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A Message to the University Regarding John F. Kelly’s Invitation to CSU – The Rocky Mountain Collegian

A Message to the University Regarding John F. Kelly’s Invitation to CSU – The Rocky Mountain Collegian

Editor’s Note: The content of the Opinion section reflects the opinions of the individual author only and does not represent a position adopted by The Collegian or its editorial board. Letters to the editor reflect the perspective of a member of the campus community and are submitted to the publication for approval.

Content Warning: This article contains references to sexual assault, torture, domestic violence, racism, Islamophobia, xenophobia, and many other topics. I believe these references are necessary to fully explore the story of John F. Kelly. While this article attempts to refrain from explicit language, many sources may contain explicit images or descriptions.

I was delighted to see the recent announcement that Colorado State University will host “one of America’s most distinguished military leaders,“John F. Kelly, September 5. I am extremely grateful for this rare opportunity to hear from a representative of the less public side of the CSU, the soft underbelly of conflicts of interest and exploitation of suffering. Today, I simply want to share a little of Kelly’s illustrious past and impeccable character, perhaps best summed up this way:A man clearly bets that hell does not exist,“so that our students can one day achieve the same level of success and infamy.

We must start with the core of his personality: his long military career. Kelly is proud of his service in the Marines and claims to have the utmost respect for his fellow servicemen. Kelly’s respect apparently could not outweigh his homophobia, as evidenced by the fact that Kelly was a Marine. he would have been vehemently opposed to repeal “Don’t ask, don’t tell. While we don’t know her views on transgender soldiers, they weren’t positive enough to motivate any action against former President Donald Trump’s ban on them.

There are also his unfortunate views on women, including his disbelief reports of sexual harassment. More recent examples include her false statements which prompted a series of death threats and nooses being thrown at a black female MP and his so-called repeated sexist comments at the White House.

But perhaps we should not look at Kelly from a military perspective — he certainly doesn’t think civilians I have the right to do that. And who am I to question the judgment of a man who thinks we waged war in Iraq? “honorably” and “for the right reason”. One might even assume malice, especially since Kelly’s Marine Corps has been implicated in several atrocities and subsequent cover-ups in Iraq, Fallujah being the most infamous, but Haditha has attracted attention, since photos of the massacre were only released last week..

Let’s then look at his upcoming promotion to head the Department of Homeland Security while maintaining some side activities as any self-respecting American would do. He admirably overcame the emotional and moral concerns of many human rights groups to implement a policy of separating children at the border, even using it to attract clients for his friends.

Kelly had the foresight to contribute to the same Latin American instability from which he would later benefit, as during his time at the head of the United States Southern Command, he proudly nestled against a great guy and a violent drug lord Juan Orlando Hernández in Honduras, employed a Chilean war criminal to teach the next generation of soldiers and considered past atrocities in Colombia as having “showed us the way“for ongoing operations in the Middle East.

Just as infamous was his help promulgating the “ban on Muslims, He presented the measure as essential to prevent extremist violence. He perhaps thought that only people as intelligent as he could see through his charade that the current travel ban was not targeting any religion, despite his boss’s constant statements. such a policy during his campaign. That may even be true, as we have seen that Kelly’s horrific treatment of migrants and refugees extends to many diverse groups.

Some might see hypocrisy between his insinuation of violence committed by immigrants who never committed it and the defense of domestic violence documented by “man of true integrity and honor“Rob Porter. But for Kelly, the difference is immediately visible. A similar mindset was applied at Guantánamo Bay, where He called the prisoners tortured and held without trial “provocative and violent” and said, “I have never been more proud of the troops under my command than of the young military professionals who are on duty day and night at Guantánamo,” who beat and sexually assaulted prisoners as a matter of principle..

All of the above experiences make Kelly an excellent candidate to help promote democracy at the CSU. I welcome “perspectives on the complexities of governance, policymaking and national defense,” especially from such an erudite leader whose solutions to those complexities include building a giant wall, banning travel from countries that appear to have large Muslim populations, and ensuring that the children of asylum seekers are “placed in foster care or otherwise.”

He is the perfect man for “Elevating democracy and civil dialogue on campus“given his ability to blame everything, even the civil war, on”lack of ability to compromise.“After all, democracy is best represented by an unelected strongman who has done his best to hide his decisions from the general public.

Although Kelly’s conservative worldview is certainly “exposing students to diverse perspectives,“There are those who think that the CSU Democracy Project focuses on those who wield power rather than those who suffer from it.

Ultimately, Kelly represents what Americans rarely get: an honest look at the corruption, brutality, and inhumanity of the military-industrial and prison complexes. He is a leader who has used his position for personal enrichment. He sees no contradiction in celebrating a “dedication to freedom for all“while throwing children into cages. He tries to separate himself from his past work, but he”it was still donald trump with better manners.“This is about as close as one can get to an admission of the real priorities of the CSU leadership.

I would like to once again express my deepest gratitude for being deemed worthy of attending such an event, but I would like to make a small request if I may. Instead of visiting the CSU, we should honor Kelly with a complimentary trip to The Hague, Netherlands. His many virtues can therefore be extolled in gruesome, uncensored detail. Only in international courts will we hear the unvarnished truth about how such a cruel and immoral man could reach such heights, and how we can benefit from his example. Perhaps we can even learn why the CSU believes that democracy is best represented by a man who actively promotes and profits from such cruelty. white nationalism And Islamophobia.

If we’re not willing to have an honest discussion about what he’s most famous for, why invite him?

A concerned member of the CSU community

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