2003-03-31
9:36 p.m.

I've been pretty busy lately. So yeah, you guessed it, the diary suffers as a result. What can I say; I'm damn popular.

Just to satisfy your CharmCity jones, what follows is a letter I wrote to Professor Nicholas De Genova of Columbia University. I personally think he's a tremendous dickbag, although that's purely my subjective opinion. Anyway, this was what I had to say to him.

If you're wondering what I read to get me all worked up, primary sources for what I refer to can be found

Here. and here.

Various weblog commentary is here and here.

Also, figures on the US arms sale to Iraq can be found Right here. Just look for #4.

The letter from the Gulf is here.




Mr. De Genova,

You don't know me, don't know who I am, and owe me nothing. You certainly shouldn't even feel obligated to read this email. Knowing, as I'm sure you do, what the subject will be; I'd be surprised if it hasn't already been deleted.

If it hasn't, and you're still reading; I think it's important that you, and the administration you serve, understand how you're viewed outside of academia.

This, sir, is the view of an average American.

Right now, as I type these words, somewhere around 300,000 U.S. citizens, men and women alike, sweat in the heat of the Middle East; dedicated to the removal of a regime that they believe has no place in a compassionate, civilized society. They were not drafted, there are no conscripts. All of them want to be there. All of them are willing to die so that others they've never met might have the chance to live free.

There are fathers and mothers wearing the uniforms of our armed forces. There are brothers, sister, aunts, uncles, friends, lovers, and acquaintances. Right now, in the emotional ether between Here and There, there are countless dreams that have been put on hold. There are, I'm sure, babies that have never seen their father, husbands who miss their wives terribly, children who long for the laughter of their parents. Though some of us are still over here, in a very real way, we are all over there. We care for, pray for, and constantly think about those of us who won't be at the dinner table tonight. Those of us who believe in what they do, whose loves, hopes, and dreams have been put on hold so that all may live more free.

And you, Mr. De Genova? You want them all dead.

Or so your recent comments would lead us to believe. Last Wednesday night, you stood in solidarity with your colleagues at Columbia University's Low Library for what we're told was a "Teach-In"; an anti-war discussion and demonstration led by faculty and attended by students.

During the course of the event, while on the subject of U.S. nationalism, you asserted that you "personally would like to see a million Mogadishus." Really? Would you really like to see that? During the presence of the US Delta Force and the US Rangers in Somalia, 18 were killed and many more were wounded. You, sir, would like to see that extended to the nth degree. But let's ignore for the moment the temptation of actually doing the multiplication and trying to grasp the true implications of 18 million American dead. Would you like to see even 18 U.S. Soldiers dead? Would the sight of pale and bloodied farm boys from the Plains make you happy? Would you grin at the sight of disemboweled ROTC kids from the Mid Atlantic? How big a giggle would you get over the fact that an old woman from the Pacific Northwest might never see her son again? That sure would stick it to the U-S-of-A, wouldn't it? I'm curious, exactly what level of callousness is required to lack even the most basic level of human compassion? The next time you walk in to your classroom, do me a favor. Look at your students. I'd wager at least one of them has a loved one in the Armed Forces. Please understand that the deaths that you find glee in, the deaths that you revel in might shatter the life of that student on the most fundamental of levels. What you're wishing for is not the halt of perceived U.S. colonialism. Oh no, you're wishing for death, destruction, and despair on the very communities in which you live. I asked how callous you might be; God help me, I think I'm starting to find out.

That being said, I don't take issue with your right to say whatever you want. For all our faults, our 1st Amendment right to the freedom of speech may be one of the United States' greatest strengths. As Voltaire said, "I may disagree with what you have to say, but I shall defend to the death your right to say it." Yes, you do indeed have every right to say whatever it is that's on your mind. You may even find a number of people that agree with you.

That, of course, doesn't mean you're not a colossal idiot.

