today on the gig

the history department showed students a film on the situation in darfur. yes, people are dying in darfur, but we aren't the ones doing the killing. what kind of an education is it that only teaches the crimes of others? as young americans attending a well off, "quality" public school, shouldn't these students be watching films on what the u.s. has done to the rest of the world? who at the school is reading "hiroshima" or "johnny got his gun?" what teacher is showing their students "hearts and minds?" who has taught dahr jamail's "beyond the green zone?" or blum's "rogue state?" who has learned of israel's brutality in lebanon, gaza, the west bank, and jenin? those same "liberals" who shed tears over darfur would be up in arms if someone had the audacity to tell the truth about israel. so, no students will be baking goods to raise money for the wounded and widowed and orphaned in gaza, but they will gladly wear their "stop genocide in sudan" and "free tibet" shirts. as always, the limits of liberalism hit me like a joe frazier left hook. in "liberal" brookline, our young are taught about genocide, but not in places like vietnam, guatemala, east timor, and palestine. nor, for that matter, will they learn much of the genocide practiced right here against black and indigenous people. we would rather teach them about something they can't change, and something they don't need to apologize for, unlike the destruction in iraq and afghanistan.

we play at compassion, but we don't really give a shit. we play it safe, always remembering to focus on the crimes committed elsewhere. meanwhile, bush writes books, and clinton does charitable work. kissinger is a respected statesman, and political exiles from haiti and cuba live lives of comfort and wealth on our shores, despite being guilty of crimes our students would have been shown movies on if the crimes had not been supported by our government

yes, i suppose i do work at a good school.

but good for who?