Rob,
I think the consensus (if you can call it that) on your original question
was that such donations, if they occur, should be looked at with care and
all pertinent documentation checked and acquired. Although it seems
unlikely that anything would be out of order with such gifts, it never
hurts to be careful.
As to glorification, I think it depends on your point of view. Someone who
believes peace is the ultimate answer to everything is going to consider
all talk, portrayal, and action concerning war glorification of said thing,
whether or not it is truly war-mongering. Someone who believes that warfare
and conflict are natural and permanent(if unfortunate) parts of the human
condition will ignore such things. The same would apply for all of your
hypothetical examples.
Relativism is a completely unavoidable part of being a human being. No one
is unbiased, so I do not know if that can be resolved or even discussed
effectively.
I think you are right, in that this forum should be reserved for museum
discussion, consensus, and improvement. There are lots of listserves for
people to bandy political paranoia, personal elitism, or right/left wing
propoganda.
Mark Janzen
Registrar/Collections Manager
Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art
Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection
Wichita State University
(316)978-5850
Rob Willis
<pa3hawk@EARTHLIN
K.NET> To
Sent by: Museum [log in to unmask]
discussion list cc
<[log in to unmask]
SE.LSOFT.COM> Subject
Re: Iraq donation
04/05/2004 05:21
PM
Please respond to
Museum discussion
list
<[log in to unmask]
SE.LSOFT.COM>
My question was never answered, but I have another: How does portraying any
conflict from a factual basis glorify it? I have seen the phase "glorify
war" a few times in this thread, and wonder whether that term is used in
the context of "glorifying" eco-terrorism, graft, Protestantism,
pedophilia, or any other subject.
I have a significant problem with the insertion of personal politics into
the museum realm, and this list is bearing out my worst fears. Interpreting
a subject is NOT the same as reporting on it. If you are so relativist that
you cannot make that distinction, you need to review your professional
stance.
Rob Willis
Duq. U.
Facts belong to everyone
> [Original Message]
> From: Mary Melcher <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: 4/5/2004 3:58:19 PM
> Subject: Re: Iraq donation
>
> This discussion brings up questions of how we'll interpret this war in
the =
> future. A book called Remembering War in the American Way by G. Kurt =
> Piehler analyzes how Americans remember and memorialize war. The author
=
> found that historically the American public has disagreed on the intent =
> and appropriateness of most wars, except WWII. This ambivalence and =
> disagreement is reflected in memorials.
> As curators decide what to collect regarding the war in Iraq, we should =
> keep in mind the varied views and experiences of our visitors. Some will
=
> have fought in the war while others will have opposed it and still others
=
> supported it. After the dust settles, it will be easier to figure out =
> interpretation that captures the many views existing now. It's important
=
> to collect anthing relating to support, opposition and fighting the war =
> (within the law), so we'll have materials to draw from in the future. =
> Personally, I oppose the war and certainly don't want to glorify it, but
=
> wars are part of our history and we may be called on to interpret this
one =
> later on. Future interpretation could include displays and text related
to =
> the divided opinions in the U.S. now.
> Mary Melcher, Curator
> Arizona Historical Society
>
> Mary Melcher
>
> >>> [log in to unmask] 04/05/04 11:51AM >>>
> The facts given out by Iraq Bodycount are pretty well supported. The =
> figures
> are considered pretty solid by folks involved in statistical studies. I =
> take
> the liberty of posting the basic methodology:
> Methodology:
>
> 1. Overview
> Casualty figures are derived from a comprehensive survey of online media
> reports and eyewitness accounts. Where these sources report differing
> figures, the range (a minimum and a maximum) are given. All results are
> independently reviewed and error-checked by at least two members of the =
> Iraq
> Body Count project team in addition to the original compiler before
> publication.
> 2. Sources
> Our sources include public domain newsgathering agencies with web access.
=
> A
> list of some core sources is given below. Further sources will be added
> provided they meet acceptable project standards (see below).
