Note to the bleeding-hearted here in America and beyond
If you have not heard the story about Schapelle Corby, the young Australian who was sentenced to 20 years for being accused by Indonesian officials of binging marijuana into their country, here is an excerpt:
Australian beauty therapist Schapelle Corby has been found guilty of drug trafficking by a court in Bali Indonesia of trafficking 4 kilograms of marijuana to Indonesia.
In announcing the verdict the judge’s words were drowned out by screaming in the court from relatives of Ms Corby. Consequently the translator employed by Prime Television to relay the verdict via live feed was unable to discern what the sentence was.
The translator heard the words 20 years and six months and guessed that he might mean that she was sentenced to 20 years in prison, less six months already served whilst awaiting trial…more
Since the announcement of the verdict, there have been calls from all over Australia to cut all relevant ties to Indonesia until real “justice” is served.
A former boyfriend of Schapelle Corby says the federal government should cut foreign aid to Indonesia as public outcry continues over her 20-year sentence…more
Even Russell Crowe chimed in on the situation:
Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe meanwhile took Prime Minister John Howard to task for not doing more to save Ms Corby.
“The photographs of Schapelle Corby broke my heart,” he said.
“The first thing I thought this morning was, like, how can I get Johnny Howard on the phone and say: Look, what are you gonna do, mate> What are you gonna do? That’s ridiculous, what if it was your daughter?”
Mr Howard should point out to Jakarta that Australia had been a generous supporter following the devastating tsunami in Aceh, pledging $1 billion in aid, Crowe said. “From my individual point of view, looking at it, it’s like it’s bulls***, let’s deal with it,” he said…more
It is the portion that I bolded is what caught my attention.
Now I must say that I don’t know and frankly do not care if this girl is guilty or innocent. The fact of the matter is that Corby was caught (according to Indonesian officials) red-handed with evidence that warrants a penalty in their country. Now before I continue, I will add that there is some strange inconsistency in Indonesian law as this same country gave a much shorter sentence to the guy who was behind the Bali bombings (Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir was sentenced to 2½ years’ jail for criminal conspiracy in March.) that killed over 200 people. Nevertheless, this does not change the alleged facts that this girl did break Indonesian law.
Okay. So what is your point?
My point here is simply that pouring out compassion for people that are in need or perceived to be in need does not grant an automatic override over that culture.
For Liberals here in America, this message should especially hit home.
Dumping millions of dollars into cultures that you perceive to be under the foot of “American Imperialism” does not buy you a ghetto pass no more than it does a Jihad pass. We do not need another hero Tarzan. There are rules to the jungle you desperately want to give voice. If you come into the hood and get in the middle of a gang war, there will be no cease fire because you gave to a HTN (Help the Negroes) outreach program. If you get into the way, you will be shot. Joining anti-America crowds around the world only grants you the status of “useful idiot” to many of these groups. As of date, groups like al-qaeda have shown no favoritism to individuals that share their contempt with America, but are not within their ranks.
If you stand in the way of a black single mom who has just worked 2 jobs, has 3 kids in tow and she just happens to want to go grocery shopping at Wal-Mart (a store many die-hard Liberals despise) because she doesn’t want to spend all of her hard earned money on the more expensive grocery store in town–you will get cussed out!
As a member of one of those cultures you perceive to be a victim of American Imperialism, I simply say “keep the money coming” if you need to get rid of some guilt. However, just know that in the end you too can be a victim of western ignorance and arrogance—for not understanding the people and customs you claim to give voice. Unfortunately Australia is learning this lesson the hard way.
