The problem is not the picture; it is the reality.

The problem is not the picture, the problem is the reality behind the picture.

A couple of weeks back, I posted the above picture on the door of my office. Above it I had “Brought to you by the US taxpayers and Bush Administration.” Below it was this caption: “A man at the scene holds up the body of a small child said to have died during a US- led raid near Baqouba in Iraq, Monday, June 12, 2006. According to the US military the raid was staged in the area where terror leader Abu Masab al-Zarqawi was killed and the targeted terrorists had ties to senior al-Qaide leaders across Iraq. The US military said coalition forces had killed seven terrorists and two children, whilst local residents accused the Americans of targeting civilians. (AP Photo)

And below that I had some quotes.

“Who’ll believe Bush’s rosy scenarios after they’ve heard the testimony of children who watched while their parents and siblings were butchered in front of their own eyes?” – Mike Whitney

“My moral and legal obligation is to the constitution and not to those who would issue unlawful orders.” – Army Lieutenant Ehren Watada on why he is refusing to deploy to Iraq.

“I have been lied to by my own government.” - Daniel Berg, father of Nick Berg who was reportedly beheaded by Zarqawi in Iraq in 2004.

“The Zarqawi PSYOP program is the most successful information campaign to date.” – Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, the US military’s chief spokesman in 2005.

Well, apparently “someone” complained about this photo on my door. And rather than talk to me, they went to a supervisor and complained. That happens a lot at my workplace. A lot of them are cowards and hypocrites. A lot of them are dumb as doorknobs also. A lot of them supported this war and fully believed in the lies about the WMDs. Like I said, they are DUMB. And while some of them are now opposed to the war, not a one of them has done a thing to stop the war. They do not come to rallies or meetings or write letters to the editors, and I doubt they ever call the Senators or Representatives and say they don’t like it. I guess they feel they are doing their part when they go vote, but in truth, their hands are very bloody indeed. Another thing, a lot of them claim to be Christians, but they are not. Well, one of them is, but she works in the Hendersonville office.

Anyway, if they had come to me and asked me to take it down, I would have done so, but with complaints. Instead, Pam decided to rip it down without saying a word to me. I heard her do it, so I went to retrieve it. This total lack of respect upset me greatly. I put up a replacement sheet that said Pam took down the picture, and that “someone” was upset by the picture. I commented that I imagine the parents of the dead child were upset by the bombing paid for by US taxpayers. Then I locked my door and only come out to do my work that I needed to do. This upset my immediate supervisor a great deal because I would not talk to her when she wanted me to. I told her that I would talk to her at 6:30. So, later in the day, the supervisor over her came to me and told me to go talk to her. The director also joined in. The say I cannot put up such pictures as these, because it is a state agency. Another staff person chimed in (as she was walking by) that she didn’t need to hear what we were talking about. I did not care who heard this conversation.

Pictures like the above don’t make it into US newspapers or on US TV stations. They say they do this because it would “upset” people, but they had no problem showing pictures of dead children from the Oklahoma City bombing. They didn’t show pictures of dead children from 9/11 because there were no such pictures. But it they had them, they would have used them. The reality is that Americans want to think what they are doing is good and just, when actually it is vastly evil. If they were proud of what their government and military is doing, they would look at the pictures without flinching. But, some of the people I work with are cowards and hypocrites. AND DUMB.

I don’t feel Pam treated me respectfully, and I don’t respect her. I also don’t trust her one lick, and I am VERY glad I am not she.