 On Point Vincent Carroll, editor of the editorial pages, writes his On Point column most weekdays. He is also an author and freelance writer. Reach Vincent Carroll at carrollv@RockyMountainNews.com. |
Carroll: Too sure of a bloodbath
Would the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq next year unleash a full-scale Sunni-Shiite civil war with savage ethnic cleansing — a Rwanda on the Euphrates? That prediction is virtually a mantra among those who oppose setting a timetable for withdrawal (such as the timetables in bills passed recently by the House and Senate).
But of course no one really knows what would happen if American troops decamped. Yes, there are reasons to fear a bloodbath, particularly given the appalling slaughter of the past 12 months. But there are also reasons to believe the conflict might not escalate to that point, either — reasons that merit more than an airy dismissal from previous critics of a timetable (such as myself).
Steven Simon of the Council on Foreign Relations recently summarized the argument in a paper recommending disengagement of most combat forces during the next 12 to 18 months.
“The real question is how much worse the bloodshed can get,” Simon wrote. “A credible — although many might say optimistic — forecast is that the lack of organizational capacity, broad communal consent, and heavy weapons on either side militates against a drastic increase in the already appalling casualty rate. Crucially, the largely Sunni areas are of little interest to the Shia as objects of desire or conquest. And without artillery, armor, and attack aircraft, Shia forces will be far less capable of reducing Sunni majority cities, such as Fallujah, to rubble, in the way that Serbs dealt with Croatian or Muslim urban areas in the former Yugoslavia. Ethnic cleansing in mixed areas will continue to advance, the large flow of refugees and internally displaced will continue to mount, massive bombings and death squads will continue to claim many lives, but crucial conditions for nationwide genocidal violence are as yet absent.”
Americans are naturally haunted by what followed our departure from Indochina — everything from genocide to flotillas of refugees. But the past is not always prelude, especially in anything as unpredictable as war.
The pot and the kettle
Broadcasting celebrity Don Imus deserves just about anything he gets — including firing, if it comes to that — for his racist description of the Rutgers women’s basketball team (“That’s some nappy-headed ’ho’s there, I’m going to tell you that.”) If there is one thing he does not deserve, however, it’s being lectured to by another man at least as prone to racist remarks as Imus himself.
Once again the Rev. Al Sharpton has positioned himself as the judge of racial propriety while news reports fail to point out his own disgusting past.
Not only has Sharpton taken the lead in demanding Imus’ firing, but Imus actually appeared on Sharpton’s radio show Monday to explain himself.
Sharpton, let’s recall, is the man who infamously declared, “If the Jews want to get it on, tell them to pin their yarmulkes back and come over to my house” while stoking ethnic tensions in New York City in 1991; and whose inflammatory comments a few years later about a white store owner in Harlem supplied the backdrop in which a gunman invaded the store and burned it down, leaving several dead.
This is also the Sharpton who in the 1980s participated in the rape hoax involving Tawana Brawley and falsely identified prosecutor Steven Pagones as one of the white men who supposedly abducted her.
If it’s time to banish Imus from the airwaves, then surely Sharpton’s time has come as well.
Reach Vincent Carroll at carrollv@RockyMountainNews.com.
The dustup over the comments made by Don Imus expose the blatant hypocracy and racism of the self appointed black leadership. They encourage the use of words demeaning to women in rap music because it is part of their 'culture', then when someone not of their culture uses the same words, they are outraged. This shows the unacknowedged power of words in society as a whole. Their ignorance of the English language was also shown in the recent past over the use of the word niggardly. The true leaders of the black community as Cosby and Sowell will probably only be seen after their deaths (hopefully many years from now) and the value of what they are now saying about the black community and 'Black leadership' will be shown as Truth.
