January 31, 2008
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Hate
Presidential candidate John McCain has “refused to apologize yesterday for his use of a racial slur to condemn the North Vietnamese prison guard who tortured and held him captive during the war.”
John McCain said, “I hate the gooks. I will hate them as long as I live.” Here is the link: Link
Do you think it is healthy to have a person or people in your life that you will hate as long as you live?
Comments (180)
No… But it sure wouldn’t be easy to forgive someone who tortured me.
Healthy, no. Normal, yes. I wouldn’t forgive such a person either.
no, but i have people like that. and i WILL always hate them. it’s not unhealthy, but it’s not healthy either.
No. I would never blame him for hating the prison guards… but a healthy individual needs to realise you can’t condemn an entire group of people on the actions of the few.
Healthy? I think that this has little to do with health.
no. forgiveness isn’t for the sake of the offender, it’s for yourself. anger is toxic.
and more importantly, do we really want a president that openly declares hate towards a certain race?
actually, knowing America, we probably do.
Is it healthy to be tortured everyday for years? I don’t think it is healthy but hard to find fault with his reasons. I think he has made clear the ‘gooks’ he referred to were his handlers in the prison, not an entire race of people He has an adopted child from some part in Asia I believe…
@hello_insanity - Exactly. Hating all Vietnamese because he was tortured, is complete bigotry. It’s horrible what happened to him, but that’s like Black people hating all white people because of slavery.
no. and i really really REALLY don’t like McCain.. that said though, does he really hate all vietnamese ya think?
oh sweet jesus.
healthy? scientific research proves its not.
yet it’s perfectly normal to hate the one who tortured you.
I understand his feelings, however, is he hating a people based on the treatment he recieved from a few? Will that effect his judgement as president? Will he be able to govern Vietnamese/Americans with and open mind and an open heart?
While I understand his hatred, I do not think it is “healthy” for a man who wants to be the president of a great country that includes people from Vietnam.
Hate hurts you long after they’ve forgotten about you. So, I say it’s not healthy. It’s best to relieve that hate, say, through fully automatic weapons or explosives. Those are quite stress relieving.
if you hate someone else, you hate yourself. i believe we are all one.
YESTERDAY?! Is no-one reading the date on this article?
He said this back in 2000, yo. Old news.
It’s not healthy, but then again I’m willing to bet none of us has experienced anything nearly as awful and traumatic as what he must’ve experienced as a POW and so it would be pretty difficult to understand that kind of hate. I don’t think he can be blamed for feeling the way he does. How many Holocaust victims who are still alive feel sympathetic towards the Nazis?
^*Nods at Leonidas*
@EarthsAzureLight - “that’s like Black people hating all white people because of slavery.”
If all you had known of white people was them enslaving you, beating you, and treating you like dirt, I think you’d find it pretty difficult to be accepting and open towards them as a people.
It’s not good to hate..I was not in his shoes so I can’t speak for him or feel what he feels. He must have gone through a lot but I believe that if you leave your feelings in God’s hands you are capable of forgiving and letting go of that hate just like when Jesus was hanging from the cross and asked God the father to forgive “them” for they don’t know what they are doing…
“Forgiveness is man’s greatest need and when achieved greatest accomplishment. He who cannot forgive others destroys the bridge over he himself must pass”
Mely
@Southland - If we are all one, then why are my lady friends always unsatisfied with me, when I’m quiet satisfied with them?
No its not. But you still can’t hold it against him. Look at what he’s been through.
Can’t blame the guy…but he just commited political suicide.
I don’t think it has anything to do with health.
PS- How quickly did our nation turn against the Middle East and Muslims in general for the actions of a small group of men on 9/11? How easily did we vilify them and see them not as people but as brutes, as inhuman, as nothing but enemies? And that’s with most of the nation not even being directly affected in any way similar to torture.
Again, not saying it’s right or healthy or whatever for a person to feel this way, but let’s take a moment and look in the mirror before we pass judgement on McCain for feeling the way he did after experiencing what he did.
No. I think that he should forgive. Hate is baggage that only weighs yourself down.
I think it takes a really strong person especially in the position he is in to stick by his beliefs.
Hatred is toxic – I feel bad that McCain can’t let go of those memories. But can we really blame him for hating the Vietcong? They didn’t just torture him they also tortured and killed his friends. And then we bailed out of the war leaving the S. Vietnamese to suffer under the N. Vietnamese.
I hate what they did to him, his comrades, and to the people of Vietnam.
Healthy? Certainly not.
Understandable? To a certain point, yes.That having been said, the guards who tortured him are probably dead by now, or very old.It’s not very effective to hate dead and/or old people.
No it isn’t, but it would be hard to forgive someone who tortured you. However, if this is true, it is wrong of him to hate an entire race of people. Hate the Vietnamese people/person that tortured you. That makes sense.
