No Divestment
Word is that the Board of Trustees voted not to divest from weapons contractors (for which SEWI has been advocating).
They are, however, setting up some kind of socially responsible investing committee.
Anyone with more information about the decision is encouraged to spill.
31 comments:
thank goodness.
Sanity prevails!
killing is sanity??
don't water it down to that level, 6:23. it's a lot more complicated than that, and not as immoral as you think.
6:28, i'm sure if you asked people who have been affected by one of raytheon's guided missiles, they would feel a little differently about the morality of the situation...oh wait, you can't ask them because they're dead.
Better them than us 7:26. But if you don't think so go ahead and relocate to one of those fun countries who want to eliminate the USA (and see how much protesting they all, btw).
if not for our military, the USA would NOT exist. we'd have been taken over by germany, japan, or any other countries we fought against in various wars. ask any intelligent American how they feel.
oh wait, you can't ask them because they take our security for granted. remember that these companies provide defense, as well as the immoral guided missles you speak of.
I agree that the Iraq war is wrong, and that these companies lobby to continue the war. despite this, they provide unparalleled resources with which to defend this country. it's a double edged sword, yes, but one side shouldnt be dulled at the other's expense.
-anon 6:28
Somehow I think the military and arms industry will do just fine without our help
Then if our investment makes no difference, and is profitable, we might as well keep it.
Wow 7:36, way to boil down the past 50 years of international politics into "everybody hates America, boo, we need to meddle in their politics and bomb them so they don't come over here and eat our babies".
I'm not for divestment, I think it would be ineffectual and not make a very effective point. And I believe strongly in the need for national security. But I can't believe an ostensibly educated person like you still holds your Fox News view of the world.
Do you not realize that the main reason so many in the world hate us is because we deliberately and carelessly fucked up their countries with inane foreign policies in the past half-century? Do some research and you will see that the reason the major threats facing us today, especially radical Islam, have any power is a direct result of American meddling.
Continuing to shoot our missiles into any country that annoys us doesn't ultimately solve anything, it only creates more problems in the future.
I am so glad that my faith in the Trustees to make the right decision was not misplaced.
Excellent job.
That is sickening. There is no way our money should be invested in manufacturing weapons. Its not shortsighted- its almost got nothing to do with the Iraq war. Plain and simple, our money should not fund death.
additionally, there is a VERY FINE LINE between defense (WW2) and aggression. Funding raytheon is funding AGGRESSION. its sad that people still think of the war in Iraq- or for that matter anything the Bush administration has done- as defense. If every act of military were to be seen in light of Hitler, of course it would be justified. But we must take a step back and look at OURSELVES. AMERICA ARE THE BAD GUYS. WE ARE THE ENEMY. Our money should not go here. Anyone who disagrees should:
a.) Leave Wesleyan. Just go.
b.) READ A BOOK FOR FUCKS SAKE!!!
I honestly can't believe there are so many imperialist twerps at wesleyan who favor the military industrial complex.
anon 9:28- I agree funding raytheon IS aggression. I do not consider the Iraq War defense by any means. By defense, I mean having a military in general. companies like raytheon give our military missles, artillery, and other items. these items, while sometimes used for bad in Iraq, can also be used for good, like if russia decided to invade. unlikely, yes, but when WWIII comes around, you can't snap your fingers and have a military. you have to practice an upkeep policy.
the reason the U.S. is so powerful is because of our military power. it is used for bad, like in Iraq. however, if companies like raytheon don't exist, then we don't have a military, and there goes us as the world's remaining superpower.
9:28-
If you are so closed-minded that you can't deal with the fact that not all Wesleyan students are as militantly pacifist as you, then YOU are the one who needs to get the fuck out of Wesleyan. This is a university, not a goddamned political party. Grow up.
As far as military spending goes, the U.S. comes close to outspending the entire rest of the world combined.
I guess I can sort of understand the "we're safe because we're the biggest bully on the playground and we need to stay that way" attitude that a lot of people seem to hold, but come on. The biggest bully on the playground doesn't need to buy a gun.
Also, Raytheon has edited key information out of its own Wikipedia entry. That's dirty. That's what tipped the scales and made me support divestment.
"Plain and simple, our money should not fund death."
why not? I've no objection, as long as it serves the needs of the country.
U.S. spending more than rest of the world combined = superpower.
U.S. spending about the same = no more superpower.
9:28
investing in Raytheon is a political act. Divesting from it is as well, but not investing isn't. I don't think the school should have a political affiliation either, so I don't think we should be invested in it.
11:24:
Why do we have to be a superpower? There are countries that are not *superpowers* that do just fine!
Agree with 9:52.
I hate the fact that there are so many close-minded people here. Why do people insist on saying people should leave Wesleyan if they disagree with something, or that somebody (or something) is "unWesleyan"? You know what happens when you ostracize people just for being different? Give me a gun and I'll show you.
Sorry, I don't have a gun. But I'm sure you could get one from Raytheon.
12:19- why do we have to be a superpower?
that's like asking someone about to enter a fight if they want a gun. but if you say no, then the other person gets it.
point being, if you aren't the big kid on the block, someone else will be. how would you like russia or north korea to be the world's superpower? there will always be a bell curve- you'd better be at the high end.
that may not comform to your pacifist attitude, but it's survival of the fittest. as Roosevelt said, speak softly and carry a big stick. emphasis on big.
The truth about Raytheon:
I have a big stick.
Thank the lord that this happened. Please, God, tell the SEWI kids to shut up, and that nobody cares about them.
This is ridiculous. I can only hope that our student body is on the whole more open, compassionate and rational than this argument shows. There are good arguments on both sides and it comes down to much finer details than whether the United States is some sort of death machine or not. I hope that people in the future will not use Wesleying like the ACB as a way to anonymously attack others and create more divisions in th student body. We value diversity here, don't make it a curse.
You're all missing an important point here - namely, divestment wouldn't do shit.
I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that the people who comment on Wesleying posts
1) in large part don't go to Wesleyan
2) are very few in number
3) (of the ones who go to Wes) represent a very small contingent of assholes on campus who just like to shit on everything and everyone, of the same sort that write dumb/mean things on the ACB
im #3... go fuck yourself
Why do so many people dislike SEWI so much?
6:45, because they don't like to be inconvenienced, or have their morality challenged.
That said, SEWI's version of challenging morality is still dealing in terms of black and white.
Both sides need to acknowledge that the other side is trying to make a point.
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