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| Fifth Column |
| Rachel's story needs to be told, now |
| 2006-03-16 |
| If there were poetic justice, if Hollywood or the publishing industry had true courage, the story of Rachel Corrie would be coming to a big screen or bookstore near you. Rachel was in the Middle East, trying to protect the home of a Palestinian from immoral demolition, when an Israeli soldier driving a Caterpillar bulldozer killed her. He ran her over. Maybe the young student from The Evergreen State College was a tad naive, a puppet of left-leaning loonies with the International Solidarity Movement. Some people think this. Maybe she was prescient beyond her 23 years, recognizing that her white skin and U.S. passport could bring vital attention to ignored people in subhuman and desperate conditions. Some think that. Whichever the case, too many people are reflexively afraid of Rachel's message, of what her short life and brutal death means. The issue has gotten to the point that what passes for dialogue is either polemical shouting -- or, worse, a campaign to silence the legacy of the young woman who addressed human suffering with fiery grace. Rachel cared about ordinary people outside of her comfort zone -- enough to get off the couch and do something. The New York Theater Workshop recently canceled a scheduled production of a play about Rachel amid rumors that gurus in the theater world and pro-Israel audiences would not like a script challenging their view of the world. In Seattle, the Bread and Puppet Theater production of "Daughter Courage," a different play about Rachel, met with warm embrace. Still, my colleague, Regina Hackett, who wrote about it, received a rash of rebuke. On the Seattle P-I's online blog, "Dr. Evil" wrote: "Only in this wonderful, liberal city would a pathetic naïve girl who tried to protect terrorists be celebrated." If fear of offending Israel -- a country in blind lockstep with the United States on foreign policy -- drives this second silencing of Rachel, then her story is needed now more than ever. Friends of Israel and Jews tend to react fast when they feel they're getting a raw deal. Seattle official Cindi Laws learned this the hard way. She made remarks that were considered anti-Semitic during a re-election bid for the monorail board, and people howled. Laws lost. And remember what happened in 2004? The local Middle Eastern community tried to get pro-Palestinian language in the plank of the King County Democratic Party platform. Again, people howled. The language got nixed. In both instances, the message was clear: Don't mess with us. The unease surrounding Rachel makes me wonder if she hits too close to home. Her life follows the Aristotelian prescription of a good story. It features a protagonist with a desire for peace that takes her on a vision quest far away. She's smart, young, idealistic -- a female character that would draw A-list actresses. The story overflows with potential villains, starting with the Israeli government, which illegally uses bulldozers as weapons of terror; Palestinians who resort to suicide bombs as an insane tool of revenge; and, even, U.S.-based Caterpillar, which counts the money as its bulldozers are used to spill blood. There's room for cameos by the State Department, which could ramp up pressure to get answers, and by concerned Israeli citizens who also want to know if the bulldozer operator, as he claims, didn't see Rachel in her bright orange vest. There's the bigger question of why no "Palestinian evil" was unearthed at the home Rachel died trying to protect. The story presents another surprise -- the unlikely transformation of Rachel's parents, who have gone from being middle-class suburbanites to advocates for Palestinian justice. When I spoke with Craig and Cindy Corrie a few weeks ago, they'd just come back home to the Seattle area after a rattling episode. In the Middle East, Palestinian activists had tried to kidnap them. The activists had a change of heart when they were told the couple's last name. If that is not a powerful testament to Rachel's legacy, I don't know what is. Rachel's story has the incendiary aspects of "Crash," the political and corporate machinations of "Syriana," the death-on-foreign-soil intrigue of "The Constant Gardener," and the socially conscious punch of "Brokeback Mountain." People would get to see the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in all of its convoluted craziness -- and see courage in action. To paraphrase the Oscar speech of George Clooney, they'd get to talk more loudly about an issue that remains, relatively speaking, a whisper. Rachel Corrie is ready for her close-up. Are we? |
| Posted by:Brett |
| #21 Her story, unfortunately is still full of holes. |
| Posted by: Rachel is Still Dead 2006-03-16 22:51 |
| #20 The last chapter in Witch Rachel's story is being written. As I write, Pale terrorists are hunting down the same useful idiots who protect them. Her Stupidness would have been picked up in the roundup. |
| Posted by: Listen To Dogs 2006-03-16 22:31 |
| #19 If you are going to picket outside of theaters showing the St. Pancake play, THAT PICTURE of Rachel Corrie needs to be on the picket sign. It tells the whole story: women filled with hate, burning flags, setting an example in front of little kids. What a maroon. Useless dead idiot. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2006-03-16 20:14 |