Also, couldn’t a person in Guantanamo Bay, or Abu Gharib say the exact same thing about us?
It goes both ways, people.
@mightymarce - You think John McCain doesn’t know anything about Asians? Or he didn’t before the Vietnamese War? He isn’t a moron.
Yes. Some people in this world are so evil and commit such wicked acts that they are truly deserving of eternal hatred. To think of them in any less than those terms would be spineless and a betrayal of one’s own human dignity.
No…Hate will just pull yourself down. Sure, there are people in my life that I truly dislike, but I don’t hate them. I just move on.
Person. Yes. An entire people. No.
That crosses a line from a personal vendetta into racism.
i don’t think it’s healthy for a potential future president to hold a grudge against a country that we need to try and get along with..
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To learn more go to mikehuckabee.com Leave your religious Prejudice at the door This man is more than a paper doll preacher!
@mightymarce - I disagree. I do not think that anyone turned the entire middle east into an enemy, and if someone did you’re right – that is wrong. But when our country came under attack we targeted the enemy – Al Qaeda and Muslim extremists. I think people have much too quickly forgotten that those extremists actually hate an entire people group – and that is Americans – this is why they have tried with such force to attack us – dozens of times. I do not think that war is a good thing but sometimes, unfortunately, it is necessary to protect ourselves.
So no. I do not think it is healthy to hate one group of people. Which is why I am so baffled as to why Muslim extremists hate Americans so much.
I think its pretty understandable. And if anyone can get away with using a racial slur, its someone who has gone through what he has.
I don’t think its healthy though. But I feel that way about my ex-husband. Maybe it will change b/c I think its a blight on my soul.
“But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” –Matthew 5:44 [NIV]
So John McCain’s stance is not one we Christians should defend or try to emulate. However, this doesn’t make him a racist. It’s also interesting that these comments were made about two weeks ago, and yet they’re only becoming big news now that McCain has emerged as the clear frontrunner to the Republican nomination. I figured that people would try to paint him as a right-wing wackjob (when he’s the most politically middle-of-the-road candidate we’ve had in a long time), but I wasn’t expecting something like this until after Super Tuesday.
Regardless of what has happened to him in previous years or previous decades, it isn’t considered wise or appropriate to publicly utter such rhetoric when you’re attempting to garner votes and respect from the masses.
Being Vietnamese myself and having my grandfather imprisoned in the same prison McCain was in somewhat hits close to home. My grandfather was captured and beaten and imprisoned for many years much like McCain. He certainly harbors much pain from the experience but he does not go around mouthing off “I hate Viet Cong!!!” “Those bastards and GOOKS!!!” Hatred is an emotion not conducive for growth and personal health. Period.
no, it is not healthy… nor is it healthy to have that kind of hating person running a country… the real question is: is his hate justified?
Oh, that won’t look in his campaign.
I am (I hate to admit it) a hateful person. It is so hard for me to forget. But I’m trying to change that, because honestly it is an incredibly difficult thing to deal with and a horrible flaw to have.
Thanks, Dan, really. Thanks
I think he has more reason than most to hate them. I think it should be his decision on whether to hate or not.
IF I HEAR the word “TIMETABLE” again I’ll SCREAM. Media is focused only on the Romney/McCain Cat fight
They need to leave the gossip behind and focus on the issues.
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DO NOT SELL OUT YOUR VOTE!
GET INFORMED mikehuckabee.com AND leave your religious prejudice at the door This man has a lot to offer the American people!
Abuse of any kind can do strange things to a person, but unapologetically holding onto hatred is certainly not a mature trait I would choose for someone to have who is in a leadership position of any kind, much less of a whole country. Forgive, maybe not. Forget, likely not. But hate never does anyone any good – least of all the hater. McCain makes me very uncomfortable. Always has.
If you don’t have at least one enemy, then you haven’t lived much of a life ………yet.
Let’s be honest with ourselves.
We were NEVER in the same shoes as McCain. We weren’t tortured and tormented for years like he was.
Should he forgive…sure! We can say that…but putting that into practice after all that has been done…is harder than it looks.
So, the man express’ what he feels, and offends.
How are different? Who is the real hypocrite?
wow i never knew he was a racist. yeah, just like everyone said, he sure as hell didn’t need to generalize to the whole vietnamese race. and although i’ve been told that the term “gook” was made as a derogatory name referring to vietnamese people, as an asian, i am offended by it. my husband was called a gook at work for NO reason. but anyways, hate is just another added stress that he doesn’t need that will eventually lead him to a heart attack or stroke. what’s done is done, can’t really do anything about it now so what’s the use of stressing about it?
no, I was brought up to not hate anyone
how can you hate ONE WHOLE RACE because of ONE EFFING JERK of that “color.” …?!! but hey, he’s the one who has to live with his nasty feelings. hate wastes a lot of energy.
