tonight in my intercultural communication class, a student was speaking about how he is in support of the war. at first i respected him for speaking openly about his feelings. although i disagree entirely, i appreciated his willingness to present a view that opposes the view held by the majority of the student body (granted most of the class is adults, and i'm not sure what their opions are). then he went on to say that if he "was at Wheaton" he's be the first one "with a bucket of rocks to throw at that girl." i hadn't heard the story and that link does give much information either. but the fact that he made such a blatant, aggressive, violent statement just shocked me. he made a few comments about "those protestors," and I think mo, richard, adrienne, sara and i were probably pretty expressive with our faces, especially about the rock throwing. we were some of the last to leave the room, and the prof. said "bye" we all said "bye" he said "bye all you war protestors." he's made some comments that lead me to believe he is either anti war or at least not whole heartedly behind it, if even just because of the wastefulness of the war and how we could spend the money feeding all the hungry people in the world instead of on bombs.

the guy's statement was just the most ridiculous thing i've heard in a classroom.

from wbz.com "A flag display in Norton is causing quite a controversy
Some Wheaton College students are displaying an American flag, upside down, outside their window.
It's their anti-war statement.
It has evoked such anger, the home has been vandalized and the students have received threatening messages."

I don't understand pro-war people who feel the need to be violent towards those who are anti-war. I don't understand pro-war people who call those who are anti-war "anti American." Aren't we fighting in Iraq right now with the supposed intent of implementing a free-er system of government and way of life? Isn't that one of the core values of US American society? Everyone loves free speech, unless they're saying something you don't agree with. Being anti-war does not mean you are being anti-American. Being anti-war is just as American as being pro-war, because in America we have the right to say how we feel. We have the right to speak out against our government if we choose to, and we can do it without fear of being jailed or harmed. But apparently, the holier than thou pro-war "Americans" feel they have the right to oppress those who wish to speak out - just like the oppressive government we are trying to get rid of in Iraq.

not much else going on today.
peace out.