-----Original Message----- From: "Paul Biggar"<paul.biggar@gmail.com> Sent: 7/30/05 8:22:53 AM To: "David Farber"<dave@farber.net> Subject: Re: [IP] editorial comment -- more on middle-aged white females Dave,
Are Americans conscious of what the consequences of their foreign policies of the last 50 years are turning them into? Totally paranoid, terrorist-obsessed crazies. What on earth are they feeding into you people's heads day-in and day-out over there? And now Tony B. Liar is bringing the same upon the British.
There was some criticism of this rant, and I wish to defend the poster. A casual observer of this list would certainly question the state of the nation. America is branded as the land of the free, where the Bill of Rights guarantees inalienable rights to individuals. At the same time, the fear of terrorists allows certain Americans to torture 'enemy combatants'[1], to search individuals at random[2], and to wiretap without judicial consent[3]. Secret hearings[4], secret trials[5] and secret laws[6] are all on the agenda in the name of protecting America from terrorists. These are supported by those running the country; the very people who are meant to defend your freedoms and the constitution. To go from here to ask whether American are 'totally paranoid terror-obsessed crazies' is no leap of the imagination; one must merely switch on Fox News. While the tone may have been harsh, I don't believe the poster should be chastised as 'childish', at least not by intelligent people, who should see the serious issues under his rhetoric. I would prefer those issues* were addressed, lest all Americans be painted with the same brush stroke. Yours Paul Biggar * These being: -"Never a word questioning the rationality of a society that apparently thinks it normal to wants to treat all of its citizens as criminal suspects in the first place." - "Are Americans conscious of what the consequences of their foreign policies of the last 50 years are turning them into?" - "What on earth are they feeding into you people's heads day-in and day-out over there?" [1] http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/200412/msg0007... .html [2] http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/200507/msg0020... .html [3] http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/200504/msg0020... .html [4] http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/200410/msg0025... .html [5] http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/200408/msg0032... .html [6] http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/200507/msg0023... .html ------------------------------------- You are subscribed as eugen@leitl.org To manage your subscription, go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/ ----- End forwarded message ----- -- Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://leitl.org">leitl</a> ______________________________________________________________ ICBM: 48.07100, 11.36820 http://www.leitl.org 8B29F6BE: 099D 78BA 2FD3 B014 B08A 7779 75B0 2443 8B29 F6BE [demime 1.01d removed an attachment of type application/pgp-signature which had a name of signature.asc]