No… but then I have never gone through anything like he has.
No, not healthy at all, but I can’t even imagine what Mccain went thru and what they may have done to him. Somehow you have to get past it. For me the only way if faith in Christ. Only He can give you forgiveness to forgive someone of something like that
I don’t know if it is “good” per say, but 5-6 freaking years of torture. I think if the worst he is done is call someone SPECIFICALLY who mistreated him that long a racial slur, he is doing better than some of the things I have called my step dad.
I don’t condone him using this word in this action at all. The person who did that to him deserves worse.
Lastly, WHY is it ok or people to call white people honkies, crackers, and the like, but using the words “Chink”, “Nigger”, “Gook”, “Wap” etc. are so horrible? The damn word only has as much power as people give it. When people stop giving a shit about others using those words, it will go away!
@Charity333 - Please. Having lived in Arkansas while he was Governor I wouldn’t vote for this man if he gave me his old “Governor’s Mansion” mobile home. He spends TOO MUCH TIME INTERFERRING in the lives of his citizens over things that are NOT the government’s business. Do some research that is not from his website.
@sugar_and_charm - Who said he hated an entire race? He said he called the person or people who directly tortured him a gook. Not all of Vietnam!
It’s not healthy, but, when you were in McCain’s shoes, hate can keep you alive.
I’d just let it go and forget about that person.
it’s kind of…stupid(for lack of a better word) how some of you guys say he has “some right” to be angry at the vietnamese peole. first off, “gooks” is a word in reference to vietnamese peole. he was tortured by only a few guards. it’s not the fact that he hates and is angered because he was tortured, but that he’s using it as an excuse to be a racist. i’m not saying he should get over it and forgive his torturers, but to generalize and hate the whole race is narrow minded and immature. and those are two traits i sure as hell do not want the president of the U.S. to be.
No, it’s not healthy…I understand why he hates them, but he needs to forgive so he can move on from it.
I would have a hard time not hating the person who tortured me for years, to be honest. It’s hard for me to condemn McCain for his feelings since I have not been a prisoner of war and can only imagine what he went through. That being said, I don’t think that racial slurs are ever appropriate.
When did he say this, incidentally? Was this a recent comment, or from a long time ago?
Holy time machine Batman! Talk about digging up old dirt! From the web page:
Editor’s Note: This article
was published on Feb. 18, 2000. In January 2008, at least two national
web sites posted links to it. As a result, it appeared in the list of
SFGate’s Most Read articles.
The article also cites the “latest polls” which shows McCain performing better than his chief Republican rival…George W. Bush…against Democratic favorite Al Gore.
That’s a tough call. I mean, it’s not healthy. But how many of us who are condemning him for what he said have been through that? I guarantee you, not one person on this list calling him a bigot has been brutally tortured.
Put yourself in someone else’s shoes before casting that judgement. Not that I think what he said was right. But trauma like that causes people to not quite think straight.
No one who doesn’t tacitly agree with that kind of language/sentiment would want him as president after that.
No, it is not healthy to hate like that… we are commanded not to by Jesus who went through horror. Look at Mandela’s example.
@ChrisRusso - Excellent eye.
The editor even posted a note that says it’s an old article.
I think it’s perfectly normal for him to hate people who tortured him for as long as he wants to. However, I don’t necessarily think that he needs to talk about it.
@EaRtHLiE_aNGeL - He does not hate all Vietnamese people. In fact, he lead the effort to re-normalize relations with Vietnam. If you read the article you’d know this.
If it isn’t then I am not healthy.
I don’t see how he’s NOT racist. There are so many things he could have called those guards, but he ended up saying “Gook,” which essentially means “vietnamese” + “I’m racist”.
@Momentkeeper - using the words chink, nigger, gook, wap, etc is horrible because they are meant to be degrading and derogatory. and nobody ever said it was okay to call white people honkies or crackers. and it’s offensive becasue he said he said he hates ALL the vietnamese people. would you be more offended if you overheard someone say “i hate that bitch” or “i hate white people” (for whatever reason)? and he did say he hates all vietnamese people. he said “[he] hate[s] the gooks” think about it. it’d be different if he said even “i hate the gooks who captured and tortured me.”
@randomneuralfirings - RIGHT and lincoln signed the emancipation proclamation because he wanted to free the slaves not becasue it was a politcal move.
Also from the article:
“I was referring to my prison guards,” McCain said, “and I will
continue to refer to them in language that might offend some people because
of the beating and torture of my friends.”
McCain made it clear that his anger extends only toward his captors. As a
senator, he was one of the leaders of the postwar effort to normalize U.S.
relations with Vietnam.
Campaign officials do not expect the controversy to hurt McCain, either
in tomorrow’s South Carolina primary or later in the campaign.