| #18 You mean THIS Rachel Corrie: |
| Posted by: DMFD 2006-03-16 19:38 |
| #17 Well if Rachel Coorie would have cared about suffering people instead being a rich girl poseur he would have cared for the victims of islamism in Aghanistan or Soudan. There was real suffering but she didn't care. She was quite simply despicable. Buy Caterpillar shares. |
| Posted by: JFM 2006-03-16 19:27 |
| #16 What? No *rimshot*? :) |
| Posted by: Glert Thetch2165 2006-03-16 19:26 |
| #15 Rachel's story needs to be told, now Perhaps, but the plot line tends to fall a bit flat. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-03-16 19:24 |
| #14 Just a moment.....I had to use an airfresher on this Seatttle PU article. |
| Posted by: Captain America 2006-03-16 19:23 |
| #13 Oooooh, overwrought prose! 2b, here is your other pattern, should that job with 60 Minutes fall through! ;-) |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-03-16 19:05 |
| #12 Just attend the opening and applaud like crazy when she gets D-9'd. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-03-16 19:00 |
| #11 DB those Rachel's were killed by the peace loving Paleos and not the war mongering Jews, so they don't count. Great link! |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2006-03-16 18:38 |
| #10 I wonder if the columnist would be even remotely interested in telling the stories of other Rachels? May God have mercy on Rachel Levy, Rachel Thaler, Rachel Levi, Rachel Gavish, Rachel Charhi and Rachel Shabo. |
| Posted by: Desert Blondie 2006-03-16 17:50 |
| #9 I live in NYC and if that stupid play ever does get put on, we should organize outside the theatre. We should have signs that say things like: Rachel Corrie was simply a useful idiot. Learn the facts or Learn about the true ISM agenda We should have website urls and handouts to share. We should turn this production to our advantage, as an opportunity to inform and educate without alienating. |
| Posted by: PlanetDan 2006-03-16 17:49 |
| #8 I liked her better when she was serving the coffee at Central Perk. The skirts were pretty hot, ya know. And the hair was almost as seminal as Farrah's from back in the day, ya know? |
| Posted by: eLarson 2006-03-16 17:45 |
| #7 Seattle official Cindi Laws learned this the hard way. She made remarks that were considered anti-Semitic during a re-election bid for the monorail board, and people howled. Laws lost. And remember what happened in 2004? The local Middle Eastern community tried to get pro-Palestinian language in the plank of the King County Democratic Party platform. Again, people howled. The language got nixed. In both instances, the message was clear: Don't mess with us. The unease surrounding Rachel makes me wonder if she hits too close to home. huh? is this a-hole basically saying that Jews exert too much control? Isn't this just a SLIGHT case of conspiracy mongering? Isn't it possible that the woman's comments WERE antisemitic? And wtf is pro palestinian language doing on a domestic party platform?!?!!? Wow |
| Posted by: PlanetDan 2006-03-16 17:44 |
| #6 When I spoke with Craig and Cindy Corrie a few weeks ago, they'd just come back home to the Seattle area after a rattling episode. In the Middle East, Palestinian activists had tried to kidnap them. The activists had a change of heart when they were told the couple's last name. If that is not a powerful testament to Rachel's legacy, I don't know what is. What a legacy; she has made PA controlled areas almost safe for people named Corrie. Brilliant. Anyone else would have been toast, but with their little angel next to them, her parents were barely kidnapped at all. Who says she stood for nothing larger than herself? |
| Posted by: Baba Tutu 2006-03-16 17:34 |
| #5 When I was a kid, I wanted to be a CAT operator. One of these kiddie dreams that never got realized.... ;-) Well, no big, I'll find another way! ;-) |
| Posted by: twobyfour 2006-03-16 17:24 |
| #4 Maybe a CW song would help....... "Mammas, don't let yer babies grow up to be CAT track grease...., Don't let 'em pick guitars and drive them old trucks. Make 'em be doctors and lawyers and such. Mama don't let your babies grow up to be CAT track grease. They'll never stay home and they're always alone Even with someone they love." |
| Posted by: Willie 2006-03-16 16:41 |
| #3 Seattle Pseudo Intelligence. Rachel's message. Right. The dementia runs deep in that neck of the woods. Let them run their little play and make-believe they're deep and relevant. Humor them - and call the Vet to dump meds into the water supply. |
| Posted by: Glert Thetch2165 2006-03-16 16:40 |
| #2 How about you tell the true story. You know, the one leftist lunatics such as yourself are trying to hide. The story of an anti-American, Jew-hating moron who got herself killed trying to protect a smuggling tunnel used by savages who blow up buses and shoot little girls. That's the story here. Why are you trying to hide it? |
| Posted by: Laurence of the Rats 2006-03-16 16:34 |
| #1 What is it with the Left's inability to separate fiction from reality? They think fiction is real and reality is a fictional story. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2006-03-16 16:32 |