Disrespectful
Yesterdays post was a difficult one. The sensitivity and complexity of the subject matter- war, violence, racism, sexism, human evil and suffering is overwhelming. The picture I posted could be considered beyond the bounds of civilized discourse. If anything, the post was directed at the indifference that we, the people of these United States, have displayed toward this type of activity now and in the past. War, violence and degradation will always be with us, but when it is sanctioned, either overtly or tacitly by the government and its people, it causes me to question the validity of our entire system. The underside of the American experience is a long-held belief in our superiority over "other" peoples and cultures. This belief is changing, albeit slowly; is the current occupation of Iraq an aberration to this trend, or have we really made no progress at all as a civilization?
And if I hadn't posted the photograph, would anybody have believed my story?
3 Comments:-
Móðir, kona, meyja said...
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Darien Fisher-Duke said...
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Professor Batty said...
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As a woman, I also find it extremely unsettling; to me it wasn't just about racism...
To my mind it is about racism. Would this have happened to the body of anyone but a Black, a Native American, or some member of a minority group? It's horrifying because of the selective callousness on display.
... there were a lot of things expressed in that display. The man who exhibited it was a person of authority; he owned a newspaper and was active in anti-union activities. The museum became something of an embarrassment for the town (which is the home of two prominent colleges- Carleton and St. Olaf's.)
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