“If people understood the context, they wouldn’t be upset,” Mike
Murphy, a senior adviser to the campaign, said last night.
@EarthsAzureLight - Well Frank, we agree on something
I like the saying; “Hold a grudge is letting that person live rent free in your mind.”
Not healthy and scary for our country if he were elected.
Well, I can understand it. I know that there are a lot of WWII folks that still call Germans “Krauts” and Japanese people “Japs” I don’t know if it’s healthy or not, but at least he’s honest with himself and his prejudice. How honest are YOU about your prejudices? To be honest, I’m prejudice against Catholics. I don’t like that they are sexist. But I know that about myself. Is it rational? Probably not.
I am sorry, but if he said that, then he would not make a great presidential canidate. What if he had to work on international relations with North Vietnam’s leaders? I am sure he would not get any respect, he certainly does not get it from me.
@kris_peoples - Agree with you. And the thing is what Mightymarce was saying, the people who took it out on the Muslims here that had nothing to do with the attacks are just as bad as the Muslim extremists that attacked America. Unfortunately EVERY group has their extremists. There are even Christian extremists….which I wouldn’t call them Christians really, only because they call themselves Christian. Revenge isn’t a Christian trait at all.
No, it isn’t healthy. But it is easier.
No, it’s not healthy. Forgiveness would be healthy, but then again that’s not exactly an easy thing to give forgive and let go of. He is only human.
We can’t make that assmption unless we were tortured the way he was.
@UnworthyofHisgrace - You’re right, revenge isn’t. But protecting your family/homeland is a very Biblical concept. Not out of hate – I agree that People (whether or not they call themselves “Christians”) that hate the Muslims are just as wrong as Muslims who hate Americans or Christians.
I don’t think it’s healthy, but I see where he’s coming from (though I can’t understand it that well).
As far as his use of the word “gooks,” I don’t care. He’s not saying he hates all SE Asians. He obviously has the enemy soldiers in mind who mistreated him so severely.
@elvesdoitbetter - He isn’t declaring hatred for a whole race.
@lotta_valdez - I don’t think his political success will hinge on his use of this word. Not that you’re speaking one way or the other, but I think it’d be ludicrous for someone to vote against him for such a superficial, inconsequential reason.
Wise man say, “Forgive is divine, but never pay full price for late pizza.”
@kris_peoples - Hope you didn’t think I was comparing Revenge to protecting our Nation, You’re right , we MUST protect our Nation. Revenge has nothing to do with protection of our nation. Thats what people confuse this war with I think.
Hate takes up a lot of energy. It’s not healthy to focus on it, but it’s normal. McCain really needs to differentiate between one group of people though and their future generations
thats why I’m a democrat!
go Clinton!
God, people are stupid. He didn’t say he hated all Vietnamese, he said he hated his torturers.
Do you realize how easy it is to sit in your nice comfortable chair and say he should forgive? To not have had to go through anything REMOTELY horrific? SHUT UP and let the man be. He went through something unspeakable, something that you cannot even fathom.
So shut up. Seriously. Just shut up and think before you open your mouths (or move your fingers, in this case).
@kboy25 - Give me a break, for all practical purposes Mccain IS a democrat. Mccain or Clinton, you’ll get the same thing, BIGGER GOVERNMENT, that is MORE Government in our lives not less.
It’s remarkable how many of your readers don’t even read the articles and then comment, thinking they know what it entails. How uneducated and pathetic.
i admire his ability to admit such a thing, especially considering his position.
however, it’s emotionally unhealthy and judging a nation by a few select despots is ridiculous, especially considering his position!!!
It is unhealthy to forgive too easily.
I would look down on anybody who has lived through the holocaust and forgave Hitler, or anyone who has lived through the ethnic clensing of Cambodia and forgiven Pol Pot.
For McCain to forgive would be for him to distort his principles and for him to whitewash the most horrible segmento f his life.
@bittersunday - Aren’t we on a bit of a rampage today!
I wonder if anyone really reads the links
The said he hates the gooks WHO TORTURED HIM. He never called all Vietnamese gooks. It is a term he uses for those guards that he hates.
I am not about to tell a man who was tortured for years to get over it. he saw men beaten to death, yes he hates them.
@huginn - Everyone has their own opinion, isn’t it just great. And some are wrong!
@bittersunday -
Amen!
@CoffeeRevolutionary - Hate takes up a lot of energy. It’s not healthy to focus on it, but it’s normal. McCain really needs to differentiate between one group of people though and their future generations
McCain has. He has stated repeatedly that “gook” is purely his semantic characterization of his captures, and not the Vietnamese people as a whole. He has also promised to no longer use the word in public.
probably not but doesnt the Word say that if you have hate and resentment in your heart then God wont bless you…Or something like that.. McCain is an old fart.. from the old school. They ALL talk like that when they have flashbacks dont they?
