A Mother's Plea for Sasha and Malia: No Tar Sands Pipeline

[kpete]

Published on Sunday, September 4, 2011 by Institute for Policy Studies
A Mother's Plea for Sasha and Malia: No Tar Sands Pipeline
by Daphne Wysham

.............

As I stood before the White House gates a few days later, listening to the police issue their warnings of our impending arrests to our group of over 100 demonstrators, I thought of what I would say as they carted me away — what cry I wanted the president to hear.

And I recalled the day Obama stood before the American people, in those days and months as BP's deepwater well billowed millions of barrels of oil from that horrifying wound in the Gulf of Mexico floor. I remembered him remarking that, yes, he was very concerned about the spill because, while he shaved one morning, his 11-year-old daughter Malia had asked him, "Did you plug the hole yet, Daddy?"

Children have a way of speaking to our hearts. And so, I mused, even if President Obama didn't hear the songs and the chants of the more than 1,000 people who were arrested over the course of two weeks, even if the prayers of religious leaders and Native American elders went unanswered, even if he didn't read the editorial opposing the Keystone XL pipeline in The New York Times, even if he ignored the advice of his very own EPA, perhaps, in this instance, Sasha or Malia might see us outside the White House gates, and ask him, "Did you stop the pipeline yet, Daddy?"

As the police handcuffed my hands behind me and led me off to a white school bus, I shouted: "For Sasha and Malia!"

...............

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/09/04-0

[Motown_Johnny]

1. the children should be left out of all of this... unrec

[RetroLounge]

2. Right

because breathing clean air and drinking clean water is only for adults.

:eyes:

RL

[Little Star]

3. The children are the ones who will suffer the long term effects..

they should not be left out! I say fight against this for the children! k&r

[pintobean]

4. +1

[madrchsod]

6. it`s thier world we are fucking up!

when i feed my 5 week old granddaughter i think about whether or not she`ll live in a world that will be better than the one she was born into.

[bengalherder]

13. What a vain gesture.

There are recs piling in and this one is just for un-reccing it because it didn't deserve it.

If you must use un-rec, use it in stealth. I'm sure Lao-tse talked about that somewhere

[Motown_Johnny]

16. I have the courage to say right up front that I don't agree with this

and that I un-reced it


I don't consider it vain I consider it honest



and umm.... did you mean Sun Tzu? I don't see how un-reccing in stealth would help me establish harmony with the Tao. In fact it is my opinion that being honest about my feelings and upfront about my actions bring me closer to this than doing things in secret.

If you did mean Sun Tzu, I don't consider other DUers my enemies and see no reason to employ any form of martial strategies against them.

[pintobean]

17. Vain gesture?

What would you call telling someone how they should post? MJ is entitled to his opinion, but if it differs from yours, he should shut up about it?
Now, that's fucking vain.

[Bluebear]

15. How about Malia's asthma do we ignore that too? Oh sorry it already was re: ozone decision

[OHdem10]

5. NO ONE USES the PRESIDENT'S CHILDREN--The children

did not choose nor were they elected.

Please find other ways to make political points.

[muffin1]

7. No sale.

OUR children will suffer the effects. HIS children shouldn't even be mentioned?? Whatever.

[pintobean]

9. Then, just say he's a bad father.

[muffin1]

12. Yeah, this paragraph spoke to me...

Children have a way of speaking to our hearts. And so, I mused, even if President Obama didn't hear the songs and the chants of the more than 1,000 people who were arrested over the course of two weeks, even if the prayers of religious leaders and Native American elders went unanswered, even if he didn't read the editorial opposing the Keystone XL pipeline in The New York Times, even if he ignored the advice of his very own EPA, perhaps, in this instance, Sasha or Malia might see us outside the White House gates, and ask him, "Did you stop the pipeline yet, Daddy?"

If he's not going to worry about OUR children, maybe his own children will move his heart.

I don't even know what to think about President Obama anymore - he does not resemble candidate Obama AT ALL. He was the one who was going to protect the environment.

Is he a bad father? I don't know. I do know he's not a good President. And for the record, it breaks my heart to say that.

[OHdem10]

11. It is sinking to lowest common denominator when you have to

use kids. No good argument on any other points????

[madrchsod]

8. this ain`t political points..it`s about the future of everyone's kids.

[Sal Minella]

10. "Uses?" Making efforts to protect children is "using" them?

You make my head spin.

[rhett o rick]

14. Is mentioning the children "using" them? I dont think so. nm

[TBF]

18. You can shout all you want, but the fact is that this affects all our children

why should his be exempt?

[pintobean]

19. They wouldn't be exempt

if it were children in general. Naming them specifically is a personal attack on the Obamas as parents.

[TBF]

20. I feel that the children should not be attacked personally, and no one has

done this. Mr. Obama, however, is a public figure who should expect to have his actions watched and discussed. The fact is that one of his daughters does have asthma and you'd think that would make him more empathetic to clean air issues. Evidently this is not the case.