Date: Sat, 03 Nov 2001 11:27:52 -0500
From: Nancy Patterson 
To: tednellen 
Subject: Re: a request

Wow.  Talk about a different perspective.  Ted, this is wonderful.  I found
it interesting that the kids said 4000 Jews stayed home on 9/11 and
speculated that the Jews did it.  The kids claim the info came off CNN.  
And it's interesting that the teacher goes along with this.

I also found it interesting that the 10th grader  found fault with news
agencies showing rescue workers digging through the rubble and people
cheering them.  And that the teacher thought this was a good example of the
news media manipulating information.  While I don't disagree that these
scenes were manipulative, in a rhetorical sense, I don't think they were any
more political than anything that happens.  It's interesting that they
didn't say anything about the fact that George W was kept far away from NY,
that he didn't make an immediate visit to comfort those who needed it.  That
he came a few days later was political, even though it seemed to achieve
that added benifit of comfort.

The drawings, I think, need some explanation.  I couldn't quite figure out
what was going on, either because the images are scanned and I'm getting
some interference from that technology, or that they are kids' drawings and
are somewhat confusing.  It seems like most of them show America as a place
of high buildings and Afganistan as a place with desert hills and are asking
why the big guy is picking on the little guy.  It's a valid question.  And
the question as to whether Bin Laden is responsible is a highly valid
question.  And one people in this country need to ask as well.

Are you worried that people will be angry about this presentation?  I think
if you show it simply as an indication of what others closer to the action
think, and that the internet provides an opportunity for us to know
ourselves as a species better, then you won't have any problems at all. It's
telling, actually, that these came from Pakistan rather than Afganistan
because the Taliban government does not allow televisions or internet
access.  I don't know how true that is, but it seems likely since we haven't
really seen any electronic communications come out of Afganistan, have we??

Go for it, Ted.  This is good stuff.

Nancy