Column clear, praiseworthy

This is a response to Sean Robinson’s letter “Column condescending, unclear,” (March 31, pg. 6) which was a response to Jason Cammarata’s column “Please shut up and die now, thanks” (March 27, pg. 11).

Since the beginning of this semester, I had wanted to write a letter of praise to Cammarata, but I could never find the time. Unfortunately, my hand has been forced by Robinson’s letter, and I find myself echoing Milton’s opening words in “Lycidas;” for the benefit of Robinson, I muse:

O ye Laurels, and once more Ye Myrtles brown, with Ivy never-sear, I com to pluck your Berries harsh and crude, And with forc’d fingers rude, Shatter your leaves before the mellowing year.

I find it laudatory that Cammarata has given up his bitter constraint for this sad occasion, and, in passing, turned the tables on both parties of blindly-mouthing zealots.

I also find it unfortunate that Robinson completely missed the point of Cammarata’s scathe, which was directed at misinformed, opinionated propounders of both factions, i.e. the “mulleted rednecks” and the “lemmings.” It doesn’t take much effort to visit the weblink that Cammarata provides us, and once there we discover the person holding the placard saying “GET A BRAIN! MORANS” is definitely mulleted! His redneck-ness, being ineffable, is not for me to judge, although a purist would argue that a fair study in scarlet is going on right between his chin and his Cardinals T-shirt.

As for the lemmings, a Google Image Search on “Kill Jews,” a fairly mindless statement, gives us television screen shots of Arabs burning American flags, as well as the worthy Dr. Ahmad Abu Halabiya’s speech beginning with “None of the Jews refrain from committing any possible evil.” (Nota bene: the Jews aren’t even directly involved in this war. It’s the United States versus Iraq.)

We see therefore that Cammarata, while necessarily vituperative, is not necessarily exaggerating. I don’t want to start deconstructing his narrative or show how a socio-Darwinian reading of his column would illustrate that his Philosophy 101 textbook is right that war is, in fact, evil and history would illustrate that all forms of militant imperialism are inherently cyclical in nature. For the benefit (once again) of Robinson: they make us read Edward Gibbon in History 101, and we can see that even if you have the best of intentions, the whole world usually doesn’t agree to being ruled with the iron hand (with or without velvet glove). Therefore, the slaughter of innocents, whether it’s by Osama bin Laden’s team al-Qaeda USA or Bush’s Schwarzenegger Sphynx-slayers (refer to Socrates please), it is not beneficial in the long run.

I would have liked to contend that Cammarata’s opinion is “clear” and “supportable:” war bad; rednecks and lemmings bad; Enlightenment good, but not in sight. Also, since we’re all students at an elitist academic institution, all of us are well aware that people are not equal. (Do I need to break out my Orwell?) Although a lot of people realize that WAR = BAD, the rednecks and lemmings will continue being rednecks and lemmings, and history will continue being history. Yeah, I think that’s about it.

Therefore, Mr. Robinson, before you rip into someone’s opinion and the expression thereof, please make sure that you’ve read the subject well.