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Interesting link...

Posted by: Nikhil Jaikumar ( Democratic Socialists of America, MA, USA ) on August 22, 1999 at 23:19:51:

In Reply to: While the left dances naked posted by Stuart Gort on August 22, 1999 at 12:13:34:

: Actually Sam, we are a little too busy ignoring real issues like the Chinese nuclear theft scandal to heed the cries of such a novelist as Mr. Valentine. No doubt you have one of the 10 copies ever printed on this out of print masterpiece but seeing names like Valentine and Oliver among the 7 positive reviews helps me to form an opinion about the veracity of the book without being able to get one. Then finding that Elton Manzione is the southern regional coordinator for "Vietnam Veterans Against the War" after finding out he was never a Navy SEAL as he claims kind of makes a rational person suspect of the man's integrity. But should that not suffice in shedding light on perhaps one of the more biased people on this planet, perhaps a short description of one of Mr. Manzione's essays will. You see, Mr. Manzione's idea of poignancy apparently includes having a war hero stabbed by his own Silver Star in his dead legs. Vomitous tripe is that.

well, it was certainly wrong for Mr. Manzione to lie about his war record, if he did in fact lie- i don't pretend to know the facts about that. But what's wrong with heading to an antiwar veterans' organization? Isn't being a veteran noble, isn't being against teh war noble, isn't leading an unpopular movement noble, and if so tehn isn't somone who does all three especially noble? I read the short story by the way (let's describe it for what it is, sir, a STORY not an essay, i.e. CREATIVE writing) and while I foudn it disturbing, certainly, I don't gfind fault with him for feeling that he wanted to write about such a particulalry ironic reversal of fate. Does he anywhere endorse the abuse of the veteran? Does he make the perpetrator into a hero? Of course not. the sense I got from reading the story was teh opposite, that he condemns the abuse.

Interesting how opinions can differ.....

-NJ



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