The word "Gulf" has become a surrogate for death & disaster.

[Jara sang]

I was watching Bill Maher last night when he mentioned Cindy and a Peace march of Veterans on 'The Gulf'. At first I thought, "Wow, what country in the Persian Gulf would host such an event?" And, "How amazing it was that they were mobilizing a protest march all the way to the Persian Gulf to protest the Iraq War."(It didn't dawn on me at the time that no Persian Gulf nation would ever allow such a thing, our so called allies in the region.) I had always associated the word "gulf" with the "Persian Gulf". It wasn't until Bill Maher mention some cities in Alabama and Mississippi that I realized he was talking about that "other" gulf, the Gulf of Mexico, where so much death and destruction had taken place. Right here in our own back yard. Needless to say if you hear anyone say that they "just got back from 'The Gulf'", that they are "going to 'The Gulf'", or that "things in 'The Gulf' aren't going so great", irrespective of geography, Middle East or Southeastern United States, the word "gulf", a small bay attached to a larger body of water and surrounded by land on three sides, will always be associated with America's failed policies both domestic and abroad. Policies that resulted in the deaths of thousands of women, children and men... Iraqi and American.

[madeline_con]

1. Very insightful post.

Thanks. :hi:

[Berry Cool]

2. Someday, I think there will be a book written or a movie made,

perhaps both, about this time in American history, and it will be called "The Gulf."

It will stand not just for two geographic places. But for the gulf that stands between this administration and any understanding of what it is costing the people of this country.

[Jara sang]

3. Spike Lee's working on it.

http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,12589,1594814,00.html

Film-maker Spike Lee is planning to shoot a documentary about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Lee's film, tentatively titled When the Levee Broke, is expected to tackle the US administration's heavily criticised handling of the disaster. US cable channel HBO is producing the documentary, which Lee wants to complete in time for the first anniversary of the floods.