Post #27591 by Thor on Fri, Mar 21, 2003 9:14 PM

Well, I would like to apologize for the harshness of my comments in the other thread, but it was in response to the harsh comments that proceeded it. I honestly dread any harm that the war causes to any persons, Iraqi, American, British, or from any other place - locals or Republican Guards.

Any lives lost are too many. My mistake was sinking to the level of the thread, and for that I am sorry. I have learned my lesson.

I am going to let down my condescendingly witty wall of defense for a second and comment on my behavior on this forum. Although I enjoy the subculture and all of its historical, cultural, and entertainment value, but when the subject comes to politics, there are some comments that I feel to passionately to let slide.

There is a difference between being patriotic and loving the freedom that living in a democratic society provides and being jingoistically gung ho and blind to the negative affects that the government that represents us can create world-wide. I honestly believe that it is the imperialistic capitalist system, mainly developed in the United States, that has directly and indirectly caused much of the world's economic inequality, human suffering, and political injustice.

Yes, there are groups of people around the world that would love to see the United States destroyed, and in order to protect this country and in effect democracy, this country will take aggressive, pre-emptive actions (which many people may disagree with) to prevent any future domestic harm. As patriotic citizens, many people feel that wholeharted support of these actions is the best stance to take.

But we have to take into consideration the fact that this American freedom is due to the victimization of millions of people in the past few centuries, from Native Americans to the factory workers in maquiladoras and sweatshops in Saipan. From African slaves to the civilian casualties of the U.S. sanctions against Iraq.

As an American citizen I am torn between the bacchanalian celebration of life that my citizenship bestows on me and a sense of guilt for not doing everything I can to give back whatever was given to me unfairly. How can I justify driving a car and using oil? How can I justify being employed by the University of California, a major player in the defense industry? Yes, this is liberal guilt, but liberal guilt is better than apathy or greed, which is what I see in many supporters of the war.

At a recent anti-war rally in downtown San Diego, many people drove by, giving the protesters the finger, faces red with anger(One man called us homosexuals). The majority of these people were white, and drove expensive cars. Maybe the poorer, non-white war supporters were keeping their mouths shut. But I don't think so.

My response to these people who feel obliged to yell at peaceful protesters: hate the game, not the player. We are not protesting war-supporters. We are protesting the use of force for peaceful purposes. Yes some people say "Drop Bush, not Bombs," but we can put them in the same category as the guy who called protesters homosexuals. Most protesters are doing what they can to make sure that the oppositional voice is heard, since it isn't getting expressed on the media or by the government. We agree with the majority of the world that force is not the best option in destroying WMDs in Iraq, or removing Hussein from power, or killing terrorists, or whatever the United States government is exactly trying to accomplish in the Middle-East.

In December I was working with fifth-graders in an underpriveledged school district. One boy told me that his brother worked in the defense industry, and that he was going on vacation in April because we would be going to war. A fifth grader told me that in December.

What I really want, so that I can sleep at night knowing everything is OK, is for someone in the government to provide an honest, reasonable explanation for why dropping bombs in a large city and sending troops into another country without the support of most of the world is the best option.

With all of the evidence that I have seen and read, I honestly believe that the people in charge of the United States are removing Saddam Hussein from power so that we can have access to the oil, create huge contracts for businesses that the government representatives and appointees are heavily invested in, and to correct a situation that was created the last time the United States was involved in Iraq. The war on terror provides a magnificent cover-up for the invasion. So Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction. Half the countries in the world do, but this is the only one that we must invade as soon as possible. This hasn't been justified yet. If you have the answer, please feel free to explain it to me.

I have family in the military. Fortunately, they weren't deployed to the middle east. I cringe at the thought of another 19 year old with great potential being killed in the logistic maelstrom of U.S. military movement. But we can't honor the American soldiers and simultaneously perceive the Iraqis as a faceless enemy, doing all wrong.

I don't have the answers, but I am working through things. So no more snide comments of one-upmanship. If I disagree with your politics, I will say so outright.

Enough politics. Let's get back to the "fun."

I am not going to explain past posts. If you don't understand them, then ignore them. Don't blame me for writing stupid, obscure things. I don't get 90% of the references on these posts, but I don't criticize the authors.

Seriously.

[ Edited by: Thor on 2003-03-21 23:44 ]