Joanna
Dennis Perrin wrote:
>>The "Dad" who wrote this letter is obviously typical of all too many
>>USers who have raised their blood pressure to dangerous levels over the
>>war-on-terrorism hype. It seems to me that they are basically the kind
>>of people who are always spoiling for a fight; they get their rocks off
>>by fantasizing a lethal threat to the good ol' US of A, which is wiped
>>out by our noble armed forces. They also get the psychic benefit of
>>working off their anxieties by raging about "traitors," "liberals,"
>>etc.
>>
>>Jon Johanning // jjohanning at igc.org
>>
>>
>
>Got into a heated debate this weekend with a neighbor over Moore's film and
>the war in general. Working class guy, Greek immigrant, incredibly nice and
>open, the kind of guy who, if he sees you walking near his house, yells out,
>"Hey Dennis! Come and have a drink! Just one drink!" Full of life, and it
>seems, full of fear. I asked if he'd seen "9/11," and while he said he'd
>like to, he was afraid that it would be more Liberal Press lies about the
>president's holy crusade. When I prodded him on this, he erupted about the
>out-of-work slackers who protest the war while guys like him and me work for
>a living and contribute to society (my response that there are plenty of
>working people marching against the war was pretty much ignored), and about
>how only Fox News was "pro-America" while the "Communist News Network"
>undermined our efforts to eradicate the 9/11 terrorists in Iraq. And so on.
>I knew he leaned to the right, but till now had no idea how much. It took me
>a half-hour to untangle as much of the above as I could, and though he
>conceded some things, and admitted that perhaps he over-simplified a few of
>his points ("CNN is pro-communist?" I asked, letting the question hang there
>for a moment to allow the absurdity to sink in), he stood his ground
>overall, defending a position that rests on fantasies, ideological need, and
>fear.
>
>So, comrades, how do we approach people like this? In my case, I'm in good
>with the guy, so my lefty takes, while strange and to a degree frightening
>to him, don't come from an an unknown place. But what if I just met the guy,
>say, after a screening of "9/11"? If, as many here have suggested, it's up
>to us to take what we can from the film and expand it to those in our daily
>lives, then what is a good approach? Because at some point you will hit a
>wall. Do we chip at it, try to smash it, or simply climb over it?
>
>DP
>
>
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