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The Smithsonian institute is currently being protested over the Enola Gay exhibit. For the first time in decades the plane that ushered in the atomic age has been reassembled in its entirety. Of course, some people find this display to be...offensive so they have gathered to try to get the Enola Gay removed. So the question is, should the Enola Gay be removed or not?
Boonierat
16 Dec 03, 07:17
The Smithsonian institute is currently being protested over the Enola Gay exhibit. For the first time in decades the plane that ushered in the atomic age has been reassembled in its entirety. Of course, some people find this display to be...offensive so they have gathered to try to get the Enola Gay removed. So the question is, should the Enola Gay be removed or not?
Political correctness is going way out of control these days.
Hello,
I cannot see anything wrong with putting this plane in a museum - be it considered a testimony to man's folly or a glorious means of victory, it is indeed part of history. Burying it or dismantling it will not get us all out of the atomic age.
Nemo
Do these protesters want to remove the plane? Where did you hear about this?
Tim McBride
16 Dec 03, 09:48
Stupid protestors, you can't pu history in the closet, it must be displayed out in the open for all to learn from our folly's and victory's.
Do these protesters want to remove the plan? Where did you hear about this?
Heard it on thr local news, although, they may have been mistaken about the protesters demands.
I don't understand the problem. The Smithsonian did display the Enola Gay. It's only a few protesters that are upset. Oddly enough some had misgivings about displaying the plane without mentioning what it did to the people on the ground.
As for the 'liberal' media, that's a very gross simplification. It's really a megaphone for the elite, whether liberal or not very liberal at all. How often do the views of Chomsky, Nader, and other left-wingers get aired? Never.
Also, how often does the view get aired that it might be a good idea to end the drug 'war' and legalize many of these narcotics? Never. Yet it seems this group is very significant among the 'people'. Maybe there is reason for that? Could it have something to do with the prison, beer, and tobacco industries by chance?
I guess that your right Chuck, my media outlet made it seem like a bigger deal than it was.
I don't understand the problem. The Smithsonian did display the Enola Gay. It's only a few protesters that are upset. Oddly enough some had misgivings about displaying the plane without mentioning what it did to the people on the ground.This is the second time the Smithsonian has had a major display on the Enola Gay or the atomic bomb. Their first attempt was a public relations disaster. Rather than sticking to the facts the historians there counldn't refrain from also displaying a lengthy "editorial" (for lack of a better word) about how heinous an act it was and how America was guilty of all sorts of warcrimes. There was such a public outcry that the Smithsonian was forced to alter the display and eventually remove it.
The D-Day museum in New Orleans has some very interesting and well done displays on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These displays are also accompanied by a haunting melodramatic tune and the whole display has an almost apologetic air to it. That tends to irritiate some of the people who come to see the museum. Other cities such a Dresden don't get the same treatment, and a lot of older veterans find it distasteful. All things being equal I thought the D-Day museum did an above agerage job with its displays.
As for the 'liberal' media, that's a very gross simplification. It's really a megaphone for the elite, whether liberal or not very liberal at all. How often do the views of Chomsky, Nader, and other left-wingers get aired? Never.Of course it's a simplification to a degree, but not overly so. As I said, a quick look at voting results over the last twenty years shows an indisputable trend. I can also predict with some confidence that the small, densly populated "urban states" such as Mass, Delaware, etc will vote Democrat in 2004. So will states that are dominated by really huge cities which make up a disproportiante part of their population (California, New York). More rural states such as Ohio, Texas, and the mid-west will largely vote Republican. Same story as the 2000 election.
Also, how often does the view get aired that it might be a good idea to end the drug 'war' and legalize many of these narcotics? Never. Yet it seems this group is very significant among the 'people'. Maybe there is reason for that? Could it have something to do with the prison, beer, and tobacco industries by chance?That's largely a libratarian position and it gets a fair amount of air time with people like Boortz, but there is very little momentum for this among the general voting electorate. It's not like it hasn't been talked about. The problem here is that many of the proponents of this initiative tend not to totally objective. Many of the people who advocate such a radical change in the law also already use illegal drugs from time to time, thus their arguments lose much of their credibility.
Your point about the elite media being controlled by mega-corporate empires is an interesting one. I'm sure this does play an important role in how the media reports, but I'm not sure this peculiar phenonmenon favors either Democrats or Republicans. These empires are mostly interested in stories that could harm their own interests. It's also highly subjective and difficult to quantify.
I guess that your right Chuck, my media outlet made it seem like a bigger deal than it was.
It may have, and for a reason. The 'media' is very powerful today and is often used to manipulate the views, feelings, and opinions of the public.
Take the Enola Gay for example. How many protested? Is it really a big deal to the people out in the Rocky Mountains that a handful of people show up to protest the plane in Washington, DC? Most of these protestors are from Japan, where the plane likely caused their family members to be killed in the past. One would expect they would have a different view on the event there.
Yet to those who view these 'news' reports, 'liberal' political correctness has run amok. It indicates how the Smithsonian is some kind of 'liberal' organization and we need more 'conservative' museums to counter its influence. In reality the Smithsonian presents a very bland, non-political interpretation of things. All that the museum says about the plane is:
"On August 6, 1945, this Martin-built B-29-45-MO dropped the first atomic weapon used in combat on Hiroshima, Japan."