> ABC - ABC News (USA)
> AFP - Agence France-Presse
> AP - Associated Press
> AWST - Aviation Week and Space Technology
> Al Jaz - Al Jazeera network
> BBC - British Broadcasting Corporation
> BG - Boston Globe
> Balt. Sun - The Baltimore Sun
> CT - Chicago Tribune
> CO - Commondreams.org
> CSM - Christian Science Monitor
> DPA - Deutsche Presse-Agentur
> FOX - Fox News
> GUA - The Guardian (London)
> HRW - Human Rights Watch
> HT - Hindustan Times
> ICRC - International Committ of the Red Cross
> IND - The Independent (London)
> IO - Intellnet.org
> JT - Jordan Times
> LAT - Los Angeles Times
> MEN - Middle East Newsline
> MEO - Middle East Online
> MER - Middle East Report
> MH - Miami Herald
> NT - Nando Times
> NYT - New York Times
> Reuters - (includes Reuters Alertnet)
> SABC - South African Broadcasting Corporation
> SMH - Sydney Morning Herald
> Sg.News - The Singapore News
> Tel- The Telegraph (London)
> Times - The Times (London)
> TOI - Times of India
> TS - Toronto Star
> UPI - United Press International
> WNN - World News Network
> WP - Washington Post
> For a source to be considered acceptable to this project it must comply =
> with
> the following standards: (1) site updated at least daily; (2) all stories
> separately archived on the site, with a unique url (see Note 1 below);
(3)
> source widely cited or referenced by other sources; (4) English Language
> site; (5) fully public (preferably free) web-access.
> The project relies on the professional rigour of the approved reporting
> agencies. It is assumed that any agency that has attained a respected
> international status operates its own rigorous checks before publishing
> items (including, where possible, eye-witness and confidential sources).
=
> By
> requiring that two independent agencies publish a report before we are
> willing to add it to the count, we are premising our own count on the
> self-correcting nature of the increasingly inter-connected international
> media network.
> Note 1. Some sites remove items after a given time period, change their
> urls, or place them in archives with inadequate search engines. For this
> reason it is project policy that urls of sources are NOT published on the
> iraqbodycount site.
> 3. Data extraction
> Data extraction policy is based on 3 criteria, some of which work in
> opposite directions.
> a. Sufficient information must be extracted to ensure that each incident
=
> is
> differentiated from proximate incidents with which it could be
potentially
> confused.
> b. Economy of data extraction is required, for efficiency of both =
> production
> and public scrutiny.
> c. Data extraction should be uniform, so that the same information is
> available for the vast majority of incidents. This is best guaranteed by
> restricting the number of items of information per incident to the core
> facts that most news reports tend to include.
> The pragmatic tensions in the above have led to the decision to extract =
> the
> following information only for each incident:
> * Date of incident
> * Time of incident
> * Location of incident
> * Target as stated by military sources
> * Weapon (munitions or delivery vehicle)
> * Minimum civilian deaths (see Note 2)
> * Maximum civilian deaths (see Note 2)
> * Sources (at least two sources from the list in section 2 above)
> Reliability of data extraction will be increased by ensuring that each =
> data
> extraction is checked and signed off by two further independent
scrutineers=
>
> prior to publication, and all data entries will be kept under review =
> should
> further details become available at a later date.
> Note 2. Definitions of minimum and maximum
> Reports of numbers dead vary across sources. On-the-ground uncertainties
=
> and
> potential political bias can result in a range of figures reported for
the
> same incident. To reflect this variation, each incident will be
associated
> with a minimum and maximum reported number of deaths. No number will be
> entered into the count unless it meets the criteria in the following
> paragraphs. This conservative approach allows relative certainty about
the
> minimum.
> Maximum deaths. This is the highest number of civilian deaths published
by
> at least two of our approved list of news media sources.
> Minimum deaths. This is the same as the maximum, unless at least two of =
> the
> listed news media sources publish a lower number. In this case, the lower
> number is entered as the minimum. The minimum can be zero if there is a
> report of "zero deaths" from two of our sources. "Unable to confirm any
> deaths" or similar wording (as in an official statement) does NOT amount
=
> to
> a report of zero, and will NOT lead to an entry of "0" in the minimum
> column.
