From the Styx by Peggy Tibbetts

GC wrote to me:

There is a bit of deceit going on here. From the NY Times article of Saturday, Mar 23, as you have already quoted: “Reached by telephone, Gabby’s mother, Barbara Alessi, said she had no knowledge of the play or her daughter’s involvement in it.” In the next two days Barbara Alessi appeared on ABC Good Morning America and CNN’s American Morning and explained why she took her concern to the principal, which was the catalyst that prompted the cancellation of the performance. Why the initial denial?

Thanks for pointing out another twist to the story, GC. I didn’t see Barbara Alessi on the TV. But you’re right about the deceit.

An article titled, “Conflict escalates over canceled student play on Iraq” by Lisa Chamoff, which was published in the Stamford Advocate on March 27, says:

Wilton High junior Gabby Alessi-Friedlander, whose brother is serving in Iraq, said she was approached by a student in the class who wanted to portray her in the play. After speaking with Dickinson, Gabby said an agreement was worked out to involve her in the production.

“Once I started reading the script, I stopped,” Alessi-Friedlander said. “This is no way to respect or honor our men and women overseas.”

Her mother, Barbara Alessi, said she spoke with the administration because she thought the script the students wrote was one-sided, even though it was reworked a bit.

“There was no understanding of any of the more complex issues, the varied roles that troops were playing,” Alessi said. “I think we really have to reflect on the fact that opinion does not substitute for fact, and that before you can educate others you have to educate yourself.”

Gah! Before I comment on Alessi’s denial, I HAVE to address what she said. A play is creative interpretation and/or expression. It’s called ART. The students aren’t doing a documentary, they’re doing a play. She has every right to have an opinion about the play, but that shouldn’t stop the students’ performance.

Yet clearly it did, according the Advocate article. Alessi’s denial to the New York Times reporter, Cowan probably has more to do with the New York Times. Conservatives think of the Times as a liberal rag, so Alessi probably didn’t want to talk to them. Instead of saying “no comment” she made up a bullshit story. It’s typical. One thing I’ve noticed through the Bush/Cheney years is how well they – and Fox News – have taught people to lie and deny. Thanks to Stephen Colbert we even have a word for it – truthiness. And it has really caught on.

Alessi said, “[B]efore you can educate others you have to educate yourself.” What is researching soldiers’ letters and stories, then writing a play about them, if not educating themselves? I wonder how she imagines young people are supposed to “educate” themselves about the Iraq War – their future – if they are not allowed to share what they’ve learned with others.

I don’t understand how one person, like Barbara Allessi, ca n control the destinies of so many others. Or why she would want to. And why do others, like Wilton HS Principal Canty, allow it?

I read Voices in Conflict. I was curious about the play and what could possibly be misconstrued as offensive or one-sided. The play includes the voices of men and women in different branches of the service who are for and against the war and some who aren’t sure. Iraqi men and women are also represented – also pro and con. The students obviously did extensive research in order to write the unique perspectives of all their characters, especially the Iraqis. The script reveals that these students did indeed “educate” themselves about the varied roles and opinions of the troops and the Iraqi people. They did a superb job of laying out the complex issues.

Voices in Conflict does not portray good vs evil. It shows the Iraq War is not in black and white. Someone who is conflicted in her own mind about the war probably has a hard time accepting that. People have every right to their opinions about the war. When that morphs into a society that deliberately censors the realities of war from young people then it becomes a sickness.

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