4A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, September 24 , 2001 OP/ED I U~bz 1ftcbi]grnflai 420 MAYNARD STREET ANN ARBOR, MI 48109 daily. letters@umich.edu EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SINCE 1890 GEOFFREY GAGNON Editor in Chief MICHAEL GRASS NICHOLAS WOOMER Editorial Page Editors Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of the majority of the Daily's editorial board. All other articles, letters and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily NOTABLE QUOTABLE ( LIt is right that the United States should punish the Taliban for refusing to hand over Bin Laden and that it should go into Afghanistan to seek him out. It is right that the training camps and terrorist infrastructure should be destroyed. But the West must be wary of killing people who have had little say in who rules them and of pouring fuel on the flames of Islamic fundamentalism. This is a war without end and a war that we can never be certain we have won." nYesterday's staff editorial in London 's Suna Times. ~4W.m U Poai4 Pa& u Of A('a$A1, -------------- Dbow banes m Dishonoring those we've lost by shouting I JOHANNA HANINK PARLANCE OF OUR TIMES he burden of my - last summer at home began to weigh more heavily as the final days of July slipped into August. I had come h:home in June unenthusias- tic, even averse, to seeing any of the people to whom I'd ever applied the title "best friend." I'd fallen out of touch to some degree with everybody, a separation compound- ed by this same "everybody's" choice to stay in New England - and therefore together. Every- body, that is, except me. But as June gave way to July I had forgotten Ann Arbor and remembered to ask for marsh- mallow instead of whipped cream on my choco- late-raspberry-truffle ice cream from Kathy John's, the restaurant where every night, whether we were hungry or had no other place to go, we'd avoid the unavoidable upcoming semester. And the we became coherent again as, determined to avoid any cliched "nothing left in common," I found in my friends people changed just like I had been changed by our first year at school. Our complaints had turned from calculus labs to sweatshop labor as our concept of "sit- in" adjusted to include the term "living wage." Some evenings we'd sit on the soccer fields of our old middle school and plan the revolution until someone would drop the loaded declara- tion, "Well, I've got work tomorrow" and soon a caravan of cars would disperse from the park- ing lot, each one honking softly as it turned out of sight. Midnight had become late again. It was, therefore, a given that I'd call one of these re-found friends on the evening of Sept.. 11 to discuss and dissect the beyond-tragic, beyond-human, morning attacks. "Isn't it awful?" I asked him, hating myself for thinking. of no more eloquent way to define what I now euphemistically refer to as "the events of the 11th." "Yeah," he replied. "But you know what? The United States has already killed half a million Iraqi children with its sanctions. That's awful." This person is one of the most compassion- ate I have ever met and I don't think he realized what he was saying. The thought of half a mil- lion children gone because of my country breaks my heart. But so does the thought of the 6,000-plus children, mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers buried in fallen rubble across New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. The two feelings are not mutually exclusive. It is in situations like this, when the dichoto- my between extreme right and extreme left blurs into nothingness, that the political spec- trum gives its secret away: It is a circle rather than a line. Soon many more people, many more children, will die in Afghanistan because of some people's hate for the "Other." But the deaths of thousands in New York have been met with the complacency of a few, because of the hate some people feel for themselves and their country. Nobody worth mentioning celebrates these deaths, but from both sides comes the lan- guage of deservation and justification. And in the midst of our struggle to determine and direct what is right, to decide how the Unit- ed States should proceed with Afghanistan or reflect on the evils of our own foreign policy, some find themselves forgetting the children who will lose parents - and the parents who will lose children - in a part of the world that for most of us, until now, existed only in buried headlines. And harder to understand, but still true, some will find themselves forgetting that nobody on that missing persons list, now topping 6,000, deserved to die for the failings of a nation. On Friday, the Daily reported that, "Chanting 'stop the war' and 'U-S-A,' anti- and pro- war student groups clashed verbally yesterday on the Diag over the subject of U.S. military actions and policy." ("Protesters rally to stop war," 9/21/01). This kind of display does nothing but garner media attention for the shouting antago- nists and degrade the memory of the dead. As we plan our rallies and strategize over dinner we have to carry with us at all times the reality of death. And for those of us who ardent- ly advocate peace and oppose more senseless loss of life, it is okay to make some people feel uncomfortable, but not to marginalize with hos- tility and antagonism - regardless of to whom these feelings are directed - any potential advocate for peace. At this university, we have a constant inferi- ority complex when we compare ourselves to the legendary names and groups of the over- romanticized 1960s and '70s student activism. But it's been more than 30 years and we should have