File spoon-archives/postcolonial.archive/postcolonial_1998/postcolonial.9811, message 113


From: oscarerodriguez-AT-juno.com
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 13:44:59 -0500
Subject: Re: Fwd.  (Who are the most generous and stingiest people in the	 world?)


There have always been strings attached to aid, and there will always be
strings attached to aid.  The "Americans" as you call them have never
given anything for nothing even though, in appearance, the aid seems
magnanimous.  They always come back to collect sooner or later. 
Actually, the "Americans" really don't give anything.  It's the US
Government, and "it" will always want something in return.  Those are the
strings.

Oscar E. Rodriguez
oscarerodriguez-AT-juno.com

On Thu, 12 Nov 1998 15:27:51 -0500 dvjones-AT-princeton.edu (donna jones)
writes:
>>What is the point of denying that there is some category of people 
>called
>>"Americans" and yet insisting that there is some category of nations 
>or
>>peoples called "The Third World"?  How can we discuss what 
>constitutes aid
>>to the Third World without discussing what constitutes the (in your
>>sentence, elided) giver of the aid?
>>
>
>If you consider the post carefully, my point was not to deny the 
>'category
>of people' known as Americans; I assure you they exist. Rather, my 
>concern
>is directed at generalizations derived from real or imagined national
>characteristics that are then used to explain social, economic or 
>political
>events. That is to say Americans give aid to others because they are
>generous people. There is something tautological about the use of 
>national
>characteristics as explainations- they give because it is their nature 
>to
>give. And I feel there is something a wee bit dangerous about 
>national
>characteristics turned synechdoche, when a little quirk comes to 
>symbolize
>some inherent quality of the whole. Usually this signals that there is 
>a
>little more to American giving then the 'generous' nature of its 
>people (or
>the state which in such configurations comes to symbolize 'the true' 
>nature
>of the people).
>
>Now with that said, and with the assurance that America, Britain and 
>yes
>Virginia- the Third World (or call the vast swath of the globe that 
>has not
>been able to share equally in the goodies of modernity whatever you 
>want)
>exist- I actually would like to know if anyone out there knows whether 
>aid
>and assistance policy has changed now that the Cold War is over. 
>Anyone
>know? Are there still strings attached to aid? Just some questions. 
>And
>yes, a discussion of post-colonial literature in English would also 
>make a
>great line of discussion.
>
>chau for now,
>djones
>
>Donna Jones
>22 McCosh Hall
>Dept. of English
>Princeton University
>Princeton, NJ 08544
>(609) 258-4066
>
>
>
>
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>


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