A couple of American officers who had served in Iraq were talking about their time there. And, in particular, their departure. An Iraqi said to one of them, “I can’t believe you came here and didn’t take our oil.” Another Iraqi said, “I can’t believe you’re leaving voluntarily. No invading army ever does that.”
One of the American officers said he had felt like the mayor of a town — responding to the needs of the people, keeping the town together. I saw this with my own eyes on a visit to Iraq: American officers essentially acting as mayors.
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Say what you will about nation-building (and there’s a lot to say). But, after hearing this latest testimony, I got angry all over again, remembering a conversation I had with a prominent German in about 2006. He talked about American servicemen in World War II and after. They had helped the people around them, and formed bonds with them. This, however, was not happening in Iraq — or so said the German. We were betraying our best traditions.
BS. (That is not a bachelor of science degree.)
Oh, one more thing: An officer said, “You know how the press referred to the people who were trying to kill us as ‘insurgents’? We always just called them al-Qaeda.”
My heart went out to the guy at ESPN.com who wrote the headline “Chink in the Armor: Jeremy Lin’s 9 Turnovers Cost Knicks in Streak-stopping Loss to Hornets.” Lin is Chinese or Taiwanese American. The headline-writer was fired. (Story here.)
He felt absolutely sick at heart about the incident. It had not occurred to him that . . . you know, “chink.” I would never have written that headline in a million years. But not everyone is as “sensitive” — i.e., paranoid? — as I am.
During the 2008 presidential campaign, a Republican congressman referred to Senator and Mrs. Obama as “uppity.” Great gasps, all over. The congressman pleaded, “I had no idea that ‘uppity’ was a word traditionally applied to blacks, in a derogatory way.” (I’m paraphrasing.) He had just thought the Obamas were — you know, uppity. As people of all races can be.
It was hard to believe that this grown man — a congressman, to boot — didn’t know about the history of “uppity” in America. But after I wrote about the matter in Impromptus, many readers e-mailed me to say, “I had no idea either — and I don’t consider myself sheltered.”
I grew up in a hyper-sensitive environment. But not everybody did. (Good for them.) And, sometimes, people should be given the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes, they should be cut some slack. But we’re not very good at that in America, are we? Especially when race or ethnicity is involved.
What did Michelle Obama say about America? “Just downright mean.”
In the Senegalese presidential contest, there is a birth-certificate issue. The incumbent, Abdoulaye Wade: Is he 85 or 90? May we see the birth certificate, please? And even if we saw it, could we trust the information written on it?
On Monday, I read about a school in Chicago, and said, “Hallelujah.” See if you agree:
A sense of order and decorum prevails at Noble Street College Prep as students move quickly through a hallway adorned with banners from dozens of colleges. Everyone wears a school polo shirt neatly tucked into khaki trousers. There’s plenty of chatter but no jostling, no cellphones and no dawdling.
A miracle. The story continues,
The reason, administrators say, is that students have learned there is a price to pay — literally — for breaking even the smallest rules.
Noble Network of Charter Schools charges students at its 10 Chicago high schools $5 for detentions stemming from infractions that include chewing gum and having untied shoelaces.
Naturally, there’s an army of people trying to tear this school down. I hope they don’t succeed. Oh, do I hope they don’t succeed. It seems that, in human affairs, whenever something good happens, there are people who can’t stand this good, and seek to punch it in the nose.
If the “broken-windows theory” can apply to cities, can’t it apply to schools, too? Be vigilant about the little things — shoelaces — and you have helped yourself enormously with the big things.
I was told this story several times in the Amry, regarding General George Patton: He was chewing out a subordinate for bringing him a document in which the colored carbon tissue copies were in the incorrect order. Someone said they hated the silly paperwork, when the business of an army is to fight wars. To which Patton replied, "If you can't enforce simple administrative discipline in peacetime, how in the (string of very bad words) do you expect to enforce discipline in combat?"
"When you start looking like Marines you'll start feeling like Marines and then, G**d**n it, you'll start acting like Marines."
In the movie "Patton", when he takes over II Corps in North Africa, he comes to his HQ and finds things a shambles - starts fining soldiers for minor infractions of uniform regs, sets firm hours, etc. - same principle. If those kids start dressing like they're worthwhile, they'll start feeling worthwhile, and pretty soon they'll act to prove they are.