leamed that we do not need to shout to be heard. It's been more than 30 years and we should have learned that some struggles are too sad to romanticize. Johanna Hanink can be reached via e-mail atjhanink@umich.edu. Y LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Get ready to grieve, skewed depiction of U.S. global role To THE DAILY: My friends and I have spent the last week and a half grieving for the victims in New York. But these feelings are not new to me as they are to most of my American friends. I have felt the same way for much of the past 20 years. Being from Iran, the first time I experienced this sense of grief and loss was during the Iran-Iraq war. As a teenager in the 1980s, I cried equally for the Iraqi and Iran- ian victims of that war. As I grew older, other man-made tragedies elicited my empathy: the US-Iraq war, the genocide in the Balkans, the plight of the Palestinians. Throughout it all, nothing depressed me more than the U.S. attack on Iraq. In this case, a whole country was bombed back into the pre-industrial age. The infrastructure nec- essary to civilization was shattered, and 9,000 homes turned into "collateral damage." That destruction, combined with comprehen- sive economic sanctions that have prevented reconstruction, led to the death of over a mil- lion people. The U.S. justified its actions by citing the misdeeds of the Iraqi ruler, Saddam Hussein. However, the Iraqi people did not deserve punishment for the behavior of their ruler any more than the innocent Americans in the World Trade Center deserved punish- ment for the misdeeds of their government. During the attack on Iraq, the American media simply regurgitated their government's rationalizations. So, while most Americans may not have been able to point to the Middle East on a map, they knew that the U.S. was defend- ing human rights, freedom, democracy and decency. Flags were displayed widely. All were urged to "support our troops." There was con- siderable pride in how successfully Iraq was crushed and its troops wiped out. On the cam- pus where I lived as an undergraduate, the mood was upbeat, even jovial. While I mourned, some of my friends literally partied. The last thing on anybody's mind was the Iraqis who perished. A decade later, flags are ubiquitous again. This time, however, the mood is somber. There is dignified empathy for the victims of the terrorist attack, and there are touching acts of kindness in the face of suffering. In moments of abandon, I imagine that this W's tact,. response to tragedy restores faith in #43 To THE DAILY:<:< As a recent graduate of the University, I recall, not so long ago, sitting in my bedroom, 4 transfixed in front of the television, while the 2000 presidential election unfolded before my very eyes with more twists and turns than an episode of "Days of Our Lives." I also remember, at the close of the fiasco, experi- encing feelings of dismay, disgust and disillu- sionment as the U.S. Supreme Court "handed," then Gov. George W. Bush the presidency of the United States in what may prove to be the most controversial Supreme Court decision of this generation. Being a Democrat, to put it mildly, I was embarrassed by this man who was to be the 43rd president and figure-head of this great nation. AP PHOTO However, in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001, defines his presidency with each passing day, and subsequent events, actions and undertak- I can think of no better American for the job. ings, I am filled with nothing but pride as I I am no longer embarrassed by this man who watch President Bush unify the nation in this is the 43rd president of the United States. time of disaster, tragedy and loss. As he KYLE MAZUREK Alumnus 4 I Honor those protecting nation TO THE DAILY: I was willing to ignore the protesters at first. I figured that everyone has a right to their opin- ion and that I would just let it be. Then I got an e-mail from my uncle who last week left his wife and two young children at home as he was called off by the military reserves to serve his country in this time of tragedy. It seems he came across some of the columns and editorials by the ever-so-patriotic Daily staffers. Nick Woomer ("Thoughts on building an inclusive peace movement," 9/19/01) and others, rest easy in knowing the fact that our troops who are risking their lives to protect your freedom have read your editorials and columns and have been made sick. And add me to that list of people you have made sick. While you sit here in your comfortable left- wing university fantasy world, some people have to deal with reality to make sure that the life you lead will be possible for your children. Do you think anyone really wants a war? Do protecting our county right now. In a time like this it is imperative for us to come to together in unity behind one another, not a time to pretend it is 1969 again. Keep that in mind. BEN SMITH LSA senior Letter writer blind, ignorant to backlash TO THE DAILY: I wanted to comment on the letter written by LSA senior Nick Occhipinti ("Attacks on Mus- lims, Arabs overblown," 9/21/01). I was sur- prised that a senior at the University could be so ignorant. To say that the media is hyping up the anti- Arab/Muslim backlash is so insensitive! Appar- ently this young man does not have to stay at home at night and watch where he goes in fear of people verbally or physically abusing him like my parents and many of my friends. Appar- ently this young man does not have to face the tearing face of his father when he learns that his friend in California was killed because he owns an Arabic store. 4 . . ....... EM S 1 : .................