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The lonesome death of Rachel Corrie

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Billy Bragg
Tuesday March 28, 2006
The Guardian


Rachel Corrie went to Gaza to draw attention to the plight of the Palestinians, whose voice is seldom heard in her country, the US. That she herself should be silenced - first by an Israeli bulldozer, next by a New York theatre cancelling a play created from her words - is a testimony to the power of her message. This song was written on a plane on March 20 and recorded at Big Sky Recordings, Ann Arbor, Michigan on March 22. The tune is borrowed from Bob Dylan.

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An Israeli bulldozer killed poor Rachel Corrie
As she stood in its path in the town of Rafah
She lost her young life in an act of compassion
Trying to protect the poor people of Gaza
Whose homes are destroyed by tank shells and bulldozers
And whose plight is exploited by suicide bombers
Who kill in the name of the people of Gaza
But Rachel Corrie believed in non-violent resistance
Put herself in harm's way as a shield of the people
And paid with her life in a manner most brutal
But you who philosophise disgrace and criticise all fears,
Take the rag away from your face.
Now ain't the time for your tears.

Rachel Corrie had 23 years
She was born in the town of Olympia, Washington
A skinny, messy, list-making chain-smoker
Who volunteered to protect the Palestinian people
Who had become non-persons in the eyes of the media
So that people were suffering and no one was seeing
Or hearing or talking or caring or acting
And the horrible math of the awful equation
That brought Rachel Corrie into this confrontation
Is that the spilt blood of a single American
Is worth more than the blood of a hundred Palestinians

But you who philosophise disgrace and criticise all fears,
Take the rag away from your face.
Now ain't the time for your tears.

The artistic director of a New York theatre
Cancelled a play based on Rachel's writings
But she wasn't a bomber or a killer or fighter
But one who acted in the spirit of the Freedom Riders
Is there no place for a voice in America
That doesn't conform to the Fox News agenda?
Who believes in non-violence instead of brute force
Who is willing to confront the might of an army
Whose passionate beliefs were matched by her bravery
The question she asked rings out round the world
If America is truly the beacon of freedom
Then how can it stand by while they bring down the curtain
And turn Rachel Corrie into a non-person?

Oh, but you who philosophise disgrace and criticise all fears,
Bury the rag deep in your face
For now's the time for your tears.

May she rot in hell forever. She knew what she was doing, and blaming Israel for running over a dumb girl who lays down in front of a bulldozer is stupid. Also, supposedly she was a "loyal american" yet, she burned the American flag on camera. She deserved what she got.

At first I took offense to this article, and then I realized it was from the guardian, and this is just par for the course. The Guardian may as well be the Hamas Times. Its only fit to use as toilet paper.

I don't know what I just read.... but... she sounded very controdictory and like somebody I wanted to kick in the shins... I'll have to re-read this later and then wonder what it means.... *Go the Apartment... AWAY!*

Ah...I wouldn't be half as vehement as Sabradan.

Rachel Corrie went to Gaza to draw attention to the plight of the Palestinians, whose voice is seldom heard in her country, the US. That she herself should be silenced - first by an Israeli bulldozer, next by a New York theatre cancelling a play created from her words - is a testimony to the power of her message. This song was written on a plane on March 20 and recorded at Big Sky Recordings, Ann Arbor, Michigan on March 22. The tune is borrowed from Bob Dylan.

The article itself is biased, and ill informed. Palestinian plight rarely heard in the US? It's all the LA Times will print when it comes to Israel. If the former and latter events are a testimony, it's rather more a testimony of the people of her country having some sense. She's not a hero for haplessly harboring half-cocked ideals, nor for lying/standing in front of a bulldozer. She was tragic, perhaps. But I think it was in being tragically uneducated.

Poor_Imp wrote:Ah...I wouldn't be half as vehement as Sabradan.

Rachel Corrie went to Gaza to draw attention to the plight of the Palestinians, whose voice is seldom heard in her country, the US. That she herself should be silenced - first by an Israeli bulldozer, next by a New York theatre cancelling a play created from her words - is a testimony to the power of her message. This song was written on a plane on March 20 and recorded at Big Sky Recordings, Ann Arbor, Michigan on March 22. The tune is borrowed from Bob Dylan.

