Re: [MF:Apes] bush slur (sure)... (via /contact form)

On Fri, 11 Jan 2002, oohandy wrote:

> Fine, sir. Continue to "criticize" President Bush. 

I think I criticize him, not Scare Quote Criticize him. Is *any* criticism
permissible, in your view? You seem to object to the *fact* of criticism,
not the content.

> He fairly won election to
> the presidency,

This I don't see as true in almost *any* way. Putting aside the counting
dispute, I don't think Bush's (or Gore's) vast money resources made the
election "fair".

> was recently voted the most admired american by a larger
> margin than any other president , 

Er...in what vote? I didn't participate in that.

Besides, who cares what the mob thinks? Surely popularity doesn't
determined whether someone should be criticized.

> and he had led this country through the
> most critical period of our time 

We're through it already?

> in a dignified, 

I don't agree, but let's let that be a matter of taste.

> honorable, 

This is clearly not true. He's flouted international law and diplomatic
norms, killed innocents on the most tenuous of grounds, sought to
severely curtail civil rights, used the september tragedy shamelessly for
his own political agenda....the list goes on.

Early on, though later than many, he spoke against anti-Arab american and
muslim prejudice and violance. I even wrote an article praising him for
that.

> and very
> admirable 

I don't find it admirable. Even if we put aside the criticisms, he's been
far from inspiring and pretty much out of control of his adminstration
(well, at least their overall behavior; he seems to keep the final
decision making going, but almost as a tiebreaker). Look who ended up Time
person of the year.

And where are the difficult bits? Going to war is the easy choice.

> way - a fact that you cannot legitimately dispute.

Why not? Everything you said was mere assertion or judgement calls or
matters of personal taste. Why on earth *can't* I dispute it?

> So you choose
> to make up your own criticism, 

This is what I really don't understand. I didn't "make it up". He uttered
a racist slur. He then failed to apologize for it. These are *real* facts
which you can look up. I find that objectionable and worthy of
critique. We considered teh "he didn't know it was offensive" defense and
found it wanting. If he didn't know, or it was a slip, he should have
apologized and moved on. Wouldn't that be the *honorable* and *admirable*
thing to do?

Even if it was a minor thing, isn't a measure of honor how you behave in
the small as well as the large?

> while attempting to insult his intelligence.

Well, being a stumbletongue hardly makes him a moron. I don't think much
of his intelligence, that's true, but this is as much a failure of the
administration as of Bush himself.

> What I and the American people 

Kendall and I are American people. Hey, why don't you speak for *yourself*
and not generalize? Or is it that you can only call upon mass opinion and
not hard evidence for your views?

> know about George W. Bush is that he is
> President, 

Er...thanks. I wasn't aware.

> that he has a degree from Yale, a masters degree from Harvard,

I knew about these.

> and the admiration, support, and approval greater than any other man who
> ever held the office of President Of The United States

Well, George Sr had a 70% approval rating at teh end of teh Gulf war,
Clinton ranged into the lower 70%s. Personally, I wouldn't want to
conclude too much from that.

> - and what they know
> about you is that you own a computer.

Actually, you don't know that. I could be using a library computer :)

Actually, most of the American People don't know *anything* about
me. Really, I do hope you didn't think I thought otherwise.

> Maybe it's jealousy that has clouded your judgement...

HAHAHAH. Thanks. Really. That made me laugh heartily. It may surprise you
but I never in this world or any other would want to be Geroge Bush (or
Clinton for that matter).

I have to say that I've been a consistent critique of Bush (and was of
Gore too, for that matter). Please take a walk through the monkeyfist
archvies. You'll see. I also generally criticize public officials who use
racist derogatory terms (althought I don't think I managed to publish the
one about Byrd for using the N-word and generally being one of the most
disgracful senetors of the civil rights era, though outdone by Strom
Thurmond...not by much).

So this is consistent, at least. If you use a racial slur (and I've *long*
know about it) and it was inadvertant, you apologize. If you're a public
figure in a delicate situation where you can control what you're saying
(via briefings and speech writers), the burden is greater. That's part of
what it *is* to be a leader.

Is there anything about the prior paragraph that you find wrong or
inappropriate? That's the fundemental basis of our criticism.

I do hope that India doesn't take it as a signal that we're in favor of
them nuke Pakistan, and that Pakistan doesn't take it admiss, or that it's
used by a radical group in Pakistan to overthrow the current gov't. All
these were and are real possibilities.

Even if not, I would hope that a decent person would apologize for a
blunder offensive to millions of our fellow citizens.

Sorry, even if these things don't matter to you, they do matter to me. I
find it rather amazing that, even if you don't share them, that you don't
find them *legitimate*.

Cheers,
Bijan Parsia.