> As a further conservative measure, when the wording used in both reports
> refers to "people" instead of civilians, we will include the total figure
=
> as
> a maximum but enter "0" into the minimum column unless details are
present
> clearly identifying some or all of the dead as civilian - in this case
the
> number of identifiable civilians will be entered into the minimum column
> instead of "0". The word "family" will be interpreted in this context as
> meaning 3 civilians. [Average Iraqi non-extended family size: 6. -CIA
> Factbook 2002.]
>
> If one visits the Bodycount website more facts can be easily established,
> and in any case, that listing is far superior than relying on an
anecdotal
> representations made by one soldier. The fact simply is, that Bodycount
> figures are the best data that we have, and it is solidly based on
> ascertainable reports so quoting them is perfectly acceptable on this or
=
> any
> other page. We simply cannot personally verify every fact that we use,
and
> faith in the accuracy of a reporting agency is always a question. In this
> case they meet standards for and accuracy.
> The question of the degree of support of soldiers for this war is best
> answered by the DoD (Department of Defense) study that reports over 70%
of
> soldiers in Iraq as having low morale. Another DoD study shows that the
> suicide rate among US soldiers in Iraq is double the normal rate in the
> Armed Forces.
>
> The statement that US military's strict regulations will prevent the
> unauthorized importation of artifacts is just silly. We have many laws
> against drunk driving and tens of thousands of folks drive drunk every
> weekend, we have draconian laws against drug use and over 40% of folks in
> this country have used or are using illegal drugs. Anyone, who has been
in
> the military knows that many regulations serve more as a challenge to be
> overcome than a deterrent.
>
> Last point. All of our soldiers are trained to kill. They are therefore
> either actual or potential killers. That is how they are making their
> living. In fact, because of the type of warfare currently in Iraq =
> additional
> training in killing is given drivers, mechanics and other non-combat
> personnel. All our soldiers are volunteers who have acquired the skill of
> destroying human life. They may be our sisters, brothers, sons and =
> fathers,
> but they are also trained to kill and should be considered dangerous.
> The core question that we should not forget on this list is: Should a =
> museum
> accept war booty? In my opinion, under no circumstances should a civilian
> museum do so, on moral grounds alone, leaving aside legal and policy
> questions. The facts above help contribute to the moral dimension of this
> problem.
> PeaceNick
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----From: Museum discussion list
[mailto:MUSEUM-L@HOM=
> E.EASE.LSOFT.COM]On Behalf
> Of Tracie Evans
> Sent: Monday, April 05, 2004 10:38 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Iraq donation
>
> Idewey-
> I wonder if perhaps we could keep the unsupported "facts" about the war =
> off
> this list because if you have not been in Iraq and seen the pre-war as =
> well
> as war time conditions, it might be important to not believe everything =
> you
> read! Body counts have a way of being manipulated so I would caution you
> about believing an "on-line" site with the counts (who is doing these
> estimates?) and how was it determined that "the overwhelming majority of
> those people have been killed by the US military and its government."
>
> I have spoken to one of the men who served on the front lines over there
=
> and
> he indicated that he saw killing happening by their own army. Also, we
> spoke about several of the historic locations that they saw and he talked
> about how they positioned themselves to protect these locations, not =
> destroy
> them. He told me about one museum that the Iraqi people had looted and
> destroyed and about the curator who stayed to protect what he could all
by
> himself. He also talked about the terrible conditions of the country
that
> we there before they arrived and the anti-tank and air-craft guns that =
> were
> placed in playgrounds and school yards. (I even saw photographs) Iraq is
> not like the US, do not apply your standards to their culture or
political
> activities. Saddam Hussein was not a nice guy and he regularly shielded
> himself and his government with his own people which placed them in =
> danger.
