Zimbabwe
Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 10:44 pm
So there might not be too much to say about this, other than the standard "this sucks," but... uhh... this sucks.
I heard an excellent interview this afternoon between an NPR journalist and one of Mugabe's supporters... it would be a lot easier to find if I could remember the name of either, but basically, the guy from the Mugabe camp called the U.S. condescending for thinking that Zimbabwe's people can't choose their own president... I think, when it comes down to it, Mugabe and co. think that his people, the ones involved in the uprising 25 years ago, are the only ones who count as citizens of Zimbabwe. It's rather odd. They blame the voters for causing all the recent violence, taking sort of a "Look at what you made us do" kind of attitude. It's frightening.
I'm also interested in the psychology of blame for all the recent violence. I haven't seen anything yet, but I'd be really interested in seeing whether there's any criticism against Tsvangirai for not withdrawing from the race sooner: i.e. "If you hadn't been so stubborn as to try and run for president, so-and-so wouldn't have been killed in the street."
It all makes me glad to live in the U.S.A. I mean, we complain about voter fraud whenever the candidate we don't like loses, but I don't know anyone who's ever been shot for answering wrong on the ballot-test.
I heard an excellent interview this afternoon between an NPR journalist and one of Mugabe's supporters... it would be a lot easier to find if I could remember the name of either, but basically, the guy from the Mugabe camp called the U.S. condescending for thinking that Zimbabwe's people can't choose their own president... I think, when it comes down to it, Mugabe and co. think that his people, the ones involved in the uprising 25 years ago, are the only ones who count as citizens of Zimbabwe. It's rather odd. They blame the voters for causing all the recent violence, taking sort of a "Look at what you made us do" kind of attitude. It's frightening.
I'm also interested in the psychology of blame for all the recent violence. I haven't seen anything yet, but I'd be really interested in seeing whether there's any criticism against Tsvangirai for not withdrawing from the race sooner: i.e. "If you hadn't been so stubborn as to try and run for president, so-and-so wouldn't have been killed in the street."
It all makes me glad to live in the U.S.A. I mean, we complain about voter fraud whenever the candidate we don't like loses, but I don't know anyone who's ever been shot for answering wrong on the ballot-test.