ON WBFO AND ISRAEL

Mr. Walter Simpson’s recent letter to Artvoice, “Israel’s Invasion of Lebanon Was Not Justified,” (Artvoice, v5n35) is beautifully written, reflective and full of insight—everything that one would want in, for example, a public radio commentary. But the accompanying editor’s note reveals that WBFO refused to broadcast a version of this letter because it “was no longer going to air commentaries critical of Israel’s conduct in the recent war in Lebanon,” since “callers had complained about a previous commentary critical of Israel.” And although Simpson has been a featured commentator on WBFO for years now, his “regular monthly WBFO commentary has also been canceled.”

It now appears that WBFO decided its initial impulse would look too one-sided, so it has decided to censor speakers on both sides of the issue. However, one does not rectify one act of censorship with another. This would be bad enough at a commercial radio station. But it is appalling that an NPR station owned and operated by the University at Buffalo would betray its own mandate by hindering the free circulation of ideas. WBFO seems to have forgotten that the proper response of anyone at a university (or living in a democracy) to speech that we disagree with is alternative speech, not an effort to silence the speaker.

In a September 2 letter to me and to others who have complained about this censorship, UB Associate Vice President and WBFO General Manager Carole Smith Petro announced that it is inconsistent with WBFO’s “editorial position, to conduct an ongoing public debate using citizen voices on a specific topic of local or national interest. Instead, the station seeks to offer listeners a balanced view on controversial topics, whether national or local, in keeping with accepted journalistic standards.” This is, to say the least, a peculiar distinction. Why, exactly, is a public debate between citizen voices out of keeping with journalistic standards? And when did anonymously crafted “balance”—that FOX News touchstone—take the place of the contentious public interplay of ideas?

Why is WBFO afraid of the “public” in “public radio”? Not only must US citizens pay for 200,000 cluster bombs sown in Lebanese neighborhoods by the Israeli Occupation Forces, and the precision munitions that it expertly targets at Lebanese and Palestinian ambulances, apartment buildings, bridges and family picnics, but we must also pay for a public radio station and a public university that censor our efforts to debate the US-Israeli war against Lebanon.

James Holstun

Professor of English

SUNY Buffalo

I am Jewish and like all Jewish Americans I am concerned for the safety of my Israeli cousins. But not all Jewish Americans give unconditional support to the actions of the Israeli government. The Israeli escalation and invasion in the recent Lebanon war were ill-advised and did not help secure Israelis’ safety.

Here in the US we have substantial responsibility for this. US weapons were rushed to Israel during the war, including cluster bombs that apparently were used in violation of an agreement between the US and Israel (New York Times, August 25, 2006). The US delayed UN discussions in order to support the Israeli war effort.

Since the beginning of the Bush Administration, the US has refused to deal with any party or country that is not politically, financially, or militarily dependent on the US. The result is a political impass contributing to the recent war and continued occupation of Palestinian territories. It is unclear at best whether nearly unconditional US support for Israel is actually helpful for Israelis or for the US. It is clearly not helping the Palestinians or Lebanese.

People in the US need to have a careful and calm discussion about how we might more be more effective in bringing peace and justice for Israelis, Palestinians, and Lebanese. My own optimistic view is that Israeli, Palestinian, most other regional leaders are so sensitive to US pressure that it would not take much to improve things, if US political leadership were better. I am hopeful that European countries can play a role in this.

Walter Simpson was a longtime WBFO commentator. He was a co-founder of the WNY Peace Center during the Vietnam War, and for many years has been the environmental conscience of the University at Buffalo. Simpson’s morally reflective and level-headed WBFO commentary on the Middle East was taken off the air because the radio station suffered a telephone harassment campaign. Sadly, similar campaigns have been directed at other groups and people in Western New York who have been critical of Israeli policy.

Aaron Lercher, PhD

Buffalo

ON THE POWER OF WORDS

Words are so very important. Depending on how words are used they can inspire us, give us knowledge or teach us to hate whole groups of people. The machine that runs our government knows this. They love to use inflammatory words. When they come up with someone to hate and fear, many fall in line. The newest word in vogue is fascism and the Bush team’s fabricated buzzword “Islamo-fascism.” We must fear the Islamo-fascists. I wonder if anyone in the Bush administration bothered to look up a definition for fascism before they fell on it as the word of the week. Do they believe Americans are too dumb to know the meaning of the word? Were they in too much of a hurry because the poll numbers were sliding off the edge of the earth and instead just used it to inflame emotions in those who heard it and remembered the atrocities of Nazi Germany?

Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary gives this definition: “a political philosophy, movement or regime that exalts nation and race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation and forcible suppression of opposition.” Other reference books include phrases like, “listened to leaders who promised them deliverance if they surrendered their liberties, and “acquiescent to the will of the dictator and his decrees have the force of law.” All the definitions mention a military state and a fear of those outside the state. Some of the definitions sound vaguely familiar, but I’m sorry to say they bring to mind “signing statements,” warrant-less wiretaps, war without end and a constant state of fear.

One word that is conspicuously missing in a definitions of fascism is religion. So Islamo-fascist doesn’t fit the meaning. If this administration wants to declare war on a religion they should choose a better name. If we are in fact declaring war on an entire religion, then we are not in good company. The other well remembered, and oft cited by the present administration, war of the 20th century was waged by fascists against the Jewish religion in Germany. The people of Germany were told that war too was to protect them from terrorism.

If they neglected to look up fascism, they must have studied fascism to learn how to convince the American people war was the only course of action. They took that straight from Goering’s remembrance at the Nuremberg trials.

Gilbert, the doctor who interviewed Goering in his cell, wrote The Nuremberg Diary. This was one of the conversations on April 18, 1946. Gilbert recorded Goering’s observations that the common people can always be manipulated into supporting and fighting wars by their political leaders:

We got around to the subject of war again and I said that, contrary to his attitude, I did not think that the common people are very thankful for leaders who bring them war and destruction.

“Why, of course, the people don’t want war,” Goering shrugged. “Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece. Naturally, the common people don’t want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship.”

“There is one difference,” I pointed out. “In a democracy the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars.”

“Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.”

Words are so important and all the words sound so familiar.

Joan Healy

East Aurora

ON GAS PRICES, JOBS AND crime

With the declining prices in gasoline, I was a bit miffed that I paid nine cents more per gallon of gasoline at a Mobil station at the corner of Lake and Berg Road in Blasdell then at the corner of Abbott and Ridge Road in Lackawanna just a few miles away. I guess they are entitled to squeeze more out the residents that pay a higher tax to live in a fancier suburb. I questioned the clerk who responded that she just sells the shit…and muttered something about how the market is diced up into zones. Exxon Mobil recorded gigantic profits and a great percentage of stations (at least in my neck of the woods) are being fitted with brand new tanks and pumps. Nine cents per gallon per customer adds up; thank the Lord I use regular and not premium. I think somebody should do some research on this ugly, ugly zoning bullshit.

Joe Verrastro Jr.

Buffalo

I am in all support of stopping the violence in Buffalo. But, one thing that has not been addressed to stop this is: jobs. It’s a proven fact in cities such as New York that have decreasing crime it’s because of job increase and new developments throughout the entire city. Buffalo is and has been for some time a poor city. Jobs are leaving, people have no hope, and no way to make money. In return, selling drugs, weapons, committing robbery and even murder is what certain people have to turn to in order to make money and survive in our (sorry to say) depressing city.

Religion and dreams of stopping this problem is something that has never worked, so why are we still practicing this? Be more realistic, people. Create jobs, stop stopping any new development plans which would create jobs in this area. Our city has been dying for years; it’s now a very sad city.

Take a walk on weekday from 9am-5pm up and down Main Street’s Pedestrian Mall and see for yourself the increase of homeless and beggars on every bench and corner. I will bet you that you can’t even walk one block without getting stopped by one. Take a ride through most of East and West Sides of the city and see the empty lots, abandoned buildings, no businesses, no one that looks or seems in a good mood at all. With no jobs or hope, those who can’t make money the right way will not settle for sitting around to starve; they are going to rob, steal and may even murder for money to eat and live. That is the reality, folks.

Write, call, spread the word for jobs, development and tougher rules for criminals.

Giovanni D’Angelo

Buffalo