Two messages in my archive for Edit-usp, the mailing list for Editing students in USP, speak of the same subject. One is from weeks ago, a forwarded message originally written in Spanish announcing the occurance of many manisfestations against the possible war, on the 15th of February. I found it cute and amusing.
Yesterday I was watching the local news, they said the UN inspectors were just beginning their report. So I switched to CNN to watch the original without any horrible on-the-fly translation voice-over. Interesting report, "They are very cooperative, we found nothing, we will keep searching". Somewhere along it I remembered that e-mail announcing the manifestations. "The US cannot fight against these facts, it is obvious they will not do anything for a while. Any reasonable person will stay home tomorrow."
This morning there was a message with exact schedule and location for a number of manifestations throughout the country. "So they are really doing it. Figures. Kids of all ages with too much time in their hands."
News tonight showed some of these manifestations. Some had a purpose and were by those reasonable people that I hoped would stay home. Others were by those who would not do it if the inspectors said Iraq changed their national anthem to "Give Peace a Chance". These are what I am talking about. American flags on fire, banners saying "Out Bush!", among other less unkind portraits of dishonesty.
Dishonesty because the manifestations were against the possible war, not against the United States and the stupid guy running it. The American attitude is wrong: hold your banners saying that, and that alone. What these people do is not even funny. "You want to attack? No, we are against the attack, and you suck, your father sucks, your mother sucks, your country sucks, your people suck, your neighbors suck, you are ugly, stupid, you have a silly face, you talk funny, you have poor taste is hats, and... and... you can't attack them because UN said you can't! And you are very ugly and stupid, too. With poor taste in hats."
Of course, when they do something like that they open way for people in the average evolutionary stage of human beings to say they are worth less than the flags they burn and banners they write (at least flags and banners can pass a reasonable message without being openly destructive) and serve only to waste Earth's supply of oxygen, water and proteins.
If war is really going to happen, they really should take their time to fly a B1 down here and fire three or four well placed missiles in the middle of these manifestations and/or (hopefully and) on buildings of the extremist left-wing parties.
Just giving human evolution a hand.
Posted by Etienne at February 15, 2003 09:30 PM