this diary is dedicated to all who suffer because of war and other disasters
we honor courage in all its forms
we love and support our troops, just as we love and support the Iraqi people – without exception, or precondition, or judgement.
cross-posted at DailyKos, Booman Tribune, European Tribune, My Left Wing, and TexasKos.
image and poem below the fold
Hospital workers move the body of a student, who was killed when gunmen stopped a bus carrying 20 people and shot 11 of them, at Baghdad’s al-Yarmouk hospital June 6, 2006.
REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani (IRAQ)
Looking for Omar
by E. Ethelbert Miller
I’m in the school bathroom
washing my hands without
soap but I’m still washing my hands.
I turn the water off
and look for a paper towel
but paper towels have been gone
since the first day of school
and it’s June now.
I start to leave the bathroom
with my wet hands but then
the big boys come in talking
loud and cussing like they
rap stars or have new sneakers.
I hear the one named Pinto
talking about how someone
should get Omar after school
since he’s the only Muslim they know.
Pinto talks with an accent
like he’s new in the neighborhood too.
I don’t have to ask him
what he’s talking about
since everybody is talking
about the Towers and how they
ain’t there no more.
My momma said it’s like
a woman losing both
breasts to cancer and my daddy
was talking at the dinner table
about how senseless violence is
and Mrs. Gardner next door lost
two tall boys to drive-bys
Bullets flying into
both boys heads
making them crumble too.
Everybody around here is
filled with fear and craziness
and now Pinto and the big boys
thinking about doing something bad.
I stare at my wet hands
dripping water on my shoes
and wonder if I should run
and tell Omar or just run.
I feel like I’m trapped
in the middle of one of those
Bible stories but it ain’t
Sunday.
I hear my Momma’s voice
saying
Boy, always remember to wash
your hands but always remember
you can’t wash your hands from
everything.
Nashville, TN
10/12/01
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witness every day
While speaking at the YearlyKos 2006 Convention in Los Vegas, former Virginia Governor Mark Warner said (and I paraphrase from memory): “George Bush, incompetent idiot, blah blah blah, went to war in Iraq when the real threat is in Iran.” (my emphasis)
There was a brief pause after his statement, and I regret that I wasn’t brave or quick-witted enough to yell “Bullshit!” into the silence. But the moment passed, Warner picked up his next thread in perfect cadence, and I bit into my box lunch apple.
So now what?
I’m gonna let him know that I think his statement is bullshit, and why. I’m starting here. If anyone knows of other ways, please put them in this thread.
Thanks.
