[Peace-discuss] Rant on the SDA Monday night event

[msimon at uiuc.edu]

Comments on Students for the Defense of America:

I just came from the "teach-in" for the Students for the 
Defense of America, and I'm near tears.  So many racist 
comments, believing that people from the Middle Eastern want 
to be like Americans so they can eat Big Mac's and wear 
bluejeans (and Gottheil wants us to remember that "the most 
popular site in France is EuroDisney").  Of particular 
interest was Gottheil's comparison of the similarities 
between the failure of the Quebec separatist movement and the 
Islamic states.  Its also so clear to me now that the main 
reason for the Palestinian daily income of $2 is the region's 
cultural and political backwardness.  Lord, I see the light!  
Off to war to save the Middle Easterners.  We might even find 
the grail this time!  Let me note a student comment during 
the Q/A session of the evening: "The Crusades weren't all 
bad.  They saved Europe from a Muslim invasion."  

Disgusting!  What aggravated me most was the EASE with which 
these students and teachers (who were ALL white) could make 
and support these sort of claims (Gottheil: most Middle 
Eastern countries are "closed  societies" and "failed 
societies").  Whatever (little) worth was allocated by the 
neo-cons in the room to the richness of Islam or to the 
various Middle Eastern secular cultures was deemed an 
unfortunate, but necessary casualty in this war on terrorism 
and for democratization.  To set a false people on the right 
path.  But there is no evangelism here, right!  We are a 
secular state!

Equally disgusting was the ease with which they could spread 
this nationalist gospel of American Exceptionalism without 
ever giving voice to the fact that there are US minority 
cultures still living modern, colonized, ghettoized 
existences.  Again, the implication is that these American 
colonized people too, are backwards, and will eventually give 
up their struggles of self and cultural-preservation in the 
face of the inevitable, enormous wave of Americanism, 
Whiteness, and Progress.  Apparently, the disproportionate 
number of blacks locked in prisions must continue until the 
African-Americans learn the errors of their ways.  Of course, 
there is no systemic governmental breakdown in national 
policy that perpetuates such a situation.  "Damn dope 
dealers!  Say no to drugs!  Let them stay in prison," they 
say as they gleefully forgive Elliott Abrams, John 
Poindexter, Richard Perle, John Negroponte, and Otto Reich 
their little sins, their petty involvements in mass murders 
and international drug trafficing (or in Perle's case, 
alledgedly giving out classified intelligence information to 
Israeli Ambassadors on two separate occasions), sins for 
which they have NEVER apologized and repented.  

How dare our government forgive such reptiles as these in the 
name of dead South Americans, Middle Easterners and their 
families!  This is one of America's greatest sins.  

I've gone off on a tangent.  For in fact, Gottheil made it 
quite clear that US minorities, African-Americans in 
particular, oppose the war only because they have pressing, 
and unrelated, social issues to work on and they don't like 
attention being channelled to other theaters.  One student 
turned to me with an alternate proposition, full of 
reflection: "Blacks are generally leftists.  That's why 
they're against the war."  

But according to Gottheil, blacks aren't generally leftists 
at all, at least where the war is concerned!  Nevermind 
Zogby's recent statement: "The poll reveals that only...27% 
of African American voters support the war."

"They [blacks] make up a large part of our Armed Forces," he 
said, "They're patriotic!"  Of course, nothing was said about 
military campaigns to recruit impovrished young people with 
(often false) promises about $40,000 for college, plus job 
training, adventure, and travel.  See the world from the 
front lines and learn to write about it later on your free 
ride at Harvard!  Spread freedom and bring me back a nice, 
old Koran for the good ole bookshelf!

In aggravation,
Mike Simon