Various Things on My Mind

Various Things on my Mind

There are a number of things on my mind and I'd like to make a short commentary about them.

First, the slaughter of the people of East Timor lies directly at the feet of the United States and its imperialist allies...such as Australia. Commercial interests, oil interests, and shipping lanes are at the heart of our "hands-off" stance. The Indonesian government, never a friend of democracy, the one who took over East Timor 24 years ago, is as despotic a government as we have ever supported anywhere...anytime. During the Vietnam War we killed tens of thousands of communist Indonesians for that government. Now we stand by and watch them slaughter tens of thousands of the people...after this govenment allowed a vote on their independence. The vote was heavily in favor of independence...and the response was carnage. Lets see...we bomb the hell out of Yugoslavia for "humanitarian" reasons...then we do nothing to prevent the killing of others...right!! Once again, the shame of being an American falls heavily on me and undoubtably, on an other caring and critical thinking people. Our hypocrisy is smelling up the place...again.

Second, I recently put a group of articles in the Article Room concerning whether or not Chief Wahoo, the official logo of the Cleveland Indians baseball team, is a racist symbol. This is a very controversial issue in northern Ohio...as well as around the country. I've been an Indian fan since I was a boy...45+ years...and grew up with the Chief. Although it took me a while to come to this, I firmly believe Chief Wahoo IS a racist symbol that should be abandoned. First and foremost, it represents a group of people who haven't exactly had an easy time since the first white man set foot in North America. Wahoo is a stereotypical portrayal of native americans. All it needs to be complete is a bottle of "firewater" in his hand. Then we'd have the full picture of the grinning (read submissive) indian (white men messed this one up...geography apparently wasn't their strong suit) with alcohol as the dominant reality in his life. This is a positive view of native americans? Of course, in my opinion, its no worse or better than the "redskins" as a name for a sports team. My point is that does it really matter what white men think about this? If this symbol...a symbol representing an entire people...offends just one native american, then that's enough for me. Most of the reasoning supporting Wahoo is suspect...mostly teleological (arguing from a predetermined end). It goes something like...Wahoo has been around a long time...fans identify with it...what does it hurt if its lasted so long? The "fan identification" thing is the major reason given by the Indians' owner, Dick Jacobs, for keeping it. I understand his financial reluctance to switch logos...but come now...just because there is identification with something doesn't mean it is okay. Furthermore, I know I'll be charged with trying to enforce "politically correct" words. Bull...I'm not being politically correct...I'm being humanly correct. Other groups have changed native american logos without any diminishing of fan support...so could the Indians. I wear no Indians' hats or shirts with Wahoo on it. My bumper sticker has him xxxx out. I hope that Jacobs or the new owners (he's selling the team) will do the right thing and get rid of Wahoo once and for all. The goodwill created by this action would, in my opinion, dwarf any negative reactions by people who would probably be offended if there was a team named honkies or niggers. If we can't or won't give native americans anything else, we could give them respect as humans by not using them as mascots.

Third, sometime ago I and others called for the indictment of NATO and the leaders of NATO countries for war crimes in the Yugoslavian assault. Charges were filed with the Tribunal housed at the Hague and an investigation was promised. At first I was hopeful that this would happen, but then I started reading about the nature of this Tribunal (there's an article about it in the Article Room). I found out that its little more than a bought-and-paid-for kangaroo court...funded by the USA. Its procedures are suspect as well as its investigative functions. It has no legal standing internationally or with the UN. I finally realized that it would never indict these war criminals...and it hasn't. It has declared that there is no grounds for doing so...and in the words of Pink Floyd...Oh...what a surprise!!! Even though others around the world did and still do continue to push for an indictment, I predicted then that it would never happen. I'm saddened and angry. Our country is even more of a big bully now than it was before...and it needs to be made accountable for its actions...but it won't be. There are more informal actions being taken, but that's all they are, informal. Now, with the inaction of the US in East Timor I mentioned above, this country can make no claim for its humanitarian stances. We broke international law and our own laws...when will the people of this country stand up and be counted on the side of humanity?