Posted by Warren on April 10, 2007 06:29 AMI think I would rather just read you column than this blog silliness. I find you write some of the most honest editorials and with great insight. Imus' remarks are a stupid twist to his shock commentary, altho I know him only by reputation. He makes the mistake of using the street black idiom. And that is an in group thing that whites cannot enter. While blacks can be crude calling each other niggers and calling their women bitches and hos, Imus is just dumb trying to get away with it. Nothing needs be said about Sharpton and Jackson's duplicity and opportunism in any racial situation. They are always ready to exploit.
Keep writing your column.
Ron Jones
Alton, IL
I find it quite telling that as soon as some white guy does something racist, either out of hate or stupidity, the first thing many conservatives do is either support the white guy (ie Trent Lott, Strom Thurmond or Jesse Helms) or point fingers and blacks. Sharpton isn't to blame for what Imus did, Imus is but most of the criticism coming from conservatives is directed at Sharpton. That's not to say that Sharpton doesn't deserve criticism, but it is just another example of conservatives not wanting to face up to racism when it comes from some white guy.
Posted by on April 11, 2007 08:45 AMNo kidding, this Sharpton stuff is old news.
Posted by on April 11, 2007 01:22 PMThe reason that conservatives back these people up is because they are free to speak. just like every liberal is free to speak. I personally do not like Imus, and I could only tolerate about 5 minutes of listening to him. But that is a choice I can make. I can tune him in or tune him out and tune someone else in I do like. His freedom of speech in no way infringes upon mine nor anyone elses freedom of choice.
I personally think that over all, the lynching of Imus will do nothing more than create more, not less racism. The most racist people in our American society are of the minority races, because they are raised by people like Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and other ultra racists of our society who have no other aim than to keep racial tensions high so that they continue to have a voice. Because of the huge amount of hate that these blacks have for whites, whites must have some kind of wary eye on each and every black to be certain not to get enveloped by a hateful black.
When I think of minorities and black people in general, the first things that come to mind are, inarticulate people who cannot pronounce english well, mandated racial quota's, gangsta rap, high crime rates, low graduation rates, unreal percentages of out of wedlock pregnancies, "white ass honkey mo' fo'", cracker and any number of other racial epithets I have been called by racist black people. Overall I think the vast majority of blacks are probably great people, but I have met the niggers of the black race first hand, so now I look for trademarks in new people I meet that indicate they might be like those people, and I avoid them like the plague (One trademark is skin color). I do the same with asians, white americans and every other group of people. I have no desire to hang with hommies or bitches.
When I think of black people I know from the news or in person, I think of who they are as a person. Colin Powel speaks well, has similar views of the world as I do, and I think he is a great person. Same goes for Bill Cosby, although I hate his accent. On the other hand, the people who want to call me racial slurs based on the fact that I do not appreciate their music or porn videos can go to hell, which is very likely if they do not change themselves.
I can care less about Imus, I do not listen to him. What i do care about is what the black community as a whole and black people as individuals do to demonstrate they are productive citizens.
I prove myself every day. Through school I worked hard, got straight A's, graduated in the top of my class. I joined the Marine's and served my country well and even served in a war zone. I was disabled in service, but finished my 4 year enlistment and then went to college. It took me 5 years to earn a 2 year degree, dispite starting with half my required credits through CLEP due to my disability. I then started at the bottom of my profession, just like everyone else should in the world and have since worked my way up.
Blacks need to do the same for themselves, so do asians, europeans, africans, native americans, pacific islanders, south americans and hispanics. If you do not do it foryourself, do not expect someone else to do it for you.
PS.
A point I really missed what this. Most racism is nothing more than culturalism. People who act and think similarly get along. Those who ACT and THINK DIFFERENTLY usually do not get along.
I never listen to Imus, and in fact I hate "morning shows". Why can't they just play rock music in the morning just like every other time of the day. Is it b/c the royalties are too much and they want something cheaper to put among the traffic reports at peak listening times?
Don Imus can join Howard Stern on satellite radio now that he has been fired. Maybe he will learn his lesson and keep his bashing to real public figures - such as politicians.