You also assert that "U.S. patriotism is inseparable from imperial warfare and white supremacy". Oh, really? What of the thousands of African American, Latino, Muslim, and Native American patriots? Are they white supremacists? But wait, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's first invoke Webster's and define patriotism as "love of and devotion to one's country". If that's the case, do you attest that anyone who loves their country must hate minorities. Or, conversely, that anyone who is not a white supremacist is, in fact, required to hate the United States. How can you draw such conclusions? Viewpoints like that are woefully uninformed at best and downright dangerous at worst. I am a patriot. I love my country. I acknowledge its problems. I accept its shortcomings. I delight in its opportunities. I take ownership of all and see it as my duty to leave the United States better than when I entered. I am not, nor have I ever been, a white supremacist. I take extreme offense at the insinuation. I am also not a U.S. imperialist. I'll tell you what I am, though. I am a U.S. Citizen. A proud one. I, like the millions of my fellow citizens, have a rational mind and a soul of fire. I agree and disagree and agree again with decisions that come out of Washington and out of town halls from all over the country. In the end, what makes a citizen truly patriotic is the desire for a better life. Not for one's self, but for one's neighbor. I long for freedom, you long for death. Which one of us is the true patriot?

In any case, I offered you the view of an average American. And here it is:

That you're so staggeringly out of touch with the realities of a post-9/11 world isn't dangerous in and of itself. The danger lies in the fact that you wield your beliefs like a billy club, bludgeoning anyone who makes eye contact with your self promotional, self-righteous, antiestablishment dogma. I mean, good Christ, you make Michael Moore look subdued and nuanced. And that's saying something.

What's worse, you make assertions to back your claims without underlying historical evidence or precedent to back you up. You claim that "Iraqi liberation can only be effected by the Iraqi people themselves, both by resisting and defeating the U.S. invasion as well as overthrowing a regime whose brutality was long sustained by none other than the U.S." Well, no, not exactly. As I said before, where exactly do you find the historical precedent for such a statement? Could the U.S. have overthrown the British without the help of the French? No. Did the slaves have the power to rise against their Confederate captors? Not on their own. Could European Jews and occupied France have overthrown the Nazis without the help of Britain and the U.S.? No. And let's just focus on 'a regime whose brutality was long sustained by none other than the U.S.' for a moment. I assume you're referring to the persistent rumor that the U.S. was a major and long time supplier of Saddam's Iraqi regime. Simply not true. In the years between 1972 and 1990, Iraq spent $40 billion on arms purchases. Russia was the largest supplier with $25 billion in sales. Any guess where the U.S. came in? Dead last, with only $200,000. That's five onehundredthousandths of a percent. .000005.

In the end, the Average Citizen realizes that you have a great deal of hatred of, and anger towards the United States. What you don't have is an operational concept of patriotism or any real, defensible facts or figures to back up your distorted world view.

And when you're in the public eye, or using your power to influence minds, that's a dangerous combination.

In closing, I'd like to include a portion of a letter sent from a U.S. serviceman in Kuwait to a friend of his in the States:

"I am still a patriot. I will have red, white and blue in my veins for years to come. Coming here has given me a whole new appreciation for the word sacrifice. I cannot describe to you the ache in the heart and body because you are away from the one you love. I cannot describe the loss I feel as not being able to put my hand on my wife's tummy to feel our baby moving. One cannot appreciate the smell of fresh cut grass, clean air blowing through the trees. No words would describe to you how lonely one feels amongst a warehouse full of soldiers with their cots end to end with no sense of privacy. There is no way to describe the night air lulling you to sleep as you stare out into nothingness on your shift of guard duty."

Remember this email, Mr. De Genova, and remember it well. This is one of the men you want dead. These are the lives - an expectant mother, an unborn child - which you want to shatter.

How dare you. Believe whatever you want about the righteousness or the justification of the United States and its foreign policy. But, please, save your gleeful anticipation of massive American casualties for those who care. Which is to say; no one.

CharmCity
Citizen
State of Maryland, United States of America


downtown----uptown
leave me a note, fool!


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