Thomas.H.Pickering aka "Ranch Chimp" & "Commie Tommie"
I initially didnt even plan on doing a posting on this recent conflict, but it is so saturated on every news front online or offline I decided to. The title in part of this posting was inspired the other day during a "Special Report" on a major tele news station which was Secy of State Clinton asking on camera something like "How can this happen?" concerning death's of American diplomat's and such in Libya ... well ... my first reaction/ thought was only "How can it NOT?". I didnt even get to watch everything she said, because I was on my way out the door, but then was catching more on the radio later while driving, which I got so sick of hearing, I had to change the station ... so for the reader of this, please bear with me, because I have NOT really read up much on this, or even viewed much, or even seen this movie that everyone is talking about, so these view's/ opinion's are mine only, and dont represent anyone else. I put one link below for newsread and video's, and that is ALL that I will put in this journal on it, and only put this in here so that there is some reference for the reader. Then I will add my own view/ commentary or whatever it's formally called.
***** CNN/ WORLD:
What Muslim Nations' leaders are saying- and not-- about embassy violence
Somehow, this even got twisted into our politic's in this nation, from what I gather, Presidential candidate Romney said something (dont recall what) that insulted President Obama, and of course the usual petty bitch fight's between the leftee's and rightee's broke out, which then made me avoid it even more. Again, I'm NOT really left or right, it depend's on the issue, I just never was able to think like that, as far back as I can remember, I had a very diversified childhood and upbringing you can say, with many, many influence's and inspiration's, culturally, socially, politically, philosophically, and otherwise. I have supported the democrat's for instance only because I have no choice in what is offered, and clearly the republican party agenda/ plan is too destructive to America financially, socially and otherwise, which I wrote in detail about in this journal as well.
I am not one of these with alot of formal education either, having only completed 8th grade of school, or have alot of the professional knowledge such as so many of these folk's that blog, I mean, their so professional/ educated that I feel out of place even commenting on their site's to be frank after being online now for 4 year's, so I stay to myself for the most part on here, unlike in the real world where I am very sociable with neighbour's, friend's, folk's that I see daily etc, etc. But as far as these people that put this movie out, they say that they didnt know that this would cause such a disturbance or response ... I really dont know how anyone who make's film's, write's book's, and has these superior education level's to the rest of folk's like myself ... CANNOT know that this would be taken in the Arab world as an insult? I dont even know what motivated them to make the film? ... I mean was it religion, profit/ money, culture, etc?
I'm not religious at all, and never cared much for religion's after looking at their history, but DO support one's right to worship, pray or whatever they do in their circle's, I am pro- freedom basically, what anyone chooses is their business, as long as it dont interfere with my right's and choice's ... I dont ask much. I am the same way when it come's to folk's cultural difference's, I dont try to impose my lifestyle and choice's on them, or care to be involved with their choice's and interest's in their land's, especially their politic's. Oddly this isnt understood by many for some reason, many feel that it is our responsibility or something to force feed our culture or wayz on these other's land's, or are brainwashed by politician's, leader's, pop culture to think they should. I see most of our intervention in some of these nation's as annoying and instigating trouble is all. I feel the main reason we are in these nation's is not to be friend's as much as it's to buy cheap labour, mine their resource's, and buy their government's to abide by the rule's/ term's that we want. I had several guy's I know that are Arabic Muslim immigrant's for instance, that after they got to know me awhile, actually expressed similar thought's, time and again telling me the issue's, and asking me what America expect's them to do, when we go into their nation and try to suddenly change their wayz from after centuries of them being in their own culture?
I didnt read a bunch of book's, survey's, poll's or anything to try to get an understanding of any of this, I simply went straight to the source, since I knew and worked with several guy's, who were from place's like Morocco, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, etc (also, all these guy's I mention here are between the age's of 25- 35, so at least 20 to 30 year's younger than me, I'm 56) I just simply asked them to explain alot of this stuff to me about their culture, religion, and especially why it is so critical to NOT ever make art/ portrayal's or whatever of their prophet's, etc ... I mean in our country/ culture it is an honour to have statue's, painting's and such of the Jesus prophet for instance ... I didnt understand this at first, because being raised around western culture and religion's, I told these guy's I was so used to seeing picture's/ painting's, statue's in every church across the country, the first thing I noticed when invited to a mosque for instance to view, was no art, statue's, or anything like churches here. Actually they were very understanding and more than willing to fill me in on so much, that I had no idea about, especially I noticed the importance of "respect" ... and all of these guy's had shown me so much respect that I was not even used to getting in my own country from American's at that! and even more honest and straight with me than many of my fellow American's are with me ... imagine that. They were really very open and honest about their feeling's and such, as when folk's disrespect their culture and religion's, it hurt's them emotionally ... so much different than folk's that I was used to being around here in America. I mean, in this country (west) folk's make joke's about their own religion's, cartoon's and everything else, and do it in humour, think nothing of it ... over in some of those countries it's entirely different.
