"Not in the name of my son"

[Raffi Aftandelian]

Dear friends,
I am circulating a letter posted on the war tax resisters listserv (for
people who redirect their taxes to peaceful needs instead of paying
their taxes to an increasingly militant government; a small movement
that has been around for hundreds of years). It is from the parents of a
son who died in the attack on the WTC.

-raffi aftandelian

Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2001 07:02:30 -0700
From: Joe Maizlish <goodwork at igc.org>
Subject: [Fwd: Not in our son's name (letter of parents of son missing
at World
 Trade  C...]


DavidMcR at aol.com wrote:

>
>  Phyllis and Orlando Rodriguez's son Greg is one of the Trade Center
>  victims.
>  (I grew up with Phyllis in the Bronx) They have asked that people share
>  these
>  letters as widely as possible.
>  Naomi
>
>  Copy of letter sent to NY Times:
>
>                  Not in Our Son's Name
>
>  Our son Greg is among the many missing from the World Trade Center
>  attack.
>  Since we first heard the news, we have shared moments of grief, comfort,
>  hope, despair, fond memories with his wife, the two families, our friends and
> neighbors, his loving colleagues at Cantor Fitzgerald / ESpeed, and all the
> grieving families that daily meet at the Pierre Hotel.
>
>  We see our hurt and anger reflected among everybody we meet. We cannot
>  pay attention to the daily flow of news about this disaster. But we read
>  enough of the news to sense that our government is heading in the direction of
>
>  violent revenge, with the prospect of sons, daughters, parents, friends in
>  distant lands dying, suffering, and nursing further grievances against us.
>  It is not the way to go. It will not avenge our son's death. Not in our son's
> name.
>
>  Our son died a victim of an inhuman ideology. Our actions should not
>  serve the same purpose. Let us grieve. Let us reflect and pray. Let us think
>  about a rational response that brings real peace and justice to our world.
>  But let us not as a nation add to the inhumanity of our times.
>
>  Copy of letter to White House:
>
>  Dear President Bush:
>  Our son is one of the victims of Tuesday's attack on the World Trade Center.
> We read about your response in the last few days and about the resolutions from
> both Houses, giving you undefined power to respond to the terror attacks.
>
>  Your response to this attach does not make us feel better about our son's
> death. It makes us feel worse. It makes us feel that our government is using
> our son's memory as a justification to cause suffering for other sons and
> parents in other lands.
>
>  It is not the first time that a person in your position has been given
> unlimited power and came to regret it. This is not the time for empty gestures
> to make us feel better. It is not the time to act like bullies.  We urge you to
> think about how our governement can develop peaceful, rational solutions to
> terrorism, solutions that do not sink us to the inhuman level of terrorists.

>  Sincerely,
>
>  Phyllis and Orlando Rodriguez

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