April 09, 2003

I like my nationlism a

I like my nationlism a little on the blatent side

The dramatic images of the most recent toppling of a big Saddam statue are as eloquent as pictures ever are, and have evoked memories of similarly-erected and -toppled statues of Stalin, of the dismantling of the Berlin wall, of Iwo Jima. Joe Katzman quotes Shelly:

"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Not to be outdone, Indymedia has a different take and some suitably inspiring words to commemorate the occasion:
"US Army troops brandish blatent nationlism in front of Iraqi people."

UPDATE: Steven Chapman comments:

Already that US flag incident is making the Western media pigeons flap and squawk on TV. Expect lengthy fumes and gasps from the Alibhai-Browns, Fisks and Galloways. Who went halfway around the world to topple the cretin in the first place? Cut them some slack, for Jeebus's sake.

And Cinderella comments on the comment in the comments:
I managed to sneak a look at BBC news when that statue was being pulled down. The only one there who seemed to be unhappy was a British 'anti-war' protester who happened to be in the square, who was screamming hysterically at the marines: "Cowards!"

Posted by Dr. Frank at April 9, 2003 10:25 AM | TrackBack