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Politics : War -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Hawkmoon who wrote (4097)	9/21/2001 4:46:56 AM
From: D. Long	Respond to of 23908

No, no, no. A Chomskyite would reply that its his own fault, for being so much more successful, and hence richer. The poor little rock throwing bastard is actually a saint of patience, bearing his burden of poverty and anger so well for so long. In a Chomskyite's world, if you dare be more successful than anyone else, you've asked to be stoned. Derek

To: Hawkmoon who wrote (4097)	9/21/2001 5:03:08 AM
From: GUSTAVE JAEGER	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 23908

Re: One of these days you're going to grow up to be a big boy Thomas.... ...and you're finally going to learn that we Americans live in a brutal neighborhood populated by poor brutal people who will do anything to take away our principles. And once in a while someone, who's life isn't as nice as your's, is going to throw rocks through your window... And from time to time they are going to injure, maim, or kill one of your family members with those rocks. Hopefully, you too will grow up one of these days... You sure are right to point to the vast ocean of misery that looms all around America --I guess it fits the "siege mentality" of most Americans. Millions of destitute people across the world vent their anger on the US and, somehow, brand your country as the main, if not the only, source of their daily calamity. Millions of Chinese protested against the US just a few months ago (over the Taiwan issue), and partly because of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, most of the Arab world is hostile to the US's world leadership. Well, that's just the easy part, Hawk: the *resentment () of the poor. But remember that, at the same time the US is cast as a worldwide ogre that feeds upon a helpless Third World, it also remains the most powerful magnet that lures the so-called "tired, poor, huddled masses" away from their native countries. Indeed, in an era when cybercafes pop up in the remotest cities, more and more people will get aware of the American Dream... But then, there's the second part of the equation, that is, the jealousy () of the rich. For that matter, it's worth to look at the footnotes to grasp exactly the difference between "resentment" and "jealousy". Japan admittedly is a rich country, so are all of Western Europe's. Yet, their high living standards didn't prevent the Japanese nor the Europeans from routinely lashing out at the American hyperpower or bully or hegemon or... So, my point is that the jealousy of one's peers can be much more devious and ultimately much more perilous than frustrated underdogs if not timely checked. At the geopolitical level, peer pressure sometimes turns into plain terrorism. Over here, in Europe, there aren't hordes of wretches calling for a holy crusade against Uncle Sam, however --at least up until Sept 11-- there's a widespread, elusive, loose anti-Americanism among the middle class... But what's Europe's anti-Americanism all about?? Well, let me expose it with an anecdote: yesterday, as I was skimming through TIME magazine's special issue on Sept 11, I looked at a picture showing all these workers running away from the collapsing twin towers... and I noticed their complexions: they were of every stock: white, black, latino, chinese, hindu, native, mulatto, all running for their lives... a motley colored flight. And now I recall yesterday's amazing, exhilarating address to Congress by President Bush --"our union is strong"-- and I sensed once again, that there lies the crux of what befell America. Indeed, there's much hatred out there but don't neglect the most vicious one --the hatred of the rich. Gus. () bartleby.com (*) bartleby.com