Racism Alert

Ron just called from Toronto – he’s watching the hearings about the prisoner abuse and keyed me into the subtle condescending racism towards Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba – the high-ranking Filipino who wrote the damning report that got leaked. Notice how they treat Taguba like he’s lucky to be an American and they gush at how impressed they are with his service.


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17 responses to “Racism Alert”

  1. J.Scott Barnard Avatar

    Good call. It’s disgusting how patronizing some people can be towards a successful immigrant.

    COMMENT:
    A guy just called him ‘Tagaboo’. I think I heard Ron screaming from Toronto.

  2. Andy Avatar
    Andy

    Just thought of this: What do you think would have happened if this had never been reported? Would we have ever found out? Or would it come out 20 years later…

  3. flounder the fascist Avatar
    flounder the fascist

    Was this the General who warned about not having enough troops in Iraq? This was probably bad judgement on the part of Rumsfield and the Pentagon. The prison’s were woefully understaffed for one thing.

  4. Andy Avatar
    Andy

    That has been the common theme in this whole debacle. That Rumsfeld continually ignored repeated reports and predictions and war plans that the Pentagon put toghether.

    If you are going to go to war – let the war-makers do their jobs.

  5. Andy Avatar
    Andy

    Also – Profile on Taguba: First generation Filipino immigrant whose father was tortured by the Japanese during the Second World War. He is the second highest ranking soldier of Filipino origin in the US Army.

  6. J.Scott Barnard Avatar

    if this had never been reported?

    Not sure what you mean by that. Do you mean if the Sargent hadn’t come forward? Do you mean if they hadn’t immediately started a full investigation in January one day after the Sargent came forward? …or do you mean what if the Coalition Provisional Authority hadn’t announced the investigation being launched in a live press conference from Baghdad the same week in January that the Sargent came forward? …or do you mean what if CBS hadn’t reported it in May?–s

  7. Andy Avatar
    Andy

    Shoot. I think I’m getting my timeline mixed up. I’m meaning what would have happened if the Seymour Hersh article hadn’t come out – wasn’t that the first ‘official’ leak to the public?

  8. Tim Z. Avatar

    This isn’t the first time that an Asian-American general has gotten dissed by the Bushies.

    Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki was essentially forced into retirement for daring to point out that the US would need far more troops to occupy Iraq than were needed for simply deposing Saddam.
    Of course, he turned out to be right.

    Two such instances may be a bit small to prove anything, but when you consider how few Asian-American generals there are in the armed forces, this doesn’t look very good.

  9. flounder the fascist, torture loving unAmerican Avatar
    flounder the fascist, torture loving unAmerican

    Bush has appointed more minorities and women in his administration than Clinton did in 2 terms.

  10. Tim Z. Avatar

    “Bush has appointed more minorities and women in his administration than Clinton did in 2 terms.”

    Such a statement offered without any backing by an admitted pro-torture Republican, shouldn’t be taken very seriously.
    Though when you think about it, it’s probably true that a pampered Republican would hire more servants, kitchen help, gardeners, chauffeurs, and other low paid workers than a Democrat would. Since these and other low wage positions tend to be held by minorities unable to break through glass ceilings, George Dubya Quagmire may have something he can put into one of his misleading TV ads.

    BTW, Gen. Eric Shinseki was appointed to the top army post by Clinton, and was forced out by Bush for daring to tell the truth.

    If anybody watchs the Republican convention, scheduled to exploit the third anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks in New York City, watch for the party to parade the same two or three dozen minorities in front of the cameras as much as possible the way they did in 2000.

    Speaking of minorities, the Log Cabin Republicans are considering giving their endorsement to John Kerry or to no candidate at all for president.

  11. flounder the "fascist, admitted torture loving unAmerican Hitler" -Tim Z. Avatar
    flounder the “fascist, admitted torture loving unAmerican Hitler” -Tim Z.

    http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/nominations/

    Wonder how many low wage minority workers are employed at the Heinz’, err, Kerry’s several mansions? And how much does the Heinz family trust profit from “exploited” laborers?

    Shinseki was correct in his estimation of troops needed in Iraq, but there is much more to his ouster than your simplification. And to insinuate he was forced out because of his minority status is absurd and another offensive display of playing the race card.

    I’m just shocked though that a gay and lesbian organization would consider backing a democrat. Of course Kerry is against gay marriage as well. He also claims to be a practicing catholic, yet is for abortion.

  12. Andy Avatar
    Andy

    Alright Flounder – you’re getting troll-ish. Stop baiting other commenters, please.

  13.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    I appreciate you allowing me to voice my opinions here, but stating facts about Kerry is not baiting. If he is unable to control his impulse for ad-hominem attacks, then he should refrain from posting.

  14. flounder the fascist Avatar
    flounder the fascist

    Now here’s a good example of baiting:

    “As an experiment, we should have flounder stripped naked, sodomized, dragged around by a leash, bitten by dogs, while being photographed for others’ personal amusement to see if he would still be expressing the same unAmerican comments he’s been spewing here lately.
    Let flounder the fascist get his inspiration from Adolph Hitler, Pol Pot, and Joseph Stalin.”

  15. Tim Z. Avatar

    I posted the above suggestion to have the resident troll consider volunteering for the treatment that our Iraqi prisoners were getting.
    The right wing party line is that the abused prisoners were merely being pushed around or subject to “fraternity pranks”. Maybe a fraternity in Germany in the late 1930s.

    We are still waiting for flounder to accept the challenge and report back that it is no big deal to be treated like that.
    If Americans were being treated like that, Limbaugh, Hannity, and Coulter would be calling for nuclear war. As it is, such pictures (the Bushies are hiding even worse ones) serve as recruiting posters for al-Qaeda. That means that even more Americans will die because of our inhuman, immoral, and illegal treatment of those prisoners.

    In any case, why is it that someone who never submits a verifiable email address or personal URL is able to post such bitter personal remarks here?

  16. flounder the pro-torture resident troll Avatar
    flounder the pro-torture resident troll

    Americans are being treated much worse than the prisoners (beheadings, dead soldiers dragged through the streets, bodies mutilated, burned and hung from bridges). That still doesn’t excuse the treatment of the prisoners, and I never referred to it as “fraternity pranks”.

    As far as accepting your challenge, I think putting up with your hateful comments and ad-hominem attacks is abuse enough, thanks. Why would I want to make my email address available to someone like you?

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