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| Fifth Column |
| No patriotism for Berkeley 9-11 commemoration... |
| 2002-09-05 |
| The "Star Spangled Banner" is too patriotic, divisive and political, so organizers of UC Berkeley's day-long tribute to the victims and heroes of 9-11 are excluding it. "God Bless America" is doubly excluded. Not only is it patriotic, but it also mentions God, something else that is taboo next Wednesday. Then they're not paying tribute to the victims and heroes, are they? They might as well spend the day in the bathroom, exploring their sexuality... The Sept. 11 Day of Remembrance, sponsored by the Chancellor's office, the student body government and the Graduate Assembly, will also feature student leaders distributing white ribbons, instead of the red, white and blue ones they had originally planned. 'Cuz white's the color of surrender... "We thought that may be just too political, too patriotic," said Hazel Wong, chief organizer for the Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC). "We didn't want anything too centered on nationalism-anything that is 'Go U.S.A.'" "I mean, those people don't need any encouragement, do they?" Wong said the event organizers are "trying to steer away" from anything political, and that, she said, includes singing the National Anthem and displaying the red, white, and blue. She said they don't want politics disrupting mourning and grieving. "No, no. Can't have any of that, not when there's all that good mawk around to wallow in." Jessica Quindel, president of the Graduate Assembly, a key player in the planning, said the day's events are about more than just grieving. She said the day is, in fact, about politics. And it's not just about Sept. 11, but also the aftermath, including President Bush's response to the terrorist attacks. "We are trying to stay away from supporting Bush," Quindel said. "We don't want to isolate people on this campus who disagree with the reaction to Sept. 11." "We'd rather isolate the ones who agree, in fact." Quindel, a self avowed hater of the American Flag, the federal government, and the "Star Spangled Banner," said she is still patriotic. "It depends on your definition of patriotism. Everyone has a different definition," she said. In my younger days, Quindel will be one of two people selecting speakers for short speeches by students during a noontime event on Memorial Glade. Students must pre-register indicating the topic of the comments they wish to make-classifying them into categories of mourning, religious and political. That system doesn't wash with Robb McFadden, director of the California College Republicans. "If Quindel and her Marxist comrades are selecting the speakers, I think there are serious violations of fundamental fairness," he said. "How can we expect freedom of speech to be filtered through such a radical political ideologue?" Well, you can say anything you want, as long as you say what they say you can... Scheduled speakers at the Memorial Glade assembly include Chancellor Robert Berdahl, ASUC President Jesse Gabriel, and Quindel. They will likely speak, according to Wong, about peace. "Peace is the opposite of war"? How about "Give peace a chance"? Oooh! Oooh! How about "Visualize whirled peas"? Y'know, what really scares me is that someday, somebody's going to give these specimens jobs. Ah, well. Guess it'll give Bill O'Reilly something to talk about...(The article's via Drudge, by the way...) |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #1 This is BERKELEY we're talking about. Are we supposed to be scandalized or shocked that they're up to their usual goo-goo, starry-eyed, useful-idiot shenanigans out there? For my own part, what would really have left me open-jawed and astounded would have been if they'd set up a _patriotic_ observance for the day. |
| Posted by: Joe 2002-09-05 13:15:17 |