I was equally honest with them about my culture, feeling's, etc ... which they welcomed and wanted to know. What really confused a couple of them trying to understand was my view of women. First of all I told them I despise it when I hear the talk about our women being whore's, because it is meant in a negative way. A guy Rasheed asked me ... "But why Thomas would you want your woman to dress like that? ... why do you not care of other men looking at your woman? ... she is meant to serve you ... that is your woman". I told Rasheed that I like my women to dress the way that he dont like, I like when she dont just do what I say ... I dont like her to act like a robot, depending on me to tell her when to wind her watch or take a shit ... I like when she get's on top and is the aggressive one in bed and take's charge, slap's me around a lil, get's a lil kinky, etc ... I like the dirty talk, etc, etc ... Rasheed said "But why?" (poor guy looked so confused : ) ... I told him, it excite's and arouse's me ... and if another man look's at my woman, it tell's me she is hot (look's good) too, it's when guy's DONT look at my woman that I question WHY? and what's wrong? I was asked why I would support gay's getting married and in relationship's even ... because this man literally get's nauseated just seeing two guy's holding hand's on the street ... I just told him ... what they do doesnt mean shit to me, and if it's not right with God ... it's God's business, not mine ... I dont give a shit basically ... these folk's are productive member's of our society here, they pay taxes and do what is expected in society, they should have a right to live however way they want ... just my opinion guy.
Several time's I was told by Lotfi or
Nabil (who I can use his name now) for instance that they would like to show me around their country, which would be nice to visit, but I told them, I wouldnt even go there if I got a free plane ticket with the cultural tension's and difference's they have, sure I would love to even experience the pyramid's, ancient Persian art etc, etc ... but feel this is not the time to even be anywhere's near there. I had a familia member in the US Army serving recently in Afghanistan, and am thrilled and grateful that her duty/ detail is over and she is out of there and on the way home, another familia member who had to serve like 3 tour's in Iraq as a US Marine Sgt ... I'm thrilled he's back home now too. I am equally as sickened by the endless conflict between Israelies and Palestinian's, year after year after year ... and more sickened by all the money and defense intervention that we spend in these nation's, again, I dont worry about our defense of our nation or these nation's with nuke's/ weapon's, being I know that if some country were to send missile's here and attack our land, I would send more missile's back to them in defense, we have missile's too basically. I am saying we DONT belong there getting politically involved with their interest's, we have issue's of our own here we need to deal with. I'm just being honest here, I am sick of us sticking our damn noses in these conflict's in these nation's, period! And equally sick of these westerner's/ American's who anonymously hide online and pester these people and their culture's, such as this character that made this so called movie, then claim's he/ they didnt know it would offend these folk's. I sometime's wish we would just get out and stay out, till at least a better time, and just leave these folk's alone ... I know that, that isnt the liberated American way of thinking or whatever, but oddly, these guy's that I talk to from these nation's that I tell this to, actually agree with me and support my thought's and opinion's, more than my fellow American's.
Word Out ....
**** POST NOTE: Also after reviewing more of our response to these protest's of America, I couldnt help to notice, that everybody from our Secy of State on down the political food chain of America, are saying ... "how can this happen to us after we have done so much to help them?" ... I have wrote about that in this journal time and again in past posting's, such as far as Pakistan or even Iran for example's ... again ... how can we be so dumb, to even wonder why? How many time's just in my lifetime have we been in countries such as the 1970's Iran, or such, trained, funded (miitary- wise), helped build western style democracies, that only resulted several year's later kicking us in the ass after the fact, and backfiring on us? We were shocked again (and this is an old familiar tune) the other day of the bombing in Pakistan for instance ... shocked? I wrote plenty about this a couple year's back when our Secy of State Clinton committed us to another $7 billion or so in fund's to them, that it may backfire again in some form, just simply looking at the history. And from what I seen, we are only in Afghanistan, because China who carries alot of our debt won the mining contract's back in '05' or so, and are building railwayz into it to mine all the copper out through western companies and other resource's. I mean, let's be honest for a change, especially to these people that we invade/ occupy their nation's ... dont we think that they can see what is happening?, even a guy like me with hardly no formal education can even call/ make this?
We are training troop's in Afghanistan to fight, then they are turning on our trainer's and killing them, we pay insurgent's there or in Iraq to make friend's and be on our side, then as I said, they will only take that, when the money run's out, and turn again on us in many cases, time after time after time ... does anyone beside's me see this? with all the poltical expertise, education and scholar's that we have, you would THINK, that someone, somewhere in Washington catches this ... geeezzz, I mean what do ya'll need in Washington to get the picture? a grenade shoved up your asses? Today all I hear is, how do we show that we want to help more? or whatever else we need to do? My question is ... how much more do we think we need to spend? and how much more do we need to occupy these nation's? How many more bombing campaign's will we do, killing more of their people in doing such? How much more corporate international manipulation from international investment banker's, energies companies, defense contractor's do we need to impose on these people's, that many are frankly a lil sick and tired of us interfering in their nation's and government's. I myself have wrote about this time and again in this journal for instance, as well as these conflict's to come in the very countries that this is happening as I speak now!
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