Response to GNP

Response

A different view on killed journalist

Journalist Hrant Dink, in my book, was a fool ("Murder of editor leaves shock, grief," Jan. 20).

While living in Turkey he threw wood on the fire by writing about the Turkish government concerning the slaughter of Armenians by the Ottoman Turkish forces from 1915 to 1917.

My question to James Arone of Burbank ("Journalist's legacy must live on in struggle," Mailbag, Tuesday) is: Why to you think Dink was a hero?

He is now gone, and he left his wife and child behind.

In my book, a great journalist is loved around the world.

If Dink loved freedom, why did he live in Turkey and think he was going to change anything?

He started a war like he had an army, and lost.

PAUL CARNEY
Glendale

(My response below - please correct any typos or grammatical booboos - also, the reference to the flag in the first paragraph is referencing Carney's initial comments about the flag and his deep respect for it after it was lowered for the Armenian Genocide - and he later commented that people in Glendale must have been raised on the funny farm because of a few letters in the GNP encouraging belief in Santa Claus - he insists the we should stop trying to convince our kids there is a Santa).

It is unfortunate that an individual with such "deep respect for the flag" has such a lack of respect for the values that flag represents (Carney, "A different view on killed journalist" 1/2707) The American flag stands for the freedom of speech, press, religion and assembly. More importantly, the American flag represents our right to disagree with our government, write about our government and work for change in our government. In this country, we not only have the right, but also the duty, to stand up for our beliefs.

Hrant Dink was a hero because he continued to believe in his freedom of speech even under constant pressure and threats from both the Turkish government and radical Turkish nationalists. Dink worked to educate both Turks and Armenians, encouraging a dialogue among the two. He was a brave journalist, a community activist, and a uniter. He represented freedom, liberty, and truth.

Aren't those the ideals this country was founded on?

Hrant Dink WAS respected and admired around the world. He did leave behind a family, just as so many soldiers leave their families to defend their country (and never return). Dink cherished freedom and democracy and tried to change his country from within, the same way the abolitionists fought for emancipation and the Civil Rights movement advanced democracy in our own country. And Dink did have an army, an army of tens of thousands of people who marched at his funeral with signs reading, "We are all Armenian" and "We are all Hrant." If that outpouring of support is not respect and admiration, then I'm not sure what is.

Perhaps I was raised on the funny farm myself but I don't buy Carney's defeatist pessimism. I was taught that I should be proactive and "Be the change [I] want to see in the world" (Ghandi). After all, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has" (Margaret Mead).