Monday, June 9, 2008

Concerned letter about Blackwater Worldwide

I sent this to council members and mayor's office regarding Blackwater setting up shop in the area. The controversy is so poorly covered by local media I don't even know where it stands:

Dear Councilmember Frye,

I'm not a full-time activist, politician, or civil servant. I am an ordinary citizen, to the extent that I work in wholesale for a local men's fashion designer, I live in University City, and even play basketball at my local community center. And, as an ordinary citizen, I want to show my family and my community it is possible to abide by an unspoken jurisprudence -a universal definition of moral integrity paramount to capitalism- and weigh in effectively on issues affecting our community in doing so. We have an obligation to our community to apply this higher law when addressing corporations suspected of replacing morals with profit, corporations such as big oil, automakers, or in this case, private military.

A company like Blackwater Worldwide, who is currently under a harrowed Justice Department investigation for their most egregious and recent slayings committed by their employees on September 16th, 2007 (SOURCE: San Diego Union Tribune, May 10 2008), should not be admitted into our community. Blackwater is a very unique type of company in that, aside from its contracts and subsequent profits being pegged against military activity and international conflict, there are many unanswered questions about how domestic and international law applies to this corporation.

No matter what any community member's stance is on private military firms, any arguments for or against Blackwater being admitted into our community deserves much more discussion between city officials and the community at large before a decision can be made. And this important delay cannot be an opportunity for Blackwater to surreptitiously continue its facility development unnoticed. This is where we need your help!
Let's remember that moral integrity that applies to all of us, and pause before we make any decisions that could negatively impact our community.

Sincerest Regards,
RJ Gordon