The article itself is biased, and ill informed. Palestinian plight rarely heard in the US? It's all the LA Times will print when it comes to Israel. If the former and latter events are a testimony, it's rather more a testimony of the people of her country having some sense. She's not a hero for haplessly harboring half-cocked ideals, nor for lying/standing in front of a bulldozer. She was tragic, perhaps. But I think it was in being tragically uneducated.

Wait...I'm confused....are you agreeing with me or not?

I agree with your intent - just not specifically with the way you expressed it. That is, I wouldn't damn even someone as foolish as Rachel Corrie to hell. But I think she was completely wrong, and made the choice to risk getting crushed, blown up, or otherwise killed by one side or the other when she tripped off to "protest".

Poor_Imp wrote:I agree with your intent - just not specifically with the way you expressed it. That is, I wouldn't damn even someone as foolish as Rachel Corrie to hell. But I think she was completely wrong, and made the choice to risk getting crushed, blown up, or otherwise killed by one side or the other when she tripped off to "protest".

Yeah, well maybe not...but I've been told I'm kinda extreme. *looks at avvie* that might have something to do with it too...

sabradan wrote:

Poor_Imp wrote:I agree with your intent - just not specifically with the way you expressed it. That is, I wouldn't damn even someone as foolish as Rachel Corrie to hell. But I think she was completely wrong, and made the choice to risk getting crushed, blown up, or otherwise killed by one side or the other when she tripped off to "protest".

Yeah, well maybe not...but I've been told I'm kinda extreme. *looks at avvie* that might have something to do with it too...

Yes...I think I would have a hard time not feeling similar, and expressing it as violently if it were my country. There's a bloody lot of ignorance it seems, when it comes to the conflict in Israel.

Poor_Imp wrote:

sabradan wrote:

Poor_Imp wrote:I agree with your intent - just not specifically with the way you expressed it. That is, I wouldn't damn even someone as foolish as Rachel Corrie to hell. But I think she was completely wrong, and made the choice to risk getting crushed, blown up, or otherwise killed by one side or the other when she tripped off to "protest".

Yeah, well maybe not...but I've been told I'm kinda extreme. *looks at avvie* that might have something to do with it too...

Yes...I think I would have a hard time not feeling similar, and expressing it as violently if it were my country. There's a bloody lot of ignorance it seems, when it comes to the conflict in Israel.

Amen to that.

Yes, well - all that said, it's not very nice to run over *anyone* with a bulldozer, idiot or not.

backgroundbob wrote:Yes, well - all that said, it's not very nice to run over *anyone* with a bulldozer, idiot or not.

It's also not exactly a good idea to lie down in front of one, is it? Honestly, the Palestinians get plenty of press in the US- the Washington Post has such a pro-Palestinian bias it's nauseating. I think she was being stupid, and if you want to get something done? Don't lie down in front of bulldozers. That's just going to get you squished.
Quite frankly, Rachel Corrie did nothing worth writing a protest song about. She just went and protested in a stupid way, and managed to get herself killed in the process.

Unfortunately, no-one else seems to be doing anything about it. It's quite refreshing to see somebody actually getting off their backside, getting over to the place where there's a problem, and getting involved - the Post doesn't mean jack-all, it's just a newspaper in another country. If nobody stands up for what they believe in, nothing decent in this world is ever going to come around - shame she got killed for it.

And if I don't agree with her cause in the first place? Yes, it's wonderful that she stood up for what she believes in, and yes, the whole world needs to do that a little more often, but that are more intelligent ways to do it. I feel like we're missing part of the story on this- no one's just going to run over someone who's standing in front of their bulldozer without any mercy. Something's missing- did she jump in front of the bulldozer while it was moving or something? Why else would that happen?

I stand by my statements. She deserved what she got.

So now stupidity and/or standing up for yourself are punishable by death? We wouldn't have anyone on the face of the planet if that were true.