No longer the summer of love; this has been a summer of hatred
I was born just before the Summer of Love; hippies, free love, dancing naked in cornfields, oodles of drugs, long hair on both men and women (exactly who was what sex?) —- oooops, sounds like walking around the halls of Fanshawe today! And although my political views are an odd mixture of ardent liberalism when it comes to most points in daily life (or should I say, crime in daily life) I am a million miles farther to the left of Papa Joe Lenin.
I don‘t mean to be cynical, but I don't believe that there will ever be peace in the Middle East, especially between the Palestinians and the Israelis. I have mixed feelings on this issue: everyone deserves a place to live, but how would YOU like it if you were told, “Hey, great backyard. It's not yours now, and never will be again. Some people are moving in and it's theirs now legally and there is nothing you can do about it!” Well, nothing except start 50+ years of holy wars where everyone blames each other and blows each other up daily, doubling their efforts on each other's religious holidays. And the raising tensions following Israel's eviction of settlers from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank is only going to make it worse. With a little help from Woodie Guthrie, here is an easy summation:
This land WAS your land,
But now it's their land,
You can't do shit ‘bout it,
Just blame the U.N.
This land is now a place for war!
Waking up in the early hours of July 7, 2005 I was appalled and dismayed to see that terrorism had once again struck the world. September 11 was a defining moment in my life as Kennedy's assassination was for the generation before me. Terrorism is the ultimate act of cowardice. You are not facing down your opponent; you are hurting as many people as possible, killing innocent bystanders and destroying their families' lives to make a point. If you want to make a bold statement, go for the person you are really ticked off at: the man or woman in charge. Killing hundreds or thousands of people who happen to be in an office building or in a subway or on a bus just proves you are a brain washed cog in an evil machine: grow some balls!
And what kind of a stupid-ass person offers to be a suicide bomber? At your graduation party do you proudly proclaim, “I am not going to college or university to be a __________. My goal in life is to strap some explosives on my body and blow myself into tiny little tidbits splattered all over a wall, and hopefully kill a whole bunch of others with me. Yes! That will be the best career choice ever made!”
Are you smoking crack? Would good could possibly come from performing such an act? Do you think that it will make you a hero to your cause and make Mom and Dad proud of you? Do you see it offered in any of the college or university course offering books? No! It just proves you are a no-brained idiot suckered into a cowardly act by those who are too frightened to do it themselves. They want to stay alive, so they have YOU DO IT!
These are troubled times and when I think about it, more and more, I think John and Paul (not the Apostles, the Beatles) had it right, even back in 1970.
When I find myself in times of trouble
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
And in my hour of darkness
She is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
And when the broken-hearted people
Living in the world agree
There will be an answer, let it be
For though they may be parted there is
Still a chance that they will see
There will be an answer, let it be
And when the night is cloudy
There is still a light that shines on me
Shine on until tomorrow, let it be
I wake up to the sound of music
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
Janet Pole is a second year Hotel Management student on sick leave, and hopes to return to classes before there's no love left in the world.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
I don‘t mean to be cynical, but I don't believe that there will ever be peace in the Middle East, especially between the Palestinians and the Israelis. I have mixed feelings on this issue: everyone deserves a place to live, but how would YOU like it if you were told, “Hey, great backyard. It's not yours now, and never will be again. Some people are moving in and it's theirs now legally and there is nothing you can do about it!” Well, nothing except start 50+ years of holy wars where everyone blames each other and blows each other up daily, doubling their efforts on each other's religious holidays. And the raising tensions following Israel's eviction of settlers from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank is only going to make it worse. With a little help from Woodie Guthrie, here is an easy summation:
This land WAS your land,
But now it's their land,
You can't do shit ‘bout it,
Just blame the U.N.
This land is now a place for war!
Waking up in the early hours of July 7, 2005 I was appalled and dismayed to see that terrorism had once again struck the world. September 11 was a defining moment in my life as Kennedy's assassination was for the generation before me. Terrorism is the ultimate act of cowardice. You are not facing down your opponent; you are hurting as many people as possible, killing innocent bystanders and destroying their families' lives to make a point. If you want to make a bold statement, go for the person you are really ticked off at: the man or woman in charge. Killing hundreds or thousands of people who happen to be in an office building or in a subway or on a bus just proves you are a brain washed cog in an evil machine: grow some balls!
And what kind of a stupid-ass person offers to be a suicide bomber? At your graduation party do you proudly proclaim, “I am not going to college or university to be a __________. My goal in life is to strap some explosives on my body and blow myself into tiny little tidbits splattered all over a wall, and hopefully kill a whole bunch of others with me. Yes! That will be the best career choice ever made!”
Are you smoking crack? Would good could possibly come from performing such an act? Do you think that it will make you a hero to your cause and make Mom and Dad proud of you? Do you see it offered in any of the college or university course offering books? No! It just proves you are a no-brained idiot suckered into a cowardly act by those who are too frightened to do it themselves. They want to stay alive, so they have YOU DO IT!
These are troubled times and when I think about it, more and more, I think John and Paul (not the Apostles, the Beatles) had it right, even back in 1970.
When I find myself in times of trouble
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
And in my hour of darkness
She is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
And when the broken-hearted people
Living in the world agree
There will be an answer, let it be
For though they may be parted there is
Still a chance that they will see
There will be an answer, let it be
And when the night is cloudy
There is still a light that shines on me
Shine on until tomorrow, let it be
I wake up to the sound of music
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
Janet Pole is a second year Hotel Management student on sick leave, and hopes to return to classes before there's no love left in the world.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
