http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/...424024,00.html
Soldier shocked by pupils' letters
Gary Younge in New York
Thursday February 24, 2005
The Guardian
A teacher has apologised for letters sent by his sixth-grade students to an American soldier, accusing the US military of killing civilians and destroying Iraqi mosques in a futile war on terror.
Alex Kunhardt sent the letters to Private Rob Jacobs for a social studies assignment. Pte Jacobs, who is serving 10 miles from the North Korean border, said his excitement at getting the letters from the Brooklyn schoolchildren turned to shock as he read them.
One of the letters from the 11- to 12-year-old pupils, stamped with a smiley face, said the soldier might have been risking his life for his country, but then asked: "Have you seen how many civilians you or some other soldier killed?"
Another read: "I feel that you are being forced to kill innocent people. Iraq never attacked us, if Bush cared so much about this country then we would be out there trying to find Osama bin Laden. Bush calls this war the war on terrorism. What terrorism? Name one terrorist from Iraq ... I know I can't."
Most letters did include support for the troops, but few were completely uncritical. A Muslim boy wrote: "I know your [sic] trying to save our country and kill the terrorists but you are also destroying holy places like mosques."
Another stated: "Bush thinks he's brave ... in his safe little white house with as many guards as he thinks he needs." He concluded with: "By the way, when you shoot someone, is it great or horrible?"
Pte Jacobs, 20, told the New York Post: "It's hard enough for soldiers to deal with being away from their families, they don't need to be getting letters like this. If they don't have anything nice to say, they might as well not say anything at all." Pte Jacobs added that the letters were demoralising.
Mr Kunhardt apologised this week. "It was never my intention to demean or insult anyone. I never meant for the words of my students to hurt any of our troops," he said.
Pte Jacobs's father accepted the apology on his son's behalf.
Michael Bloomberg, New York's mayor, said: "We have freedom of speech and you certainly cannot go around censoring what people want to write. I think most of [the soldiers overseas] believe that the freedoms we have ... are protected by them putting their lives at risk."
-What do you think the odds are that their parents are unpatriotic liberals?
Well, I don't think sending them to a soldie serving far away from Iraq was the right thing. But I wonder how the class was instructed to write the letters in the first place. What were they told about the situation that led them to write what they did?
It could also be that the kids wrote what they felt. Perhaps they should have talked to Jeff Gannon before they wrote them so they could put a positive spin and tell the naked truth?
Perhaps, or maybe they could better understand what the troops are going through and not make the letters about some political statement.
They sent them to a soldier in Korea btw.
Of course, if they sent happy letters, everyone would say "What good patriotic parents those kids have".
I think the kids are too young to understand the ramifications of those letters as well as the contents. I think on that alone they should have been held back. However, I don't think it's in a soldiers best interests to be "protected" from public opinion of their actions. I'm not saying this is representative of most public opinion.
This one doesn't sound like it was written by an 11-year-old.
"I feel that you are being forced to kill innocent people. Iraq never attacked us, if Bush cared so much about this country then we would be out there trying to find Osama bin Laden. Bush calls this war the war on terrorism. What terrorism? Name one terrorist from Iraq ... I know I can't."
I'm sure being called baby killer isn't too far away.
Last edited by 2centsworth; 02-27-2005 at 11:31 PM.
Mr. Kunhardt: "It was never my intention to demean or insult anyone. I never meant for the words of my students to hurt any of our troops." Tell me I'm not the only one who can smell that bullsh*t all the way over here in Texas.
I can smell BS now.
These letters should have been sent to DC, not the men and women in the military.
Last edited by Useruser666; 02-28-2005 at 10:41 AM.
this is all the teachers doing... fire him too for filling our kids heads up with bs..
I think BS is what got the war started.
Those kids are just parroting what they hear their parents and teachers say. They aren't old enough to fully understand what is happening with this war. I think it shows selfishness and a general lack of compassion for anyone who doesn't believe like them.
It's very sad that this is what is being taught in our schools!
I wonder if they wrote those letters at home for a homework assignment. If they did, then I'm sure their parents wrote 99% of the letter!
I don't think this is being taught in our schools but at home.
I ask questions and my daughter has told me they don't even talk about the war at all. I also think kids are smarter than we think they are.
It isn't hard for me to think that children believe war is wrong.
Can you be pro-war and pro-life?
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