Where were you on 911 in 1973?
A girl I knew in high school died in the attack on the towers NYC. I point this out because in variably if I try to discuss American crimes against humanity someone will say I am excusing or downplaying our 911. I'm not. I am saying that we should feel grief for those we killed while grieving for Americans who died.
In 1973, on 9/11, the Nixon admin, supported and enabled a coup against the elected government of Chile. Tens of thousands of civilians were murdered outright and tens of thousands more disappeared over the subsequent years of Pinochet's dictatorship. Eventually the people of Chile had a velvet revolution and re-established representative government. Pinochet was found guilty of crimes against humanity.
Why did the Nixon admin inflict this harm on Chile? The Republican party was in the process of adopting trickle down economic theory (serve the rich and screw everyone else). Kissinger said that we couldn't let a country go socialist and not do anything about it. Instead, we used Chile as a lab for Milton Freidman's crazy ideas.
Acting on Friedman's theories, Pinochet crushed trade unions, privatized public services, destroyed the middle class, and favored the wealthy. Sound familiar? Ought to since that's the same set of policy goals that the Republican party has had for sixty years now.
So Chile got rid of the supply-siders and the authoritarian assholes, but we didn't. We have had in succession Reagan and bums-on-welfare-tax-cuts-for-the rich and Iran/contra, Clinton's playing footsie with Republicans instead of telling them to fuck off, Bush with more tax cuts for the rich while he lied his way into an unnecessary war that resulted in hundreds of thousands dead and a million made into refugees, then Trump and the Republican party's multi-pronged attacks on representative government including violence, gerrymandering, voter suppression, Citizens United, and other kinds of election rigging--and don't be stupid. Republicans are after power to serve the rich and special interests, not the citizens.
The people the US killed in Chile on behalf of a fascist dictator are not the only ones who died for a foreign policy focused on protecting American corporate profits. And that combination of corruptions, amorality, and raw pursuit of power is here in the US, attacking our representative government.
In 1973, on 9/11, the Nixon admin, supported and enabled a coup against the elected government of Chile. Tens of thousands of civilians were murdered outright and tens of thousands more disappeared over the subsequent years of Pinochet's dictatorship. Eventually the people of Chile had a velvet revolution and re-established representative government. Pinochet was found guilty of crimes against humanity.
Why did the Nixon admin inflict this harm on Chile? The Republican party was in the process of adopting trickle down economic theory (serve the rich and screw everyone else). Kissinger said that we couldn't let a country go socialist and not do anything about it. Instead, we used Chile as a lab for Milton Freidman's crazy ideas.
Acting on Friedman's theories, Pinochet crushed trade unions, privatized public services, destroyed the middle class, and favored the wealthy. Sound familiar? Ought to since that's the same set of policy goals that the Republican party has had for sixty years now.
So Chile got rid of the supply-siders and the authoritarian assholes, but we didn't. We have had in succession Reagan and bums-on-welfare-tax-cuts-for-the rich and Iran/contra, Clinton's playing footsie with Republicans instead of telling them to fuck off, Bush with more tax cuts for the rich while he lied his way into an unnecessary war that resulted in hundreds of thousands dead and a million made into refugees, then Trump and the Republican party's multi-pronged attacks on representative government including violence, gerrymandering, voter suppression, Citizens United, and other kinds of election rigging--and don't be stupid. Republicans are after power to serve the rich and special interests, not the citizens.
The people the US killed in Chile on behalf of a fascist dictator are not the only ones who died for a foreign policy focused on protecting American corporate profits. And that combination of corruptions, amorality, and raw pursuit of power is here in the US, attacking our representative government.
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Lisa
(new)
Sep 13, 2023 08:27AM
I was beginning my junior year in college in Virginia but the headlines in Chile got my attention. When we were posted to Turkey, I became friends with the daughter of the Chilean ambassador and we stayed in touch with letters after our fathers were posted elsewhere. After Pinochet's brutal purge, I never heard from her again. We tried to trace her family through the State Dept and other sources but there was never any trace. This had already happened over & over again. When we lived in India, Tibetan friends disappeared after the Chinese invasion in 1959 as well as Chinese diplomats who were recalled. In August 1968, the entire family of a Czech diplomatic living in our apartment building disappeared overnight & their apartment was padlocked. Believe me, I have never taken fascism lightly and I am terrified by what is happening right here, in broad daylight.
reply
|
flag
Lisa Gentry wrote: "I was beginning my junior year in college in Virginia but the headlines in Chile got my attention. When we were posted to Turkey, I became friends with the daughter of the Chilean ambassador and we..." Oh so many tragedies. Thank you for sharing. I'm scared too.
To Live is to Fly
This blog will be about writing, art, Buddhism, and whatever else I feel like writing about.
- Laura Koerber's profile
- 247 followers
