For those of you who have absolutely no idea what the connection is between the above three people, read this letter written to the Saudi Prince from Rep. McKinney.
I am just curious to see what type of response this has elicited around the world. Rep. McKinney is from Atlanta and being from Atlanta myself, I have heard more than my fair share of responses and I may be a little jaded about my feelings. I can assure you that her feelings are not shared by a large majority of the African American population of this city. I myself am not African American but have several friends and co-workers who are. Not one of them has said they support her in this situation.
So, I guess I’m curious… how does the rest of the world interpret this?
I’m a North Georgia resident, so I’m also familiar with Rep. McKinney’s penchant for pushing a viewpoint to its extreme end. Her letter to the prince is no exception. Had she quit after the third paragraph, I’d be in perfect agreement with her. Unfortunately, the rest of the letter amounts to an attack on US foreign policy which, in its way, is much more offensive than the prince’s comments in NY, and an appeal for Saudi indulgence which is much more wrongheaded than Giuliani’s refusal of the gift!
The perfect response to the prince would, of course, have been to graciously accept his donation, politely disagree with his criticism and publically express hope that one day an average Saudi citizen might be able to criticise his or her own government the way the Saudi prince has criticised the US.
Well, I thought that Guiliani was being overly touchy when he declined the Prince’s offer, as I personally felt that the offer had been made in good faith and that the statement criticising U.S. policy regarding Israel did not detract from the statements condemning the attack. So I see nothing wrong with the first part of the letter, but I find it rather inappropriate for McKinney to use the letter as a forum on which to air her personal grievances regarding the state of African Americans. That is a matter of domestic importance and the U.S. is currently engaged in an international conflict. It does strike me as fairly odd that she would attempt to involve a Saudi prince in the plight of the African American people.
I love it, absolutely love it, when people refer to a large group of protesters throwing rocks as unarmed. I generally invite these people to go oustide so that I and a large group of friends can throw stones at them.
While the statement about the relative strength of Israeli soldiers and Palestinian militants is phrased in the worst possible way, it is true. During the last uprising, the casualties were 1 dead Israeli for 10 dead militants. This not due to Israeli bloodlust. It is due to superior equipment. The militants want to kill the soldiers, they are simply unable.
The many complaints about US foreign policy made by the prince and many others boil down to "Get out of Israel, so we can wipe it off the map."
I sincerely hope that she is kissing up in order to get the money. The alternative is rather frightening. That, and the amount of times an elected official says "Your Royal Highness"
I think Giuliani should have taken the check, deposited it, and ripped that Saudi a new one (metaphorically of course). “Welcome to the U.S., Your Highness, let me introduce you to freedom of speech…”
I must admit I was unaware that McKinney is so adept with a phrase. I have seen her on talk shows. Her off the cuff speaking is as abrasive as shark skin backwards. It is disconcerting to me that an elected representative would kiss “royal” butt that much for a buck, or even 10 million of them. That is really a drop in the bucket if compared to the aid which goes to AAs in this country. I noticed she is unapologetic. DocCathode, I think, has hit upon the real motives of the Saudis. (Click anything and search, “intifada.”)
McKinney sounds like a whacko. I didn’t know anything about her before this. As much as Giuliani annoyed me in the beginning, you know, I am starting to rethink my position on that. If the prince wants to donate that money he will find a way. I think he just wanted to buy some air time to push an Agenda.
I wish we’d just get off our asses say, “We aren’t gonna abandon Israel so you can stop asking. And then move along from there. I think it’s time we took a hard stance on this issue.”
And most Americans, of whatever color, don’t know what deep poverty looks like if they have never travelled to the “Third World”. We Americans think Mexico is a hopelessly poor country, and Mexico is still ten times wealthier than many African and South Asian countries in terms of per capita income. Countries like Rwanda, Congo, and Burundi have per capita incomes of less than $1,000 a year. Imagine what a ten million dollars would do there?
About a year ago, Saddam Hussein announced a similar “gift” to African Americans, and Qaddafi has made such statements in the past. Critics of the United States like to point out how horrible life is here for minorities, when they gas, plunder, and eliminate their own. It’s nothing new.
And I am not saying racism doesn’t exist. I am a “minority” myself (Latino). But this just sounds silly to me.
Slight nitpick (with McKinney, not anyone on the board). Alwaleed is a “Prince” by virtue of being a grandson of Ibn Saud (founder of Saudi Arabia) and a nephew of the current King, but not a member of the Saudi government, or in direct line to the Saudi throne. He may be called “His Royal Highness” by some, but for the same reason that his buddy Michael Jackson is called the “King of Pop” - pure asskissing and nothing more. So why does she call him “Your Royal Highness”? Why doesn’t she just bellydance in his lap and call him, “Your Exalted Studliness”, and really get her point across.
I can see her using the phrase to open or close the letter. But, she needlessly starts several paragraphs with it. She’s either kissing royal butt or secretly wishing to live in a monarchy.
Actually, no I don’t. I think Alwaleed’s tasteless remarks pissed him off. They definitely pissed me off. Perhaps Alwaleed had a reasonable point about American foreign policy (or maybe not), but it was neither the time nor the place to make it.
Besides, what exactly did Rudy stand to gain by returning the money? He’s out of a job in a few months. He was already greatly respected by folks in NY before the Alwaleed incident, enough so that he can probably hold another elected office in the future without snubbing a ham-fisted Saudi prince. Your suggestion that he was posturing doesn’t seem to make any sense.
I don’t see anything wrong with McKinney’s letter, I think it’s a pretty accurate assesment of conditions here and of our foreign policy. I think it’s courageous of her to write something like that given the current climate and state of events, that maybe the only flaw of the letter. She’s taking a big chance and her personal safety could be at risk because of it.
Another point is, why shouldn’t she try to cozy up to him and get that 10 million for her own causes? We’re in bed with the Saudi’s and they’re a monarchy, go figure…
This is a very good point, in my opinion. I have several friends who live in England and like to favourably compare the countries of their origin to the country of their residence. I have heard claims that one should not blame the Taliban for the starvation in Afghanistan as “people are starving in England”, and claims that the lot of a poverty-stricken person in Pakistan is better than that of a homeless person in England. Poor people in Third World Countries don’t have any rights, can be beaten or killed by the police with no repercussions, can be thrown into jail for offending a person with money, can be sold into slavery or bonded labour, and cannot send their children to school. African-Americans may suffer some of these injustices from time to time, but any implication that circumstances in America are actually worse than those of Third World countries is ridiculous, and, at a time like this, negative propaganda. The Prince’s criticisms of American foreign policy may have been tasteless, but surely McKinney’s criticisms of American domestic policy were in even poorer taste?
I agree with the writer of a recent letter to the Atlanta Constitution: Cynthia McKinney now rivals Bob Barr as our state’s most embarrassing elected official.
I would appreciate being told what you thought was pitworthy in that post. I cannot see but that he expressed his point of view in a fashion no less civil than others are doing. Kindly explain yourself.
In what way? Isn’t attempting to form a more perfect union her job? If I were elected, what sort of statesperson would I be if I didn’t criticise those aspects of Canadian domestic policy with which I disagree?
