21 May 2004
i'm disgusted and sad and disappointed
i'm really really disappointed and saddened and shocked.
let me phrase it this way.
1. i was with the popular vote at the last presidential election, and not too thrilled about the outcome as we know it.
2. i never supported the war in iraq. i protested against it several times, in the depth of winter.
3. i don't think the troops should be withdrawn now; make a mess, and you have to clean it up.
that said, i get physically ill looking at the abuse pictures. i know people get tortured, killed, raped, abused every day. i know that. and sometimes i shield myself from that knowledge, and sometimes i sign letters; one day more passive, one day more active.
but what we have here is a war that was unprovoked. which the world was against. the actions of the US are scrutinized on a daily basis. and now MORE of these pictures - meaning, MORE of this abuse? i'm sorry, one can't just waltz into a country (which is what happened), destroy infrastructure, people's lives, etc., and then behave outside a code of conduct - hello, human decency??? some SERIOUS cultural sensitivity training is needed. and a ethics 101 course. not to mention a reminder that people are people are people, humans are humans are humans, and there should be no degradation, no abuse, no torture, no violence. yes, its been said before. i'm not saying anything new. but here we are, in the public eye, already walking on eggshells. and then the prison abuse happens?
and i'm sorry, courtmarshalling, 1 year prison, and a dishonorable discharge? sure, i guess that is punishment enough for the peons. but i'm sorry, work your way up the chain of command. if the abuse was this widespread, i'm sorry, PEOPLE HAVE ETHICS. not all of them, some people are absolutely inhuman. agreed. but if the abuse was this widespread, it has to have been ordered from up above, and those people need to either step up to the plate and 'fess up, or some serious, and i mean SERIOUS investigating needs to be done.
and i feel like i need to do something. to voice my protest. to say that: no, sorry, i don't agree with what is going on. being an american abroad this year has been good. i've had some good conversations where i do say that not every joe shmoe on the street stands for what the government stands for. that there is diversity of opinion. and at the same while, being here is good, because of the media coverage. there is no crazy "what you don't know could kill you" media coverage, not this huge culture of fear that is promoted back on the other side of the pond....
that's my rant for the day. and i'm sticking with it. had to get some of that off of my chest.
dandlioneyes at 11:01 am