PrintJuly 4, 2007
Response to Julia Gorin
Julia Gorin's hate-shtick is getting old. In fact, it was never funny to begin with, which lends itself to the proposition that professional stand-up comedians (such as Ms. Gorin) shouldn't engage in substantive public policy debates. Gorin's article would otherwise be masterful parody, except she's trying to be serious. Or maybe she's trying out her best Slobodan Milosevic impersonation?
In recent months she has penned a number of articles telling us all how she really, really hates Albanians. Why? Because they're Albanians, and you are supposed to really, really hate Albanians if you are truly opposed to Islamic radicalism! And haven't you heard of the Albanian mafia? They are really, really bad people (apparently unlike those fun-loving Russian mafia types). And the hundred thousand American flag-waving Albanians who greeted President Bush in the Albanian capital last month were all part of Osama bin Laden's sinister plot to fool the West, we are informed. But don't think for a minute that Julia Gorin was fooled - she saw right through their deceptive little "We love America" game!
In her most recent missive here at The American Thinker, she directs her venom at yours truly because I have had the audacity to challenge Ms. Gorin's circular wisdom and loose grip on reality based on the fact that I've actually lived and worked in Albania, I have actually been to Kosova, and I personally know many people in both the Albanian and Kosovar governments. Thus, I have a slight clue regarding what I'm talking about. She also assails Ray Robinson for getting it wrong on this issue as well, even though he served in Kosova with the 101st Airbourne as part of KFOR, and also has first-hand knowledge whereof he speaks. As for Ms. Gorin's personal experience in Albania and Kosova, or anywhere in the Balkans for that matter?
[insert sound of crickets chirping]
But she says quite plainly that my experience and Mr. Robinson's military service should DISQUALIFY us from having anything to say on the subject:
If that's the case, Poole should responsibly recuse himself from the discussion, as he admits to being incapable of impartiality and objectivity on this issue. Both he and Robison are too close to the situation, their regard for a people clouding their vision and causing them to work backwards from a preferred and stale premise rather than follow the information.
Yes, let's leave the real discussion to the weighty thinkers who cut-and-paste from the latest Serbian government press releases and websites, and tell those who are "too close to the situation" to sit this one out. I can't make this stuff up, folks!
As I've said here before, reasonable people can disagree over the issue of Kosovar independence (at least one would hope so). Some of my esteemed colleagues, such as Robert Spencer of JihadWatch, disagree with me. Fair enough. But it is near-impossible to countenance a civil discussion with Ms. Gorin when she is so clearly unbalanced by her rage - a rage that has no basis in facts, reality or personal experience. The best she can do is channel someone else's rage and parrot other people's points. She has absolutely nothing to add to this conversation, no matter how much material she can cut-and-paste into an article. This isn't debate or informed discussion; it's demagoguery.
This reminds me of a famous quip by Sir Winston Churchill: "An extremist is someone who won't change their mind and won't change the subject." It's long past time to change the subject, Julia.