@trunthepaige - I wouldn’t say it’s something that can be easily done. Only Christ and Christ alone can give someone that kind of forgiveness toward someone. I hope I NEVER have to forgive someone for an act like that
No, but do you really think it’s realistic for him to forgive them when he was there FIVE years???
@innerblondness - …he would not make a great presidential canidate. What if he had to work on international relations with North Vietnam’s leaders?…
McCain has reconciled with Vietnam as a whole– he has revisited the country a number of times since his capture.
Also, it’s Vietnam. North and South Vietnam were recombined shortly after we lost the war. I think you’re middling the country with North Korea.
@EaRtHLiE_aNGeL - it’s kind of…stupid(for lack of a better word) how some of you guys say he has “some right” to be angry at the vietnamese peole. first off, “gooks” is a word in reference to vietnamese peole. he was tortured by only a few guards.
Come on. If you’ve read the article, you would know that John McCain has reserved the word solely in referencing his captives. He has forsaken use of the word in public. What is being quoted is old dialouge.
it’s not the fact that he hates and is angered because he was tortured, but that he’s using it as an excuse to be a racist.
How the fuck could you know that John McCain is a racist? You’ve never met him. You’re inferring purely from a quoted sentence which context or reference you have no idea of.
Look, I’m Asian too; and I’m not offended because I know exactly what he meant and how he meant it.
@UnworthyofHisgrace -
So true leaving us in no position to tell McCain what McCain needs to do.
That sort of forgiveness comes only from God, not mere men. David a man after gods own heart in the Psalms prayed for the death of his enemies and their families.
that’s so unhealthy. mccain is crazy racist, it’s undeniable, and not just to the Vietnamese
@EaRtHLiE_aNGeL - using the words chink, nigger, gook, wap, etc is horrible because they are meant to be degrading and derogatory.
A couple ideas:
1.) Words have a gradient of meaning and applications: Racial epithets included. Any words particular meaning can be readily inferred from context and useage. It is clear that Senator McCain does not harbor ill will towards Vietnamese people as a whole.
2.) When African-Americans in conteporary speech refer to one another as Nigga’s, we know with almost clear certainty that they’re not racist towards fellow blacks. They are re-claiming a dirty words and re-using it as a declaration of ethnic pride. John McCain is doing likewise: As poignet expression of will-will towads his torturers.
…becasue he said he said he hates ALL the vietnamese people.
This is news to me. If you have handy, I’d like to see the quote and its citations.
…and he did say he hates all vietnamese people. he said “[he] hate[s] the gooks” think about it. it’d be different if he said even “i hate the gooks who captured and tortured me.”
Dude (or dudette), read the friggin’ article. The quoted sentence was stripped of its context. If you took the time to read the news piece, you would know.
I don’t condone it but I understand it. I would love for someone like Connie Chung to interview him.
@UnworthyofHisgrace - Everyone has their own opinion, isn’t it just great. And some are wrong!
You must be in a good mood. Trying to interject humor and all. =P
That reminds me of the book, “Devil At My Heels” by Loius Zamperini. If you haven’t read it yet, you should. It’s really good.
@huginn - Oh man, I’m ALWAYS in a good mood.
If you really knew me, I’ll but you’d say, ya know that Grampy’s not such a bad guy, Ha, even though he IS a Christian
I forgot to mention that the term “gook” is the Asian equivalent of the word “nigger” for the ones who did not know. I am aware that McCain was referring to the guards and chiefly the guards when he uttered that ugly word but, nevertheless, it still looks bad and is quite deplorable when he is trying to run for office.
So just try to imagine a presidential candidate standing before the masses shouting “I hate Niggers! I hate those Niggers who captured me!!” “Please vote for me! I would make an excellent president” It would create quite the uproar, I’m sure. Thus i can fathom the Vietnamese people or people in general finding it peculiar or offensive that McCain would shout those words. I personally could care less what comes out of McCain’s mouth. He’s the least of my worries.
He has every right to hate them.
@adifferentkindofbeautiful - Then God has every right to hate us because of what we did to His Son on the Cross….but He doesn’t
@UnworthyofHisgrace - McCain isn’t God.
I think this article is 8 years old or so - I’m hoping he’s changed.
@huginn - Actually, I wasn’t able to get out and do inspections today because of the miserable weather, plus I put my car in for new brakes…wait, that should put me in a bad mood having to fork out $200 for brakes. Oh well, it’s all good! God’s in control!
@adifferentkindofbeautiful - You are soooo right! Mccain isn’t God is he. Just making a comparison, that before God, we have know true rights
It’s okay to hate a single person, personally. However, to hate a complete race of people for the wrongdoings of one is absolutely wrong.
I can tell you that indulging in anger over events in the past only helps you relive those events. If you’re filled with hate about something you remember, it’s actually awful for your health.
