Dear Frederick
I would never take an attack on John Howard, or the UN criticisms of
Australian violations of human rights in our treatment of asylum
seekers or Aboriginal communities as an attack on _me_. So I'm
baffled that critique of US government policy (which is horrific, and
has been horrific for years, if you think about the sponsorhip of
terrorism in Niaragua, the asssassination of Allende, the illegal
carpet bombing on Vietnam and Cambodia, and many many other well
known and publicly-documented actions) is "bashing" Americans. Much
of that critique originates from Americans, anyway.
And I've never said anything remotely like what that writer appears
to be attacking, either. Tell me, Frederick - did I _ever_ say
"Americans deserved it" or that I didn't care about September 11? To
suggest that I have is a gross distortion. To me the slaughter of
innocent civilians _anywhere_ is abhorrent, and what happened in NY
was horrific. And it seems to me that if the US government is to
seriously make claims for justice, then it has to stop engaging in
the same activity. (OK, simplistic, but have a look at this, by one
of the few journalists I really respect, Robert Fisk)
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia_china/story.jsp?story=106834
Best
Alison
>david.bircumshaw wrote:
>>
>> Well, Frederick, I understand a belief in free speech is fundamental to US
>> values, and that right then surely extends to other countries, even
>> Australia and Britain.
>>
>> Many of us, you know, aren't simplistic opponents of the war, we're
>> +concerned+ about what's going on. I don't know why I'm bothering saying
>> this, my opinions have no influence in the political world, nor do I know
>> why you've forwarded that message to a poetry list.
>>
>> David Bircumshaw
>>
>>
>
>You may be right, David, that it has no place. But I remain irritated
>by some of the remarks on this list two months ago. I also thought that
>editorial Alison Croggon copied several days ago was full of half-truths
>and distorting rhetoric, but I simply have no time to critique. The
>piece from Salon seems relevant to both. FP
--
Alison Croggon
Home page
http://users.bigpond.com/acroggon/
Masthead
http://au.geocities.com/masthead_2/
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