Monday, May 17, 2004
america's self-deprecation
i've been browsing through various blogs, jumping from people i know to people they know, just for the sake of seeing what else is out there. not-surprisingly a fairly common topic for posting has been the brutal murder of nic berg and the subsequent reaction (or in my opinion, severe lack thereof, at least among the public), and inevitable comparisons to the treatment of detainees in the abu ghraib prison.
some of you know me as a person blessed/cursed with a quick wit and (potentially) sharp tongue at times, but this is not one of those times (which i do not regret). the gravity of these events is something that's forced me to sit back and think about before i say anything, because i know that no matter what i think, there are sure to be mountains of people who disagree. that doesn't bother me one bit, as i'm not afraid to express my opinions/beliefs, and honestly the level of intelligence displayed by people around the world and especially in my own country assures me that the more people who disagree with me, the closer i am to being right. i'm not done processing nic and the detainee treatment, but i am done thinking about how pathetically short-sighted, forgetful, wishy-washy, and pc pandering the u.s. media (and general public by extension) are.
there has been an uproar in the media about the mistreatment of prisoners at the detainee center, and rightfully so. i don't like what they did, especially since those soldiers represent me and my country, and that's not what either of us stand for. but days later, an AMERICAN citizen is kidnapped and beheaded, and the entire process was videotaped and released to the public as a threat/promise of more to come for the "imperialist crusaders."
what i want to know is, where is the outcry over the death of mr. berg? i saw one day of coverage on the event before media outlets started blaming the government and the president for that death too. now, almost a week later, the story has passed from the headlines, but the world is still pissed about abu whatever. that makes me mad, and i'll deal with it later. but the fact that the american public has reacted in the same fashion, pretty much downplaying the death of berg because bush can't legitimately be bashed for that, and concentrating on the prison incidents, because there he can be (according to their faulty logic).
why is it ok that an american citizen had his head sawed off, but it's a crime against humanity that some violent criminals were humiliated, with a few receiving minor injuries? where is the realization that the people who did this, the people we are fighting against, will not only continue to kill until we either kill them or leave iraq, they'll then follow our soldiers back home and continue killing on our own soil. all we'll see are bigger and badder 9-11's. why do american citizens hate their own country and their own leader (who has led us in the face of the greatest threat to our nation since ww2) so much? where is the patriotism? WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE?!?!?!?!
symphonic melodies: elliott smith - waltz #2
food for thought: peteholiday.com (linked through manny)
i've been browsing through various blogs, jumping from people i know to people they know, just for the sake of seeing what else is out there. not-surprisingly a fairly common topic for posting has been the brutal murder of nic berg and the subsequent reaction (or in my opinion, severe lack thereof, at least among the public), and inevitable comparisons to the treatment of detainees in the abu ghraib prison.
some of you know me as a person blessed/cursed with a quick wit and (potentially) sharp tongue at times, but this is not one of those times (which i do not regret). the gravity of these events is something that's forced me to sit back and think about before i say anything, because i know that no matter what i think, there are sure to be mountains of people who disagree. that doesn't bother me one bit, as i'm not afraid to express my opinions/beliefs, and honestly the level of intelligence displayed by people around the world and especially in my own country assures me that the more people who disagree with me, the closer i am to being right. i'm not done processing nic and the detainee treatment, but i am done thinking about how pathetically short-sighted, forgetful, wishy-washy, and pc pandering the u.s. media (and general public by extension) are.
there has been an uproar in the media about the mistreatment of prisoners at the detainee center, and rightfully so. i don't like what they did, especially since those soldiers represent me and my country, and that's not what either of us stand for. but days later, an AMERICAN citizen is kidnapped and beheaded, and the entire process was videotaped and released to the public as a threat/promise of more to come for the "imperialist crusaders."
what i want to know is, where is the outcry over the death of mr. berg? i saw one day of coverage on the event before media outlets started blaming the government and the president for that death too. now, almost a week later, the story has passed from the headlines, but the world is still pissed about abu whatever. that makes me mad, and i'll deal with it later. but the fact that the american public has reacted in the same fashion, pretty much downplaying the death of berg because bush can't legitimately be bashed for that, and concentrating on the prison incidents, because there he can be (according to their faulty logic).
why is it ok that an american citizen had his head sawed off, but it's a crime against humanity that some violent criminals were humiliated, with a few receiving minor injuries? where is the realization that the people who did this, the people we are fighting against, will not only continue to kill until we either kill them or leave iraq, they'll then follow our soldiers back home and continue killing on our own soil. all we'll see are bigger and badder 9-11's. why do american citizens hate their own country and their own leader (who has led us in the face of the greatest threat to our nation since ww2) so much? where is the patriotism? WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE?!?!?!?!
symphonic melodies: elliott smith - waltz #2
food for thought: peteholiday.com (linked through manny)