The concept of behavioral cognitive therapy addresses this. I have a book on it, but I haven’t read it yet. When I catch myself muttering as I walk around, some blowout screaming yelling match in my head with someone I don’t like for whatever reason, nowadays I just force myself to think about something else.
I wondered why I was in such a rotten mood all the time. Hate is like masturbation. The more you indulge, the bigger it gets.
It never goes away.
You know forgave my roommate kinda? I don’t think about him anymore.
It’s probably not healthy to harbor that for so long, but do any of you people actually know what those “prison guards” did to him? My old boss, who I knew very very well, was in the Hanoi Hilton with Senator McCain and told me of some of the things that those guards did to them, often daily. I am certain that John McCain was referencing the specific guys that did those things to him, not an entire race of people. And for those specific individuals, I hate them too, they did horrible unthinkable things to someone that I admired and cared for very much. Those torturers will rot in hell.
Healthy? Probably not, but after all he has been through, it’s not for me to say.
I agree with hello_insanity.
No- it is really unhealthy to spend such a great deal of time and energy fixated on someone who isn’t worth a single instant of your time.
I definitely would feel the way he felt – however, blaming a whole group for something one did is wrong…and then for him to publically express his hatred in such a manner just isn’t right.
@UnworthyofHisgrace - No, I’m not. It’s just an issue I feel very strongly about and resonate deeply with. Probably more than the majority of Dan’s readership.
@MomGoneMadd - Funny how you mention “The Word” and then say something so completely cruel and un-called for. What a contradiction.
Ok, so, its understandable to not forgive the guy for torturing him, but I dont go around rubbing it in people’s faces and whining about it. Its like,
“Hey, I got tortured! Make me president!”
We don’t exactly want to hear about the trials and tribulations of your life. We want to hear about what you can do and what you will truly and honestly do when in power.
Its like that New York governor says all the time. “9/11, 9/11, Terrorist.” *applause*
palease…
no
No! I can’t stand intolerance.
@aznballisticZ -
If you read it, you can clearly tell he’s only talking about the people that tortured him.
@pedrothepoet -
I agree.
DAN,
THIS IS A MISLEADING POST.
@adifferentkindofbeautiful - I think Dan does it on purpose. That way we can all see what we are made of
@la_faerie_joyeuse - Right on!
Dan, I’m completely ignoring this entry because I have no idea how to answer it… But I have a question for YOU! I talked to an Air Force recruiter today. So far, all the AF veterans I’ve talked to don’t seem to have too many regrets about joining. Whereas, all the Army veterans I talk to try to talk me out of joining the Army! So, since you were in the AF… How long were you in for, what was your job, and any regrets? Any tips or advice for me? Thanks in advance if you take the time to answer. =]
@UnworthyofHisgrace - No I think it’s because John is running again and he knew it would be a hot topic.
Btw, I don’t take back my statement. I don’t think it’s healthy to hate people, but McCain has every reason and right (yes, right) to hate the people that tortured him, regardless of nationality. The same thing happened to my father, which seriously screwed him up and made him a angry, hurtful, confusing person to grow up with. Not everyone can let go of something like that. Would have it been healthier for me if my father did? Yes, but I understand why he is that way.
Nope. Holding a grudge isn’t healthy. Unfortunately, holding a grudge IS easy. I might feel the same as him had I been through those same experiences. We shouldn’t pretend that evil actions are actually good, but I think it is possible to move on with life and let go of hatred.
No.
Nope. This is so cheesy, that I can’t believe I’m typing it, but I’ve heard it said that, “Holding a grudge is like taking poison yourself and wishing someone else dead.” I only mention it because it’s exactly what has irked me about McCain all along. He is one angry dude. I’m not casting judgment, but I don’t want an embittered old [ish] man making decisions on behalf of our country. . .especially in regard to foreign policy. I’m looking for that “humble foreign policy” that Bush talked about in 2000, but never delivered on.
Ron Paul, baby!
why can’t he forgive?
above all else… now he should repent.
I cannot look at John McCain. I might for the first time in my life have to vote for a non-Republican – it depends on who is left standing. There are many people like him. I work for one. I think of two things: Corrie Ten Boom when she made the decision to shake the hand of one of the former guards from the death camps, and the feeling of release she had when she shook his hand. I also think of the verses that talk about “forgive, as I have forgiven you” – sorry, I don’t have it memorized. I understand the pain and agony, but it is not helping to carry that “CRAP” inside you and on your shoulders day in and day out.
It’s much more easy to say that I can forgive someone, than actually forgiving them. I think it’s unhealthy not only for the object of hate, but even more for the hater. I think it would take a person of exceptional inner strength to be able to forgive someone who tortured them when they were all alone in a belligerent, enemy country.
In fact, I think I pity McCain now. [though not enough for a pity vote.] Not being able to let go of such painful things like that must be draining.
