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Originally published in
the Grand Rapids Business Journal, May 31, 2004.
Editor's Note: The Michigan summer is
nearly here. Don't blink! You might miss it! (Hee Hee Hee Hee
Hee!
That's comedy, people! I'm killin' myself here!) Oh my... But
seriously, it's time again for us Michiganders to throw off
the animal skins, emerge from our hovels, and breathe deep
the warm summer air. And -- as I am not one of those take-the-laptop-to-the-beach
types of guys (I mean, who is really? It's such a bad idea.)
-- I fully intend to take every advantage by not writing these
crib notes for the Biz Journal comics. I will continue to post
the comics here on the website but sans commentary. So don't
look for new writings until
Fall
when our nine-month Pleistocene returns. (Get it? Pleistocene?
Ice Age? Hee Hee! Riot! Hee Hee Hee!)
Then again, you might appreciate the time off, too....
___________________________________________
Here's a question for ya -- at what point did the stories
about the Abu Ghraib prison go from shocking to gratuitous?
Pretty doggone quickly, I'd say, though maybe not for reasons
you all will agree with.
I believe in full disclosure and the need to show examples
of the abuse. But the way the story broke and the subsequent
leaking of more and more photographs left us with a lot of
information but little context. And in the void of context,
I detect a feeling here in the US of a need to move on -- a
collective shrug, a low muttering of "I don't wanna see
any more of them disgusting photos," and off we go to
the next screw up.
Last week President Bush, in a truly lame-o speech, suggested
demolishing the Abu Ghraib prison as a positive step toward
a happy, safe Iraq. Now I don't believe this place should be
kept as a shrine, but knocking it down and putting up a Home
Depot (despite our American tendencies) might not be the right
answer.
Instead of trying to sweep stuff under the sand, we should
be using it as a point of context. Torture is alive and well
in the Middle East. Saddam Hussein did it. Israel does it.
All the Arab nations do it. And apparently we do, too. Why?
I don't know. Let's get it all on the table and think about
it. Is this part of why there is so much hate? Does this help
to explain how Islam can become radicalized? Might we get some
insight on how a sworn enemy such as Osama Bin Laden could
germinate and breed from a supposedly friendly country (Saudi
Arabia)? Yes, sure, looking for reasons will likely not solve
anything presently, but perhaps a better understanding could
help in decisions made tomorrow.
In an event probably only related in my mind, the Public Museum
of Grand Rapids (a.k.a., the Van Andel Museum) opened an exhibition
called "Gratia Dei: A Journey Through the Middle Ages." (http://www.grmuseum.org)
It's a look back at western culture from the year 1000 to the
Renaissance. Part of this was to include a medieval torture
chamber with a rack and a "Stretch Armstrong" doll
and other such devices. Well the show was a week away from
opening when the news of Abu Ghraib started to hit. Museum
officials quickly removed the torture exhibit and scrubbed
away any reference to it. Everybody agreed it was the sensible
and prudent thing to do.
Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! They were all afraid somebody might
be offended. First, how could it possibly be any more offensive
than the photographs we've all seen? Second, what a wonderful
opportunity missed to add context to a timely and important
topic. Are people today becoming more evil and less civil?
Check out the racks and irons and you decide. Why was there
torture then? People in power needed information or needed
to set an example, and they thought they could get away with
it. Is that similar to why there is torture today?....
Sigh. Well at least Rumsfeld didn't resign before I had a
chance to draw him, so I guess some things are going my way....
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