Brittney Cofresi chose to depart from the dimwitted cowardice of the herd. Now she’s lambasted for doing what every decent American should be doing—_confronting hypocritical power in its own terrain.
The revolting brainwash and conformity so clear and strong in America continues to operate to stigmatize those who deviate from the unthinking chauvinist line.
Sociologists have noted that many ethnic groups, including Italian Americans, for a variety of now largely forgotten reasons, in their rush to assimilation, have been in the forefront of the flag-waving crowd. It’s no surprise therefore to see this exemplary young girl being shunned by some members of her own family. This reminds us of the many times White House press corps members or journalists attending a press conference are the very first to shout down in rage and shame any colleague who would dare put forth “embarrassing” question to people in power. —PG
- by Kevin Mathews, care2.com
15-year-old Brittney Cofresi used her speaking role at a 9/11 Ground Zero memorial to address President Barack Obama on the subject of Syria on Wednesday. After reading the name of her uncle, a victim in the World Trade Center attacks, Cofresi, added, “President Obama, please do not bring us to another war.”
Expectedly, the off-the-script comment has generated a lot of criticism from not only pundits, but members of Cofresi’s own family. Opponents have called out Cofresi for being tacky and daring to politicize an event meant to commemorate the lives lost in the terrorist attack.
Cofresi, who attends the tribute annually, says that her war remark wasn’t intended to be disrespectful, but after watching Obama’s speech on Syria the previous night, she felt compelled to use her moment of high visibility to share her opinion. “I wasn’t sure the president would get my emails or letters. I felt like the only way to get my voice heard was to say this on TV,” she said.
[pullquote] If you want to see how boldly insidious and disgusting the so called “free press” is, particularly in the hands of a criminal entity like Murdoch’s “news” empire, read the New York Post’s tendentious report of the incident reproduced in the Appendix. Not a single word of hatred and contempt has been missed in disparaging the character of this girl. Every single low-life motive is invoked, beginning with rank vanity. But all she’s doing is mildly speaking up for peace. Why is that mocked and criminalized? If Murdoch and his henchmen do not deserve the gallows no one does. But their poisonous work is facilitated by the very stupidity of the people themselves.. [/pullquote]Cofresi held the picture of her deceased uncle, Sal Papasso Jr., as she spoke. As the niece of Papasso’s widow, she is related to the 9/11 victim through marriage, a fact that Papasso’s blood relatives have derided. Tom Papasso, Sal’s brother, said, “We are all stunned. It was completely inappropriate to use this day for that. It was not the time nor the place for a political statement.”
Even if Cofresi’s extended family doesn’t condone the pacifist plea, at least her mother stands by her. “I’m proud of her,” Karen Cofresi said. “She had a message to the president and said ‘please.’ She didn’t say ‘Go giants!’”
However, that hasn’t prevented the media from condemning the teenager. The New York Post and Washington Times called out Cofresi for “bragging” about her comment on Twitter and attempting to seek fame.
It’s an easy — if not outright hypocritical – criticism for the mainstream media to make after seemingly supporting strikes on Syria at every turn. To pretend that, since 2001, the 9/11 tragedies have not been highly politicized is equally laughable.
The main difference, of course, is that Cofresi used a 9/11 commemoration to speak out against war, whereas most have used it to promote foreign attacks. After all, wasn’t 9/11 turned into an excuse to start a war with Iraq, a country that was not involved in the twin tower attacks? Hasn’t the phrase “Never Forget” been warped into a sentiment to make people paranoid about terrorist attacks rather than memorializing the victims?
Perhaps Cofresi sees parallels between the supposed WMDs in Iraq and the less-than-concrete proof of chemical weapons in Syria. Perhaps, after losing her uncle, she just knows the pain these types of attacks bring. Either way, to vilify the young woman for calling for fewer deaths in an event honoring the senseless deaths seems more like propaganda than anything Cofresi said.
Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/teen-criticized-for-opposing-war-at-911-tribute.html#ixzz2esVbtKIg
EDITOR’S NOTE: Readers wishing to leave a note of support for Brittney can do so at her Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/brittney.cofresi?fref=ts
••••
APPENDIX
HOW THE SCUMMY MEDIA REPORT AN INCIDENT LIKE THIS
Source: Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post
We have marked in bold some of the clearly tendentious and disparaging words used by the reporter to blacken Brittney’s character. (The piece carries no byline.) __________________________________________________
Teen Brittney Cofresi ‘exploited victim Sal Papasso Jr’ at 9/11 ceremony
New York Post
September 13, 2013 12:00AM
Brittney Cofresi reads during Wednesday’s memorial at Ground Zero.
A 9/11 victims parents were left shocked after a teen launched a political rant about Syria while reading their sons name at a Ground Zero memorial.
Brittney Cofresi, 15, declared, “President Obama, please do not bring us to another war,” after saying the name of her “uncle,” September 11 victim Sal Papasso Jr., who was only a distant relative of the Brooklyn girl.
She later went on Twitter to brag that her hijacking of the service had made her a viral star.
“I’m famous guys honestly go look up 15-year-old girl asks Obama not to go to war while speaking at the 9/11 memorial,” she tweeted.
Papasso’s family is estranged from Brittney’s aunt – and they didn’t recognise her as she exploited their son for her stunt.
“My mother saw her reading Sal’s name and said, ‘Who is that? She had no idea who she is,” Sal Jr.’s brother, Tom Papasso, told The New York Post. “We were all stunned. It was completely inappropriate to use this day for that. It was not the time nor the place for a political statement.”
Brittney was a toddler when Papasso, a state tax-fraud investigator, died at in the South Tower of the World Trade Center at age 34.
She is related to him though marriage. Her aunt, Christine, is Papasso’s widow. Christine and Papasso’s blood relatives have been estranged for more than a decade.
“I was only 3 when you were taken from us, and we love and miss you very much,” Brittney said of Papasso as she began speaking at the service. She then launched into her anti-war harangue.
“Why is [Christine’s] sister’s daughter reading Sal’s name and then following it with a statement about war?” Tom Papasso fumed.
As she spoke, Brittney held up a picture of herself as a toddler with Papasso playing together in a ball pit at a birthday party.
She later told The Post that she goes to the event every year, but this year, she was moved to speak out about the prospect of bombing Syria after seeing President Obama’s TV speech on Tuesday.
Cofresi’s mother, Karen, said Sal’s family is “entitled to their opinion,” but she stands behind her daughter.
“I’m proud of her,” Karen said. “She has class and intelligence. She said a message to the president and said ‘please.’ She didn’t say, ‘Go Giants!’”
To read more go to www.nypost.com