@adifferentkindofbeautiful - I really am sorry that your dad had to go thru something like that and that you had to witness his struggles. Like I said in one of my other comments, we can’t forgive stuff like that in our own strength in ANY way. Onlt Christ can give us courage and strength to forgive being treated that way. It can be done. In human terms, yes you are right, we do have a right to hate when we have been wronged. But in God’s sight we don’t have any rights to be bitter. Sure I get bitter at folks that have wronged me, it doesn’t mean I’m right. God’s Holiness is something we just can’t grasp or understand
@bittersunday - And how exactly could you have found that “funny”…?
Theres Tooo Much To Be Said About Racism… And Theres Jus Tooo Much To Understand And/Or Accept…
We’ve Been Through Tooo Much Hate… We Humans…
Hatred is not healthy.
It isn’t.
(on a side note, it makes me sad that the only Republican candidate who isn’t crazy, Mormon, or a racist Wal-Mart idolizing retard, wants to ban video games and hates Asians.)
(I apologize for my use of the word “retard” to describe the respectable former governor of Arkansas. It only serves to poison the political discussion. However, I stand by his racism and Wal-Mart idolizing, both of which are dangerous, dangerous views.)
i dont think hate is healthy but im going to assume not to may ppl responding to this post have ever been tortured while living in solitary confinement everyday for nearly 7 years to be honest i cant blame him for not putting the guards responsible for that on his christmas card list
“McCain made it clear that his anger extends only toward his captors. As a
senator, he was one of the leaders of the postwar effort to normalize U.S.
relations with Vietnam.”
A quote from the article. Kinda important.
IF you read the article it was 8 yrs ago. And he did say that it was the term he will always use for his CAPTORS. And no one else. I say, on this instance, I agree with him. I’d hate them forever.
thanks for this I think unfortunately it is worth thinking about. I value his heroism…..but no one should go through that. The power of words is true…..but his actions also speak loud. Obviously, he does NOT hate all oriental people. needs thought
I agree with Jill’s comment:
“Do you realize how easy it is to sit in your nice comfortable chair
and say he should forgive? To not have had to go through anything
REMOTELY horrific? SHUT UP and let the man be. He went through
something unspeakable, something that you cannot even fathom.
So shut up. Seriously. Just shut up and think before you open your mouths (or move your fingers, in this case).”
She and I and John have all been places that you cannot begin to imagine and would not want to go to. Sometimes it’s hard to smile and pretend to be happy and content like those around you when hate has become the permanent and cherished backdrop to your existence. If you should ever have the misfortune of being helpless and for no good reason subjected to sadistic criminal violence on a repeat basis by people who are immune to retribution, you will understand the purpose of hate. It is a very real and meaningful coping mechanism a victim can embrace when there is no chance that real justice will ever be served.
no, it’s not healthy at all. he lost my potential vote.
No, it isn’t healthy to carry the burden of hate for your entire life. That being said, because I never experienced what he did, I’m not going to judge him. Who knows the long-term effects of that sort of treatment?
I do’t think he should be blaming the entire community for what a select few did… but like many have said, such hatred, while not healthy, is probably unfortunately normal.
I have an idea – let’s torture the naysayers and see if their liberal opinions change!
You know what I call POW’s?
“Sir.”
ok…
mightymarce said “If all you had known of white people was them enslaving you, beating
you, and treating you like dirt, I think you’d find it pretty difficult
to be accepting and open towards them as a people.”
being Native American, we not only faced slavery, but outright genocide and bigotry. YOU MOVE ON.
You can’t hold people today accountable for atrocities committed in the past. You take what you learned and you MOVE FORWARD. yes, it sucks that people of color were marginalized and dehumanized. Yes, it sucks that it’s still not fair. but the only way we can change it is if we work towards it, not by holding onto the hatred of yesterday.
*steps off of soapbox*
that being said, McCain never said anything about hating every Vietnamese person, just those who held him captive. By his hatred, however, he is refusing to let those wounds heal, cause hate and anger… it’s like drinking poison and thinking it will kill the other guy.
I come from an abusive home… I could hate my dad for all the horrible things he’s ever said to me, and it would be justified (much like McCain’s hate…)
but that wouldn’t help me grow or recover, would it?
in fact, it would just continue to hurt me…
just like by his hate, McCain is allowing it to continue to hurt him.
love wins.
I can see feeling that way after having been tortured….but in time, you need to let it go, to forgive that person, and definitely not to hate a whole group of people.
Torture is abuse – and as any abuse survivor will tell you, you DO hate the person who abused you – I am going through that myself – but it eats you up if you don’t let it go and find a way to somehow forgive, for yourself, and go on with your life.
Hating a whole group or name-calling (“gooks”?) is bigotry and racism, plain and simple.