> Also, not all Iraqi want us there, but not all many this soldier
interacted=
>
> with were happy to have them there. Use caution when drawing conclusions
> about what is happening in Iraqi based on news reports which have various
> biases themselves.
>
> The US military and the US now have very strict regulations about the
> materials that people (military and non-military) are allowed to bring =
> back
> with them. Unfortunately, not everyone understands the importance of
> historical materials and will try to smuggle illegal items back home as
> souvenirs. If those types of materials are offered, museums should
handle
> them the same way we would illegally obtained materials from other
places.
> Please be sure however that it is a looted item and illegal, the Middle
> Eastern culture does produce many fake antiquities to sell to the =
> "tourist"
> and these can be purchased, traded for by the soldiers and sometimes even
> found on the ground.
>
> I'm not giving you my political views about whether our soldiers should
or
> should not be there, but I do believe that the majority of our soldiers =
> are
> not killers or looters. Remember that interpretation is just that and =
> your
> "truth" may not always coincide with other peoples "truth." It will be
> interesting to relook at this war (as well as the earlier war with Iraq)
=
> in
> the future to see how our views of today's "truths" will change.
>
> Sincerely
> Tracie Evans
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: ldewey [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]=20
> > Sent: Monday, April 05, 2004 8:42 AM
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Re: Iraq donation
> >
> > Was it Samuel Johnson who said 'patriotism is the last refuge of
> > scoundrels'? I forget. It's not important.
> >
> > In any event, I support the GIs who question and dissent from their own
> > role in the occupation, and I assume many do. We have heard of a few
> > who have refused to go along, there are probably many who we will not
> > hear about.
> >
> > Still, most of the people who have been killed in Iraq are
> > non-combatant Iraqi people. The current estimate is somewhere between
> > 8,800 and 10,000, according to http://www.iraqbodycount.net/ . And the
> > overwhelming majority of those people have been killed by the US
> > military and it's government. That is a simple fact.
> >
> > Audience research shows that uninterpreted object displays are not very
> > effective as self-directed communication. So if a museum intends to
> > display 'war booty', it ought to include the context. Certainly that
> > should include the conditions of the war; the aerial bombardments of
> > urban residential areas, water supplies, and power plants (all
> > proscribed as 'war crimes' by the Geneva Convention, btw), the cluster
> > bombs and maimed children. Perhaps an autographed picture of government
> > emissary Donald Rumsfeld shaking hands with Saddam Hussein (1983), or a
> > list of the US, British and German firms who supplied the chemicals
> > used in the Iraq-Iran war. Perhaps an annotated map showing the
> > international oil investments near Tirkut.
> >
> > -LD (aka person C)
> >
> >
> >
> > On Monday, April 5, 2004, at 12:04 AM, Automatic digest processor
wrote:
> >
> > > Date: Sun, 4 Apr 2004 11:44:49 -0700
> > > From: Deb Fuller <[log in to unmask]>
> > > Subject: Re: Iraq donations
> > >
> > > --- Indigo Nights <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> > >
> > >> You have a history here of touting the soldiers and
> > >> their beleagured families. Your patriotism is
> > >> admirable. But this is a multinational list with
> > >> folks who do not feel the same way, including some of
> > >> your own countrypersons.
> > >
> > > I don't want to drag this out either but let me set the record
> > > straight about
> > > my attitude towards the whole situation. I don't consider myself
> > > "patriotic"
> > > but someone who genuinely cares about all people, regardless of race,
> > > religion,
> > > occupation or nationality. I happen to believe that the average
person
> > > out
> > > there is trying to do the best they can with what they've got. So I
do
> > > get
> > > defensive of people who I think are trying to do their best and are
at
> > > the
> > > mercy of a usually one-sided media world.
> > >
> > > In any highly controversial political situation, I find that it's an
> > > alarming
> > > tendency to jump on the "little guy" like the soldiers instead of the
> > > people up
> > > the chain of command who are calling the shots. Blame is usually put
> > > on the
> > > people who have the least control of the situation but happen to be
> > > right in
> > > the middle of it.
> > >
> >
> >
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