State Wants To "Provoke Thought" On Lenin, Marx
Thursday, May 04, 2006
(Note: I just received this email from a friend and decided to post it here for your consideration.)
Well, this should make us all feel warm & fuzzy!
State Wants To "Provoke Thought" On Lenin, Marx. The state department of corrections has sent out a "diversity calendar" to employees noting the birthdays of Ho Chi Minh, Karl Marx. V.I. Lenin, and other luminaries in the economic and human rights pantheons. A state legislator is upset, but a department spokesman says it is supposed to be an "instructional tool" to "provoke thought," for employees who may want to learn more. Maybe the department can send each employee a copy of the "Black Book of Communism"
The Yakima Herald-Republic broke the story Saturday; but the Seattle P-I offers a very truncated AP version this morning, which leaves out the following: Dave Holbrook, 52, a community corrections officer in Vancouver, said when he opened the calendars in his e-mail at work, he was offended.
"I'm a Vietnam veteran and to see Ho Chi Minh's birthday there, that just set me off. Then Memorial Day, when we honor my brothers and sisters who died," Holbrook said in a telephone interview.
Diversity may be valued at Corrections but objecting to some of the names on the calendars is not, or at least not in Holbrook's case. He responded to the e-mailed calendars by hitting the "reply to all" key that he was offended by them.
"In a half hour, a supervisor showed up at my desk and said my e-mail was an inappropriate use of e-mail."
posted by Don Bangert | 8:45 AM
2 Comments:
In every war the US government has fought, it has, like all other governments, demonized the leaders of the countries or movements it has decided to fight. It has to do this in order to mobilize support for the war among the US population.
Ho Chi Minh was the George Washington of Vietnam. He fought against the Japanese occupation of his country, then against the French occupation and finally against the American occupation. That he was a communist is too bad, but he was still a hero for the Vietnamese. During the American occupation, he was portrayed by the US government as the literal equivalent of Hitler, just as Ahmadinejad of Iran is being called Hitler and a great threat to western civilization.
Perhaps all this is beside the point, however. Since when is the State Correctional Department an agency of "diversity" or an educational agency for its employees? Its action is pure propaganda.
"Since when is the State Correctional Department an agency of "diversity" or an educational agency for its employees? Its action is pure propaganda."
My point, exactly!
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