7643: Re: President Aristide interview on Jean Dominique [#7583/#7544/#7499/#7616/#7610) (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: amedard@gte.net

> Those who speak  in the name of Anglo Saxons as you are, are
> trying  to revise history and hide that millions of Native Americans,
> Africans, Vietnamese, Central Americans and on and on goes the list, were the
> victims of genocide, often perpetrated by Anglo Saxons and their institutions
> such as the US Government. Does that justify a negative stereotype against
> Anglo Saxons?. Definitely not. Only ignorance could  justify such a
> conclusion.

I see your point, Alix, and I am glad you called it to my attention.

Certainly, I would never try to hide the horrendous atrocities done by Anglo Saxon
governments and institutions.  Personally, I am appalled by and ashamed of the ugly,
barbaric actions about which you wrote.  It is no wonder that so many in the Third
World do, indeed, hold a negative stereotype about the "big foot" Anglo's.  I think
that the ignorance emanates from the populace of those countries, who often haven't a
clue what their governments and institutions may sometimes be doing.

In my post, however, I was not talking about Anglo Saxon governmental and
institutional actions.  The comparison could, rather, be made with the way the Anglo
Saxon _populace_ participates in the democratic system within their countries ...
lobbying, utilizing the judicial system, using the media (radio, TV, internet,
newspaper editorials), writing Senators/Congressmen/etc., utilizing democratic
channels, impeachment, etc.  To be sure, bombings,  assassinations and outright
anarchy are not generally used by the populace as ongoing tools for political gain
within Anglo countries.  (Not to say that it never happens, but such incidents are
rare and isolated, particularly if you consider the percentage of incidents to
population statistics.)  A trend of such internal political violence would never be
tolerated either by the populace or by the government.  Otherwise, immediate action
would be taken and the situation would be quickly halted.