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A letter from an American friend

08112001 - NOT-IN-MY-NAME | 08.11.2001 18:58

. I sent a photo to an american friend - it's a man and his grand-child crying because of the kidnapping of his wife by slave dealers in the Iranian border... - this is his reply... An exemple of Manufactured Consent.

I sent a photograph to an american friend ... It's a man and his grand-child crying because of the kidnapping of his wife by slave dealers in the Iranian border... I thought my american friend would understand.. My friend works with minority groups in the west-coast of the US, my friend is a psychologist deeply moved by people's pains... This is his reply...All I could think of, was that his opinion had been shaped, distorted, deformed, conformed by the American Media. How many people in the US share his thoughts, I wonder. __________________________________________________________ ...please don't send me pictures like that, have u seen any of people crying at the world trade center? i totally support the us effort to end terrorism. whatever casualties are happening are the fault of the taliban for not handing bin ladin over. the entire world is involved in this. it is unfortunate and horrific that innocent people are being killed, but this is a really big thing, and the freedom of the world depends on it. whether others like it or not, the u.s. takes a role in monitoring freedom the world over, and they may exploit others in order to ensure freedom, nothing and no regime is perfect, but this is the best one in the world, and i have traveled extensively and know this to be true. whatever is behind this war, oil, money whatever, nothing changes the fact that over 5000 people were killed by a psychotic islamic fundamentalist. this is not ok, and i really think we must defend against this sort of thing.

08112001 - NOT-IN-MY-NAME

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as an american...

08.11.2001 21:58

I find this kind of rhetoric reprehensible. Why are American lives worth any more than Afghan (or any other country)? Unfortunately I'm not surprised by your friend's response. That attitude is by far the predominant one over here. People refuse to consider the role that US policy has played in the events of Sept 11. Yes it's fucked up that 5,000 people died. It's also fucked up that 5,000 Iraqi children die every month as a direct result of sanctions. It's also fucked up that hundreds of thousands of people in Latin America were murdered as a direct result of US military invasions. And Americans wonder why they are so hated?...

myself


all too familar

08.11.2001 22:38

If that's how most americans think then bush can do as he pleases. I wonder if he will keep score it won't take the U:S long to bump off 5000 afghans, no pop star funerals and candle light processions for these folk. They will be a statistic that very few people will ever hear about.
I bet the majority of 1500 reported killed to date were were woman and children, and just a handfull of taliban fighters Your friend seems to imply that even this is acceptable, barbaric, if you ask me ...

i


Scares me too

09.11.2001 00:16

The way America is going it scares the hell out of me. I can see Bush cancelling the next election. Too many parallels with 1930's Germany.

Andy


Figures

09.11.2001 09:59

Will you people please stop regurgitating the 5000 WTC figure. There were only 2800 people killed in the WTC, the pentagon and the planes.
This is another piece of miraculous brainwashing which seems to have affected everybody.
As for the letter, what a bunch of wankers.

Andy


"ONLY" 2800 dead???????????

09.11.2001 20:34

At which point between 5000 dead humans and 2800 dead humans does it move from 'too many' to 'only'?

Does this make 10 dead humans totally meaningless?

You are a sick man Andy.


Maybe you should have kept the Concentration Camp figures for Hitler. You could probably have managed to trivialize them.

How in the world can anyone consider 2800 dead of any nation "only"?

See a head doctor buddy. You shouldn't be out on the steets.

Siemens


Hardly trivial

12.11.2001 09:48

Siemens, just for clarification, my use of the word 'only' relates to the fact that it is significantly less than was being stated. Just like I could say that compared to the conservative estimate of 6 million that CIA meddling has killed since it's founding, several thousand is only a small number of US based casualties.
I see all human deaths as tragic, but when they are Yankkkees, we have to care just that bit more? What about the thousands killed that same day and every day since with US and UK manufactured arms? If everyone involved in this evil trade died tomorrow, should I laugh or cry?
Is it better if the media call them 'collateral damage', than murder victims? If you as a country want to go around killing thousands every day, don't be surprised when a few thousand get it on your side.
Life is a right which is robbed from so many - mainly for greed. I am as far from supporting murder as you could be, but that doesn't stop it from happening.
Regards, Andy.

Andy