As to the Albanians, kudos to them. All one has to do is watch how the statists have first celebrated the atrocities of the National SOCIALIST Party of Germany, then hung responsibility for those atrocities on the right to wonder what would have happened if the right similarly hung the atrocities of Communism around the left. The fact that the Nazis were socialists whose first act was Government Health Insurance doesn’t seem to matter anymore, if it ever did. We are all Nazis now.
As to racial traps, I sympathize since I too once fell into one. Having moved from Maine to Virginia for work, I was one day assigned two black men as helpers. As the driver I was in charge, but when the guys asked me where we were going for lunch I said that I had just moved to the area so if they would pick out a decent restaurant we would go there.
One of them said something about fried chicken and watermelon next but I was distracted driving the truck and didn’t pick up on his tone of voice. I responded oblivious to the racial overtones but with enthusiasm, as it was a hot day and fried chicken washed down with fresh watermelon sounded great.
I almost ended up in a fistfight. The crew member who saved me from fighting did come up to me a few days later and told me he had since the incident realized that I was truly oblivious to the stereotype the other man had mentioned. I told him that Maine is one of the whitest states in the country and that I would welcome guidance to avoid offense.
Please Lord let our country transcend race one day.
'Paul Sorvino wound up spending about $300,000 of his own money on the $1.3 million film. He said it was foolish - directors "should always use other people's money' - but necessary."
Really? Directors should ALWAYS use other people's money? I know of a number of people who have footed their own bills just to get a film in which they believed made. I think Oren Peli shelled out his own $15,000 to make "Paranormal Activity." Or at least a big chuck of that. And Richard Linklater paid a big bunch of his own moolah to make "Slacker." Oh, and what about Robert Rodriguez and "El Mariachi?"
Jay,
Are you really puzzled that the people of Puerto Rico would admire the president who pushed Civil Rights for all Americans through Congress, and the president who proved a non Caucasian could reach the top spot?
Obama didn't prove anything of the sort. The American people did, and would have elected Colin Powell in 1996 had he ran. I guess that's why I couldn't get choked up about the coronation. I had no doubt that America could and would. I just wish there had been better judgment as to whom.
Where I grew (Northern Ireland) Uppity was used to refer to anyone who had climbed from their working class beginnings to a more prominent position in what was then a rather class organized society.
More amusingly was the fact that it was used more by the working class as a sign of resentment and disapproval of anyone having the gall to better themselves...I suppose that makes me uppity.... LOL.....
Just a comment on Ryan Dirteater. He is Cherokee and one tough guy. Young, maybe 20 now, but last year on a bull barely made it out of shoot and bull rolled and broke his femur. He was out all that season and came back. One of my favorites of the PBR. Love watching it!
If you noticed, all it takes to be a hero in Puerto Rico is to be president and visit the island. So don't take it the wrong way. But why Johnson now? No idea... It is interesting they did Obama and Johnson together, recognizing a common thread. I don't know who else is in this little pantheon aside from Theodore Roosevelt, but there are five others. They can't all be democrats, can they? I mean I guess they could numerically, but that would be very telling. Thank G-d they haven't voted to become a state, if that's the case. I hate these guys who complain about Puerto Rico's status - that's what the people of Puerto Rico want, man - deal with it and stop making like it's the other 50 states' fault. They don't pay federal income tax. How awesome is that? They get the protection of the US Armed Forces and all the benefits of being a territory, including federal payouts for its citizens, without any income tax. Okay, I'm getting angry here... Calm down... Wish I'd been born in Puerto Rico.
Reminded of it now by your report I can vaguely remember seeing "ch*nk" used as a derogatory term in some old books that I've read. It would never have crossed my mind to conflate the common phrase "ch*nk in one's armor" with an antique racial slur.
Can't we, as a society, stop walking on tiptoes around things that were problems for our grandparents but which have no relevance to us anymore?
I cannot comment like I would like to because it would be edited out immediately. I grew up in NYS and my Father grew up in Jersey City and conversations at our supper table used all the slang (not curse words) of the streets and was used more as an educational vocabulary than a derogatory use of the words. Our use of thumbs up as a meaning of good means entirely different in other parts of the world. With words it's the same thing. Knowing all the gestures, words, phrases, colors, looks is almost impossible and we have our media social police that are the first to scream of some infraction unknown to many. I'm sorry but I can't use any examples because this post would be history. Too bad the teaching needs to be private.
My heart went out to the guy at ESPN.com who wrote the headline “Chink in the Armor: Jeremy Lin’s 9 Turnovers Cost Knicks in Streak-stopping Loss to Hornets.” Lin is Chinese or Taiwanese American. The headline-writer was fired. (Story 