This is why I am horrified at the prospect of that man as president. His mentality is scary, and I think he is dangerous. Not at all to undermine his sufferiing, but this is not about his suffering – it’s about the damage done to him, if that is what makes him what he is today. I don’t like the democratic choices, but you can be sure I will vote democratic if McCain is the alternative.
@EaRtHLiE_aNGeL - Sure, it’s not ok, but guess what it happens! Who do white people have to call upon to defend not being called a Cracker? NO ONE. My point it, a word is a word. If I called the sky black when it was noontime and sunny, you would just think I am nuts. So, when people use a word that is off color…ignore it. Don’t give the word power and people will stop using it!
I don’t get offended at all if people hate white people or bitches. It’s their problem if they can’t let go of something…not mine. I have better things to do than get riled up because someone called someone else a name I don’t like and choose not to use myself.
A slander against one is a slander against all.
This man cannot stand unbiased and lead. He can’t even lead his mouth to a proper statement.
[...gooks are korean]
but i don`t think it`s possible for me to hate someone for all my life. it`s like love. lifetime love is hard enough and lifetime hate is hard work at being negative. no thanks.
You’ve got to be kidding me… thanks for pointing this out to me. I used to like this guy.
No, its not healthy, but after what McCain went through…I don’t think any of us can tell him what to feel or think about this. Just hope one day he can find forgiveness in his heart…that’s the truly hard part.
@MomGoneMadd - ”Funny” meaning “appalling” and “ridiculous”.
@EarthsAzureLight -
agreed
it’s not healthy, obviously. At least now I know why I’m not a Republican. I’ve lost all respect for him as a person…
o.O I don’t think we should have a president who flat out admits that he ‘hates’ people…thats just wrong and we need to be more forgiving.
the “torture” perpetrated by the USA on terrorists was nothing compared to what McCain and the other POWs endured at the hands of the gooks in North Vietnam… I can’t say that I blame him for what he reportedly said.
@bittersunday - zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
It is absolutely unhealthy. For crying out loud, when they tortured and nailed Jesus to the cross he didn’t hate them but rather prayed that they would be forgiven for they did not understand that what they were doing was wrong. If he could forgive wrongful political torture then you know he expects his followers to as well. You cannot claim to be a Christian or even just a generally moral person and harbor hatred in your heart.
Having said that, yes, I know it is hard to forgive. But remember what forgiveness is; contrary to popular opinion it does not mean that you forget the offense. That is often impossible. Rather it means that you decide to let the offense go. As someone else pointed out in an earlier comment it is really a matter of your life, not theirs. Also, as a side note, forgiveness doesn’t mean that there are no consequences for a fault. If someone robbed me I would forgive them but I would still press charges; the state must still have its say after all. The point is that to forgive is to say that you choose not to let a wrong done to you define your relationship to the offender. McCain will never forget what was done to him, and it was a crime and a tragedy. But that does not mean that he has the moral right to choose to let that wrong define his relationship to North Koreans.
Well… I’m just proud of him for not backing down, in a way, but he needs to realize that he cannot condemn all “gooks” for what took place during the war. That’s rude.
i think i would pretty much hate someone who tortured me too.
Yes. I harobor a hate of my own, for reasons not to dissimiler.
yes when you hold a grudge its bad for your health. It is better to think positively. Also the way to enter heaven according is to forgive others so that God will forgive you, so that he will hear your prayers & answer them. I never use the word hate towards ppl, its such a strong word.
I think “hate” will eat at you, if you continue to hate. I think though, that if there is a person, or group of people you just can’t get along with that you should just not see them anymore, like I do with most of my family. I can understand Mr. McCain’s ill feelings though. Anyone that went through as much as he has I believe has a right to still feel “hate”. Hopefully, he can distinguish between those who did it to him though, and the ones who had no involvement.
McCain looks like he’s so enraged that he’s going to bite the microphone!
@adifferentkindofbeautiful - I don’t think it’s wrong for McCain to hate his captors. That being said, the fact that he called them gooks makes him racist, despite what the article claims. Why? Because the fact is, “gook” means Vietnamese, and the guards are no more “gooky” than the other Vietnamese. If you find an article where McCain clarifies what he meant by “gook,” then perhaps he can claim to truly not be racist, but so far he says his comments were ‘criticisms’ which makes no sense. What kind of criticism is “gook”? It just means “vietnamese.” So if “gook” is a criticism, then you are racist for using it.
Great ! How can you have a president that will most likely have to deal with Vietnam in some capacity in the future. I’m sure they will like the label even if he only meant it towards those who harmed him.
yes, just man has capacity to love, he also has capacity to hate, it is healthy for people to hate, but to hate excessively just like anything else it can become unhealthy, and when we allow emotion to devour logic, it becomes unhealthy.
no, hating others is like hating yourself.
No, he should let it go for his own sake.
I don’t even like to use the word hate.