Text 20565, 100 rader
Skriven 2005-12-31 11:42:53 av Björn Felten (2:203/2)
Ärende: Editor's censorship
===========================
I've been repeatedly accused of censoring contributions to the Snooze, and this
has even been said to be the reason that people no longer are sending in
articles. This is of course totally not true, why would any editor reject all
articles sent to the e-zine he editors?

   Admittedly I have rejected one (1) article during my four years as editor,
and I have explained several times that it was because the article was full of
personal attacks on a fellow sysop (ironically enough it was attacks at Roy
Witt). The author refused to remove those attacks, so obviously I had no other
choice than to reject the article.

   But I also get a few forwarded articles, that readers want published.

   First of all this raises a copyright issue, that I don't have time to dive
into (as for the outrageous US copyright laws, all I have to say is Happy
Birthday To You -- google for it if you don't understand what I mean).

   Secondly, no matter how much I, personally, agree with every single letter
of an article, I still don't want to turn the Snooze into a political battle
scene like so many fidonet echoes. So you'll have to excuse this editor for not
publishing articles like this, no matter how much I'd like to:

   - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Dear readers

It's getting a bit tiresome seeing one misguided American after
another with their cutsie little yellow or red-white-blue ribbons on
their outsized SUVs. Yeah, I guess it's the thing to do; maybe part of
that whole soccer-mom culture. Unfortunately, the only thing they
demonstrate is that the person behind the wheel is a clueless,
gullible, misguided, nitwit.

If foreign invaders landed on our soil, as we have done in Iraq, I
would be the first one to take up arms and repel them. (I suppose that
would make me an 'insurgent' by OUR logic.) This, and other aggressive
governments have always done their utmost to make it APPEAR as if
committing yourself to kill in feuds on distant shores that have
nothing to do with the welfare of the citizenry is somehow patriotic.

It is not.

Enlisting in the armed forces, in the absence of a real and impending
foreign threat, is no different that hiring yourself as a paid
assassin -- the only difference is, you're not getting paid enough.
But let's take a realistic look at exactly WHO joins up in an
all-volunteer army.

The first group are those who join (during peacetime) for the
benefits: to get an education, or because it seems a reasonable career
path. Consider carefully! Realize that you are gambling with your
humanity. Once you sign that form, you sign away your right to say:
"No, that is an atrocity." You put your abilities, including the
ability to kill, at the disposal of proven liars, psychopaths --
enemies of humanity. Do you think that every German soldier in World
War II who helped load Jews into cattle cars was a cold-blooded
killer? Most were poor kids, just like you, who got caught up in the
patriotic frenzy. Once you're in, you're IN. You lose the ability to
stop killing until they tell you so. This not only makes you less than
human, it makes you less than an animal, for even the animals retain
their freedom of self determination.

The second group are the simple minded, who fall for patriotic
entreaties about  defending democracy, Mom, apple pie; in other words,
all the traditional government propaganda. Do you think Soviet lads
subjugated their neighbors throughout the world because they thought
the Soviet Union was an EVIL empire? No, they were fighting for MOM,
and whatever passes for apple pie in Russia. Step back and examine the
lies your government is handing you, and ask yourself if they have the
ring of truth. Do you want to be one of the murderers in uniform who
opened up on their fellow citizens at Kent State? When you put on that
uniform, you give up all autonomy, and become nothing more than a
weapon, to be used for whatever evil purposes the scoundrels in
government demand (and, if you look carefully, you will discover that
the only interests THEY serve are those of the big businesses that own
them).

Finally, you have the hard-core psychopaths. These are the people who
WANT to kill. Murder, torture, rape; THESE are the American values
upon which THIS group is focused. The cause doesn't matter, they're
after the thrill that only warfare can provide.

Just remember: killing for George W. Bush, or for George H.W. Bush, or
for Lyndon B. Johnson, or for Richard M. Nixon is not the same as
defending yourself, your family, your friends, or your country. Don't
be a dupe. Don't Enlist!

Remember -- supporting the troops means supporting Bush aggression,
profiteering, and war crimes. Here's an idea: why not take those
ribbons, dip them in blood, and mail them to the White House?


Tom St.Denis
Kanata, Ontario
Canada

tomstdenis(at)gmail(dot)com

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 * Origin: news://felten.yi.org (2:203/2)