I Am Coming
An open letter…
—————- Begin Forwarded Message —————-
Subject: FW: I am Coming.
Date Sent: Wednesday, February 8, 2006 5:52 AMI Am Coming!
Dear Terrorists,
I am a Navy Aviator. I was born and raised in a small town in New England. I come from a family of five. I was raised in a middle class home and taught my values by my mother and father.
My dad worked a series of jobs in finance and my mom took care of us kids. We were not an overly religious family but attended church most Sundays. It was a nice small Episcopal Church. I have a brother and sister and I am the youngest in my family. I was the first in many generations to attend college.
I have flown Naval aircraft for 16 years. For me the flying was never a lifelong dream or a “calling,” it just happened. I needed a job and I liked the challenge. I continue to do it today because I feel it is important to give back to a nation which has given so much to me. I do it because, although I will never be rich, my family will be comfortable. I do it because many of my friends have left for the airlines and someone has to do it.
My government has spent millions to train me to fly these multi-milliondollar aircraft. I make about 70,000 dollars a year and after 20 years will be offered a pension.
I like baseball but think the players make too much money. I am in awe of firemen and policemen and what they do each day for my community, and like teachers, they just don’t get paid enough.
I respect my elders and always use sir or ma’am when addressing a stranger. I’m not sure about kids these days but I think that’s normal for every generation.
I tell you all this because when I come for you, I want you to know me. I won’t be hiding behind a woman or a child. I won’t be disguised or pretending to be something I am not. I will be in a U.S. issue flight suit. I will be wearing standard US issue flight gear, and I will be flying a navy aircraft clearly marked as a US warplane. I wish we could meet up close in a small room where I could wrap my hands around your throat and slowly squeeze the life out of you, but unfortunately, you’re hiding in a hole in the ground, so we will have to do this a different way.
I want you to know also that I am very good at what I do. I can put a 2,000lb weapon through a window from 10,000 feet up. I generally only fly at night, so you may want to start sleeping during the day. I am not eager to die for my country but I am willing to sacrifice my life to protect it from animals like you.
I will do everything in my power to ensure no civilians are hurt as I take aim at you.
My countrymen are a forgiving bunch. Many are already forgetting what you did on Sept 11th. But I will not forget!!
I am coming. I hope you know me a little bit better, see you soon…sleep tight.
Signed
A U.S. Navy Pilot
Our Soldiers are one of our greatest assets!
God Bless
wow, nice (even if fictional), and sent from a Vietnam War Veteran
there’s a lot of talk about the war, why we’re “there”, domestic spying and people wanting peace and civility. we were living in peace on Sept. 10, 2001. we were dealing rationally with people on that day. on Sept. 11, 2001, the rationality card was played and changed everything.
we are not dealing with rational people (beheadings, male, female and children suicide bombers, mofos making threats from hidden caves), and as such cannot treat them in a sane, rational manner. and lemme give you an example of why.
African-Americans didn’t originally come to this country as slaves. in the mid-1600s, they arrived as paid indentured servants along with Irish indentured servants. this I know, because this is the origin of my paternal family. after their servitude, they were free citizens, and many went on to own land and had equal rights as citizens under Dutch rule.
then in 1699, British defeated the Dutch, and throughout all the hundreds of years since the beginning of British slave rule (“slave for life” even if free) in the early 1700s, African-Americans were destroyed and demoralized continually in this country and in Africa. cargo slave trade from thefts led to millions in profits (now worth billions) for colonists and British slave trade leaders (AETNA, American Express, JP Morgan, Wachovia, Wells Fargo, the British royal monarchy, etc.)
yet, the goal in African-Americans’ heart was NOT to obtain planes and bombs to destroy innocent people, including after being bombed continually throughout areas of the south. the goal was to find a safe place to work, live and raise their family and live out their life in peace w/dignity as a human being.
with every new European- and Asian-American immigrant given endless possibilities (and even compensation for their past “suffering”), African-American hopes were further and further pushed back with the formation of the Ku Klux Klan after the Civil War (just to instill fear and terror), Jim Crow laws, national government regulated segregation and severe hatred towards them for simply being “alive”. the “Not Welcome” sign was either visible or invisible including from newly arriving immigrants, and including while fighting for this country and after fighting for this country (Civil War, Korean War, World War I, World War II, Vietnam).
the attacks on the U.S. from middle eastern extremists are the result of “oppression”. well join the club and learn from those who made a difference and changed things in spite of.
the passing of Coretta Scott King was a reminder of this. this country treated her like a slave as a child — she picked cotton and was the granddaughter of a former slave. basic civil rights were denied to her, but she was fortunate to get a decent education through the hard work of her parents. a bomb was placed at her home with intent to kill her and her children, and her husband was killed by hatred bred and regulated within this country. and look what she did every day of her life – loved one another and treated others as she wanted to be treated, and changed her environment NONVIOLENTLY. at the end of her life, four living Presidents of the United States attended her funeral. and those who oppressed and terrorized her and her family are irrelevant.
