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Enough talking heads, already; what do The People have to say about the freeze?
The Tea Party may appear like its in decline, but it sure appears regnant on the web. Here is a completely unscientific sample of responses to the ABC news coverage of the story. To be honest, we sympathize with a lot of the sentiment.
Some focused on the domestic costs of aid
“And which US citizens are having this food taken out of their mouths to bribe North Korea? What part of NO MONEY do our politicians not understand?”
“240,000 metric tons…that’s 125 lbs of food apiece for 4,000,000 hungry American homeless…but screw them, they can do without; they’re only our brothers and sisters. Guess who’s going to foot the bill.”
“And yet we also are giving the guys @ Gitmo a $750,000 soccer field. Wonder why that hasn’t been all over the news? And it’s OUR tax dollars. Ridiculous. Feed our own poor, homeless & veterans first!!!!”
Others doubted that it would go to the right people:
“That’s probably 239,990 tons for the N. Korean leaders, 10 tons for the people, and nothing for us except higher food prices.”
We particularly liked this idea:
“I think we should send them over 240,000 metric tons of that PINK SLIME that McDonalds was using for ‘nutritional supplement’. Let their military eat that…. because we all know NOT ONE of the people will see any of the food aid.. it will all be distributed to the new little dictator and his military!”
Still others noted the moral hazard issues, and the need for conditionality:
“So, we have to pay them a bribe in order for them to not bomb us? What a crock.”
“….we have been down this road with the N.Koreans a hundred times before and we always end up with egg on our face. See, they don’t ever actually give us anything in return, only some grand promise. But they NEVER live up to it. They are only promising a moratorium on launches and nuclear tests. But that means nothing, they can still continue to develop their programs even assuming they do obey the moratorium. But then, when the food runs out, guess what? Yep, they start rolling a rocket to the launch pad and we come running back with another shipment of food. If we are going to give them assistance, it should come with real returns. First, we get to distribute the food to ensure it goes to the citizens, not the military. Second, we first want to see real improvement in civil rights. Only then do they get the food.”
That said, there were a few who seemed supportive, and on both peace and justice grounds:
“You Right Wing children are pathetic. I suppose you would rather have a nuclear North Korea, so you can start another war over there as a ‘preventive measure’. This is a much smaller price to pay than the one normally supported by the Right, namely a military solution. So go suck eggs, and let the adults take care of things.”
“To all of the good “Christians” who are calling names and condemning Obama for sending food to starving people- shame on you….shame on you and damn you all to whatever h*ll you believe awaits everyone else. The people are starving and my saviour would not think twice about sending food.”
Amen, brother. And of course, you have the pop culture tie-in:
“Anyone else think that the new North Korean leader has a slight resemblance to Chaz Bono?”
Now when we say The People, we don’t want to leave out the Trotskyites over at the World Socialist Web Site. The story was written prior to the freeze deal, but offers this interpretation of events:
“The Obama administration, backed by the South Korean and Japanese governments, is…seeking to exploit the economic and social crisis in North Korea to pressure both the regime and China into unconditionally accepting their terms for any resumption of economic assistance.”
The piece goes on to note the pressure building on Syria and draws this interesting comparison to Burma:
“The Burmese “path forward” is one of submission to US dictates and the undermining of Chinese political and economic influence over the country. The military regime in Burma has made a significant reorientation of foreign policy since the Libyan war. It has complied with Washington’s demands for elections and power-sharing with the pro-US forces around opposition leader Aung San Sui Kyi.”
Down with the right deviationists! May the red flag always fly!
