Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 19:33:36 -0500 (EST)
From: danceswithcarp <dcombs-AT-bloomington.in.us>
Subject: Re: carp likes straw men




On Tue, 20 Apr 1999, ben blumson wrote:

> Your advocating this but you aren't prepared to risk your own life
> where you think europeans should risk theres becasue its 'their
> problem'. 

Except for the major concerns I have whenever +any+ ethnic group gets
mugged for their lands and lives, you are absolutely right.  I recommend
the Ozzies get between the Timorians and Indonesians, the Egyptians
between the Ertrians and Ethiopians, the, well, hell, there ain't anyone I
can recommend to the Kurds, but you are absolutely right on the ball here:
Anyone or nation that is capable should get between warring parties
everywhere.  Pay my way to chiapas and I'll go there.  I turned down
Nicaragua in November because of the need for a capital infusion, but if
you forward me the jack, I'm on my way.


> This is still passing the problem off to someone else
> because you dont really care and think Europeans should. 

Worngo.  I think we ALL should care.  Most americans (me too) just don't
see the rest of the developed wirld carrying their load, so everytime the
U$ makes a half-assed misguided attempt to do what the basic american
person thinks is the right thing to do it becomes "Yankee Imperialism." It
may be "State imperialism"  but the average american hasn't got a clue as
to why the war is taking place except they think it will help the
refugees. Yet the chronic U$ bashers expect these uninformed people to
understand some fine point of economic injustice and then NOT to become
reactionary when some pointy-headed intellectual starts lecturing them on
the EVILS of their good intentions.  This is exactly why the Vietnam War
ended for economic reasons instead of a response to the american body
politic.


> But if you
> don't care then why should they? Furthermore the situation is as much
> a result of the cold war and so is the fault of America and Russia
> just as much as Europes. 

Oh, malarkey of the highest magnitude.  The only reason this didn't happen
in 1945 was because Tito played the U$ and U$$R into a stand-off that let
him rule with an iron hand.  Tito's croat army kept the lid on. Shoot, the
albanians/croats and serbs were going at it so hard in the 30s and 40s
that the albanians claim that the nazis "liberated" them:  see

www.klpm.org

this goes back 600years.  That's even older than goat.

> NATO is the fault of the cold war as well. 

What the hell are you, an RCP recruiter?  NATO, for right or worng, was a
response to Stalinism being imposed on eastern europe.  Yup, a lot of that
was sheer misreading of the situation.  But then again 20 million dead
slavs and ukranians can't be all worng.  I mean the guy did have a fairly
unsocial record prior to The Great Patriotic War.

>It
> is hypocritical to claim that other should die or risk their lives for
> a cause that you won't do the same for. Ben B

Oh.  It's The High And Mighty Hypocrisy Thing.  Okay.  I assume since you
are Riding The White Horse you haven't benefited a corporation lately.
But if you have, please send me the money and I will head to central
america immediately.  I am a trained surveyor, draftsman, medic,
construction inspector, and school teacher--not to mention social wirker.
I'm sure they'll find a use for me.  And while I'm down there I'm willing
to fight to the last Grrrman in the Balkans.

But send enough to feed my kids too.  I wouldn't want to impose my/your
hierarchy on them by forcing them to go (They didn't want to go to the
Zuni reservation when I was offered a teaching job there; was I to force
them?).  

So wait until they're gone from home and see where I head off to.  These
things are already planned.  Meanwhile, go ahead, kill Milosevic and his
butchering buddies.  Make the wirld safe for +everyone+.  You're right
there close. 



carp