Message #11264

[goldenearring]

Donna, I lean toward your way of thinking, with the exception that even though the Chinese pilot was definitely guilty of harrassing our plane, it is very sad that he was killed.  He may have thought he was invincible; he learned he was not.  His wife and his son will have to live with that for the rest of their lives.  Praise God that he didn't take anyone with him!  I think the entire incident was handled well, even though it did take too long.  In view of the way Americans are viewed, even though we pour out billions of dollars to help other countries every year, I think it was a good way for the Chinese government to save face.  And, I think that slowing down the pace to less than the typical American expectation of have it my way, microwave/drivethrough-NOW demonstrated to all the world that we do work with others.



I truly admire the patience of the families of the American crew, and the positive attitude of the crew members I did see speak about the incident.  We certainly don't need to antagonize relations with China, anymore than they already are.  (I suspect the proposed missile defense system will do a good enough job of that.)  I agree that we need to buy more "in-house" goods, and I appreciate the reminder to slow down and look at where my purchases came from before I plop down the cash.  [As an aside:  I do not agree that we should try to keep China from getting the 2008 Olympics, though, because of this plane incident.  But, it makes me giggle that Paul Wellstone and Jesse Helms actually agree on anything; that's got to be a history-maker!]