined, too. Unimaginably
>determined.
>"You see, the steel in us is not always readily apparent. That aspect of
>our character is seldom understood by people who don't know us well. On
>this day, the family's bickering is put on hold. "As Americans we will
>weep, as Americans we will mourn, and as Americans, we will rise in defense
>of all that we cherish.
>"So I ask again: What was it you hoped to teach us? It occurs to me that
>maybe you just wanted us to know the depths of your hatred. If that's the
>case, consider the message received. And take this message in exchange:
>You don't know my people. You don't know what we're capable of. You don't
>know what you just started.
>"But you're about to learn."
my reply:
i found this article horribly disturbing. it's implying most of the things i hate about the current portrayal of the situation.
bin laden should not be killed, he should be arrested, and be brought to justice under international law. killing him is reactionary and vengeful, something which is always discouraged. but more than that, if he is killed, he will be viewed as a martyr, and gain support instead of losing it. instead, he should be arrested and the people should see that he was wrong. not that we're pissed off. of course we're pissed off, that's expected. but that's not what we're trying to show.
also, the comparisons to japan and pearl harbor are ridiculous. this article practically justifies the killing of millions of civilians perpetrated by the united states. and as far as this pearl harbor crap, that's just stupid. pearl harbor was a military strike, in which few citizens were killed. and afterwards, racism towards japanese-americans abounded, just as racism towards arab-americans is already being seen. i don't want internment camps for my fellow americans because of their ethnic background like there was in world war 2. japan was not "taught a lesson" in world war 2, japan's citizens and japanese-american citizens were tortured because of an action that they were not responsible for.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/13/international/asia/13AFGH.html
that's the most important article i've read yet.
"You don't know my people."
do we know them? do we try?
the one last thing i want to mention is that this article is written as if it's speaking for all americans. it's not speaking for me. and unfortunately, our government is about to kill innocent people for me. and i don't want them to.
>Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2001 23:01:17 EDT
>
>Subject: FW:A must read from the Miami Herald
>
>by Leonard Pitts Jr. of the Miami Herald
>
>"It's my job to have something to say. They pay me to provide words that
>help make sense of that which troubles the American soul. But in this
>moment of airless shock when hot tears sting disbelieving eyes, the only
>thing I can find to say, the only words that seem to fit, must be addressed
>to the unknown author of this suffering. "You monster. You beast. You
>unspeakable bastard.
>"What lesson did you hope to teach us by your coward's attack on our World
>Trade Center, our Pentagon, us? What was it you hoped we would learn?
> Whatever it was, please know that you failed.
>"Did you want us to respect your cause? You just damned your cause.
>"Did you want to make us fear? You just steeled our resolve.
>"Did you want to tear us apart? You just brought us together.
>"Let me tell you about my people. We are a vast and quarrelsome family, a
>family rent by racial, social, political and class division, but a family
>nonetheless. We're frivolous, yes, capable of expending tremendous
>emotional energy on pop cultural minutiae-a singer's revealing dress, a
>ball team's misfortune, a cartoon mouse. We're wealthy, too, spoiled by the
>ready availability of trinkets and material goods, and maybe because of
>that, we walk through life with a certain sense of blithe entitlement. We
>are fundamentally decent, though-peace-loving and compassionate. We
>struggle to know the right thing and to do it. And we are, the overwhelming
>majority of us, people of faith, believers in a just and loving God.
>"Some people-you, perhaps-think that any or all of this makes us
>weak. You're mistaken. We are not weak. Indeed, we are strong in ways
>that
>cannot be measured by arsenals. "Yes, we're in pain now. We are in
>mourning
>and we are in shock. We're
>still grappling with the unreality of the awful thing you did, still
>working to make ourselves understand that this isn't a special effect from
>some Hollywood blockbuster, isn't the plot development from a Tom Clancy
>novel. Both in terms of the awful scope of their ambition and the probable
>final death toll, your attacks are likely to go down as the worst acts of
>terrorism in the history of the United States and, probably, the history of
>the world. You've bloodied us as we have never been bloodied before.
>"But there's a gulf of difference between making us bloody and making us
>fall. This is the lesson Japan was taught to its bitter sorrow the last
>time anyone hit us this hard, the last time anyone brought us such abrupt
>and monumental pain. When roused, we are righteous in our outrage, terrible
>in our force. When provoked by this level of barbarism, we will bear any
>suffering, pay any cost, go to any length, in the pursuit of justice.
>"I tell you this without fear of contradiction. I know my people, as you, I
>think, do not. What I know reassures me. It also causes me to tremble with
>dread of the future.
>"In the days to come, there will be recrimination and accusation, fingers
>pointing to determine whose failure allowed this to happen and what can be
>done to prevent it from happening again. There will be heightened security,
>misguided talk of revoking basic freedoms. We'll go forward from this
>moment sobered, chastened, sad. But determined, too. Unimaginably
>determined.
>"You see, the steel in us is not always readily apparent. That aspect of
>our character is seldom understood by people who don't know us well. On
>this day, the family's bickering is put on hold. "As Americans we will
>weep, as Americans we will mourn, and as Americans, we will rise in defense
>of all that we cherish.
>"So I ask again: What was it you hoped to teach us? It occurs to me that
>maybe you just wanted us to know the depths of your hatred. If that's the
>case, consider the message received. And take this message in exchange:
>You don't know my people. You don't know what we're capable of. You don't
>know what you just started.
>"But you're about to learn."
my reply:
i found this article horribly disturbing. it's implying most of the things i hate about the current portrayal of the situation.
bin laden should not be killed, he should be arrested, and be brought to justice under international law. killing him is reactionary and vengeful, something which is always discouraged. but more than that, if he is killed, he will be viewed as a martyr, and gain support instead of losing it. instead, he should be arrested and the people should see that he was wrong. not that we're pissed off. of course we're pissed off, that's expected. but that's not what we're trying to show.
also, the comparisons to japan and pearl harbor are ridiculous. this article practically justifies the killing of millions of civilians perpetrated by the united states. and as far as this pearl harbor crap, that's just stupid. pearl harbor was a military strike, in which few citizens were killed. and afterwards, racism towards japanese-americans abounded, just as racism towards arab-americans is already being seen. i don't want internment camps for my fellow americans because of their ethnic background like there was in world war 2. japan was not "taught a lesson" in world war 2, japan's citizens and japanese-american citizens were tortured because of an action that they were not responsible for.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/13/international/asia/13AFGH.html
that's the most important article i've read yet.
"You don't know my people."
do we know them? do we try?
the one last thing i want to mention is that this article is written as if it's speaking for all americans. it's not speaking for me. and unfortunately, our government is about to kill innocent people for me. and i don't want them to.