by B.J. on 8/11/2002 05:16:00 AM 0 comments Print this post

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From a crumpled Saturday edition of the LA Times on the front page at Ray's house last night, I learned that the US school system has been plucking out Filipino teachers. . .frequently. . .favorably. . .more often than any other nationality. Five years ago, I would've celebrated for any mention of a Filipino, negative or positive, but these days, I'm whatever about it because I just think of myself as me and NOT "Filipino forever" or some crap like that. However, I still enjoy learning about other cultures and figuring out how their stereotypes have developed thru years of history, from Tofu culture to the Dippin' Dot and Funnel Cake culture ! Hungry now !

Stereotypes never really lead to anything positive, such as the way we've viewed terrorists this past year and haven't gotten anywhere in this "war on terrorism." Chris Kattan from Saturday Night Live just got finished bashing the Red Cross for complaining about how inhumane the terrorists were being treated in Cuba, just like Jay and other sheep comedians whose style pumps the crowd. A country of sheeps driven by the meat. By a disturbingly comfortable majority of UH-MURRRRRR-I-KUNZZZZZZ (Americans), it's become OK to point and laugh at residents of those bombed-out Arabic Middle Eastern countries. I mean the terrorist attacks were all wrong, but if it these were white Europeans from France, we wouldn't have bombed the hell out of France. In other words, you're not going to punch one trucker because another stupid truck cut you off during rush hour on the 101.

When my AP teacher from Larchmont last told us statistics in MARCH, the death toll for INNOCENT civilians in Afghanistan alone had already long surpassed the total death toll from the triple terrorist attacks by a clean 1000+. I don't want to imagine what it is now because Ima cringe even more at how our dear country still justifies its actions. I think our dear country reacted very impulsively and irresponsibly by bombing the whole country for the actions of a few. That would be like China bombing us for the KKK blowing up the Great wall because the KKK is a US-stationed terrorist organization that seems to be supported by a few.

The grudges between the US and the Arabic Middle East only grow deeper with each death on both sides. We're killing and losing husbands/fathers/brothers/uncles/wives/mothers/sisters/aunts/friends with no one except soldiers and Middle Eastern citizens noticing. With about 50% of the population under 20 years old, hungry, and illiterate in the Middle East, these civilians have still nowhere to turn to, which makes them easy suckers for the terrorist organizations. Throw in the propoganda that the "U.S. sucks" proving it by showing US troops perverting the Holy Land by running over it with tanks and carpet bombs and you have an easily pissed off-potential terrorist.

Ever since World War 2, the US has felt the need to play hero and paint a boogeyman just to waste even more money on the military. I really, truly respect the soldiers, but I think the money's best spent on fixing health care and the school system. It's called fixing yourself before fixing others. Twenty-million an hour, PRE-9/11, was INSANE enough, but a cool thirty-FIVE million an hour to the military is so insane that the one who flew over the cuckoo's nest would come back and DO IT AGAIN. With all the advances in technology, you'd a thought we'd have some complicated policy of ENGAGEMENT, instead of the neanderthal, homo erectus-style of handling conflicts --- war.

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