i am FAR removed from the right, so you cannot classify me as 'one of those' BUT i still have issues with this man attending yale (and being able to FLY in the united states when some of our OWN citizens cannot and NO ONE WILL SAY WHY)
it is NOT because he is muslim either. it's because of his affiliation (former or OTHERWISE and i have my doubts about the former part) WITH THE TALIBAN
From Taliban To Yale Man Enrollment Of Group's Former Ambassador Draws Outrage
By KIM MARTINEAU And PENELOPE OVERTON Courant Staff Writers March 9 2006
NEW HAVEN -- As a former ambassador for the Taliban, Rahmatullah Hashemi was a spokesman for a hated regime. He's now a freshman at Yale University and depending on your politics, he is either a symbol of what Yale is doing right, in trying to build bridges to the Muslim world, or he's proof that the nation's elite universities have taken diversity too far.Two weeks ago, Rahmatullah appeared on the cover of The New York Times Magazine, in a long narrative that traced his life from minding his father's shoe store to becoming a Taliban ambassador and then traveling to Yale to better himself with an Ivy League education. The story humanized a man who had been an apologist for the Taliban's mistreatment of women and the destruction of Afghanistan's cultural heritage.Since Rahmatullah, now 27, was thrust in the national spotlight, political conservatives have been on the attack. Fox News has dubbed Rahmatullah the "Ivy League terrorist," and a columnist for The Wall Street Journal has compared him to Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels. A group of Yale graduates has taken their alma mater to task. Two have launched a campaign to "Give Yale the Finger," urging alumni to send press-on nails to Yale as a reminder of the fingernails the Taliban tore from women who wore nail polish."Yale is not a right," said Brian Wesley Cook, 22, of Fairfield. "Yale is a privilege. Not everyone is entitled to that privilege. We are talking about the mouthpiece of one of the most despicable regimes in history."Another alumnus, former Army Capt. Flagg Youngblood, has criticized Yale for welcoming a former enemy on campus while continuing to block military training. Youngblood works for Young America's Foundation, which promotes conservative ideas on college campuses...........
Thursday, March 09, 2006
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2 comments:
One thing I haven't been able to figure out was how long this guy worked for the Taliban. When the Taliban took over, some otherwise decent people there had hope for them, because the country had been through 25 years of hell even by Afghan standards. If Rahmatullah Hashemi was with them to the bitter end, that's one thing. But if he worked for them for a couple of years and then bailed, that's something else. He ended up working for Karzai for a while, too, and Karzai appears to be a basically decent person with values.
The Right wing will jump on Yale for anything. I haven't had a chance to read the Times piece, but if my guess is right and Hashemi bailed out before the fall of the Taliban, the Right wing will never tell us that. It's in their interest to tell people that those lefty whackjobs at Yale gave bin Laden a scholarship.
i really do try to be fair but sometimes i do make decisions and stick by them. he was an ADULT when he joined the taliban fully aware of what that stood for. everyone makes mistakes i know that. people CAN change i know that too. i personally just don't care to give someone another chance that was a member (former or not) of the taliban. it would be like someone being a former member of the kkk. i would be VERY happy they no longer belonged to that organization but i sure as hell wouldn't choose to hang with them. my main issue is i don't understand how taliban members (former or otherwise) can fly about the united states when some of our LAW ABIDING CITIZENS cannot and they do NOT KNOW WHY they cannot fly. there name is on a list somewhere.
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