Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site eosp1.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!princeton!eosp1!robison From: robison@eosp1.UUCP (Tobias D. Robison) Newsgroups: net.flame Subject: Re: Ronald reagan / Bombing USSR Message-ID: <1073@eosp1.UUCP> Date: Mon, 20-Aug-84 12:59:58 EDT Article-I.D.: eosp1.1073 Posted: Mon Aug 20 12:59:58 1984 Date-Received: Tue, 21-Aug-84 00:23:02 EDT Organization: Exxon Office Systems, Princeton, NJ Lines: 27 References: I'd like to emphasize how difficult I think it is to make such a joke. Even when I view Russia as an evil country, I never stop feeling that the majority of its adult citizens are reasonable, ordinarily special sorts of people like you and me, who mean us no particular harm. I believe I am related to many of them, possibly over 100,000 by 4th or 5th generation ties, and possibly the majority of them by 7th or 8th generation ties. They bear some responsibility for the actions of their government, but in a totalitarian state that degree of responsibility is difficult to assess, and should be made on a case by case basis. A large percentage of the population consists of young, innocent children. How could I ever make a joke about bombing them? Place me in President Reagan's shoes, and I might have said something like this: Congress has just passed a law outlawing Russia and making all its residents citizens of the United States. They're in the backroom recalculating Social Security benefits now... - Toby Robison (not Robinson!) allegra!eosp1!robison decvax!ittvax!eosp1!robison