"A Barbarous and Ignorant Speech"

[donsu]

http://counterpunch.com/ross09252007.html


An Open Letter to Lee Bollinger, President of Columbia University


I'm writing you to express my outrage over your vulgar treatment of President Ahmadinejad yesterday when you invited him to speak at your university. Simple human etiquette of the most primitive and elemental sort, was required in the situation, but you failed to deliver even that. You were obnoxious, insulting and displayed an appalling ignorance of President Ahmadinejad, Iran and politics, not to mention the rules that govern "civilized" human conduct (arguably "primitive" conduct is even more governed by politeness and elevated rules of conduct).

-snip-

The Chinese have a saying, roughly translated, that goes, "the one pointing his finger at another, has three fingers pointing at himself." But you are so blind to who you are, up there in your position of power as President of the prestigious Columbia University of New York in the great empire of the United States of America, that you don't see the man being accused by his three fingers. So, to close, I invite you to take a look at yourself, and our people, as another sees us. Her name is Layla Anwar and she writes a blog called Arab Woman Blues which you can find here.

I warn you. A man of your highly sensitive sensibilities may find some of her language harsh, painful, distasteful. But I assure you, she has far more justification for saying what she does than you did in your pronouncements against the President of Iran yesterday. And it is long, but I plead for you to have patience because you are a man in need of an education, and sometimes education is a very painful process.

She writes:
------
Is there anything in Iraq that the Americans have not destroyed?

-snip-

Iraq is going down, with its past and its future ...

I can only promise you one thing, however long it may take, we are going to take you down with us."
----

As a North American I can add nothing more except to apologize to Iraq for what my government has done and continues to do to them and to Iran for what you, and your government have done, and are preparing to do, to them. And to President Ahmadinejad, I apologize for Mr. Bollinger's barbarous and inexcusable words. Not all U.S. citizens are as ignorant and lacking in basic manners as the presidents of our universities.
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it is best to read the whole article

[Carolina]

1. K&R

[Dhalgren]

2. K&R. Blistering letter....

[Zandor]

3. And please be nice to Bin Laden if you meet

Good Lord.

[roguevalley]

4. I thought it was a terrible way to treat an invited guest. He could

have made his point without shaming the man. He was going to do that all by himself. You don't treat guests with that kind of contempt.

[malaise]

5. Wow

That was brilliant. It won't matter though - these are shameless men.
It will fly off of him like water on a duck's back.