You're right Chuck, after reading a little more about the incident it seemed little more than a local story. I was wondering why I was hearing about it here in Denver.
Here are some interesting links on the Smithsonian debate:
http://www.nuclearfiles.org/relastact/lastact.html
Here is a short quote:
http://www.b-29s-over-korea.com/Enola/Enola_intro.html
I am not a museum director, curator, or politician. I am a pilot. I am a military man trained to carry out the orders of the duly elected commander - in- chief.
For decades the Enola Gay has been in pieces. During the same period the subject of the atomic missions has provoked a flood of emotions. Virtually each and every narration of the events surrounding the flight of the Enola Gay has delved into the horrors and tragedies brought on by the atomic bombs.
Today, on the eve of the 50th Anniversary of the end of World War II, many are second-guessing the decision to use the atomic weapons. To them I would say,"STOP!" It happened. In the wisdom of the President of the United States and his advisors at the time, there was no acceptable alternative but to proceed with what history now knows as Special Bombing Mission No. 13. To those who consider it's proper presentation to the public, I say; "FULL SPEED AHEAD!" We have waited too long for all the wrong reasons to exhibit this aircraft. Too many have labeled the atomic missions as war crimes in an effort to force their politics and their opinions on the American public and to damn military history. Ironically, it is the same segment of society who sent us off to war that now wish to recant the flight of the Enola Gay.
Thus far the proposed display of the Enola Gay is a package of insults. Resting on an arrangement that will be shaped like a cradle, the sixty-some feet of fuselage and forward bomb bay- without wings, engines and propellers, landing gear and tail assembly- makes for an awesome sight. If nothing else, it will engender the aura of evil in which the airplane is being cast.
I am unaware of any positive achievements being credited to the men and women who built the B-29 bombers that carried the war to the Japanese homeland, or the soldiers, sailors, marines, and Seabees who fought, lived and died fighting to take Pacific Islands that were needed for airplane bases within striking distances of the mainland. What about the airmen who flew those strikes and lost their lives, and those who survived. Are they to be denied recognition for their efforts? Something is wrong with this scenario.
In closing, let me urge consideration and let the exhibition of the Enola Gay accurately reflect the American spirit and victory of August 1945. Those of us who gained that victory have nothing to be ashamed of, neither do we offer an apology. Some suffered, some died. The million or so of us remaining will die believing that we made the world a better place as a result of our efforts to secure peace that has held for almost 50 years. Many of us believe peace will prevail through the strength and resolve of the United States of America.
PAUL W. TIBBETS, COMMAND PILOT, ENOLA GAY
http://www.tompaine.com/feature2.cfm/ID/4533
http://www.peacewire.org/photoexhibits/Hiroshima/articles/silence.html
You're right Chuck, after reading a little more about the incident it seemed little more than a local story. I was wondering why I was hearing about it here in Denver.
What should be my wonder then to hear it aired on a national radiobroadcast news program here in France ;)
Nemo
I found this polemic stupid.
Enola Gay is part of the world history, it must make us thought about the Danger of Atomic weapon.
Nothing more nothing less
And more than this the B29 is my Favorite Bomber of WW2. It was a marvelous kit of it by Airfix, I did it with love, all silver with all these 12,7 mm MG, its flat nose.
A beautifull plane, fully pressurised.
Der Wanderer
This letter is really old, not really relevant to the current situation. However it is far more 'political' than what the Smithsonian has done. Tibbets seems to want a display that glorifies dropping the atomic bomb on Japan. The museum just has a plaque that says this is the plane that dropped the bomb.
You might need to read the whole article to put that quote in proper context. I should have included the link in my earlier post.
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/GuestColumns/Zempel20031211.shtml
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/GuestColumns/Zempel20031215.shtml
OK, I read the whole article and I'm not sure if Mr. Goldberg thinks that the entire population of Manhattan Island or just the 'media elite' despises Oklahoma City and/or the rest of the United States. Either way, I think he is full of sh*t.
He seems to think it is important that the major network news organizations strive to be unbiased and that they may become extinct if they don't. Who cares? I don't get 'the news' exclusively from any of the networks; New York, Washington, or Atlanta based. "The News" is a commodity; first and foremost subject to the laws of the market. The networks are interested in making money first; other considerations are secondary. Talk Radio is purely a money making excercise. Actual political discourse is almost extinct (although I have seen it flare up on occasion at this forum :)).
I think the entire debate about media bias is a waste of air. The media is no more unbiased now than it has ever been. It has always reflected the views of the owners and always will. If Americans are not smart enough to figure this out, we'll continue to get the level of media bias that we deserve. :TRUCE:
There was an ad at that site for an Ann Coulter talking doll. Some of her sayings:
"Liberals can't just come out and say they want to take more of our money, kill babies, and discriminate on the basis of race."
"At least when right-wingers rant, there's a point."
"Swing voters are more appropriately known as the 'idiot voters' because they have no set of philosophical principles. By the age of fourteen, you're either a Conservative or a Liberal if you have an IQ above a toaster."
"Why not go to war just for oil? We need oil. What do Hollywood celebrities imagine fuels their private jets? How do they think their cocaine is delivered to them?"
"Liberals hate America, they hate flag-wavers, they hate abortion opponents, they hate all religions except Islam, post 9/11. Even Islamic terrorists don't hate America like Liberals do. They don't have the energy. If they had that much energy, they'd have indoor plumbing by now."
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