The news came through to me via the Lost Nomad's site (I just read this and was about to link, but his site went down. Here's a link to a similar announcement-style post on ROK Drop, which has a link to the post mentioned).
For me, the most interesting aspect of this is disproving one of the main myths of the misinformed, politically-dogmatic NGO people – that the Korean police and judicial system are actively prevented from handling GI's in the Korean legal system.
In arguments over verifiable points-of-fact that these people consistently get wrong – and I'm not even a sign-waving, anti-American, anti-globalization activist, yet I seem to have the basic facts straight much more than they do on a lot of issues when I occasionally engaged such people in verbal battle – which totally baffles me, as I would have expected that those concerned about a topic would have actually done the do-diligence and reading up that most everypeople don't do.
The major myth that I heard on the streets in 2002 – at least among the people who got in arguments with me this over samgyeopsal – was that the convicted murderer was not allowed to be tried under SOFA provisions and given a slap on the wrist, and in some versions, even freed.
"Huh?" I would always reply. "His ass is sitting in Korean prison right now." Most people thought I was crazy and somehow making stuff up to defend some categorically pro-American stance. Most were stunned to see I was critical of Bush and also critical of many aspects of the US presence here.
"But you're an American? How can you call your president an idiot?" or some version of that was always the response. I would then counter, "Do all Koreans love Roh Moo Hyun?" to which there were knowing snickers, disagreements, or at least much chattering. "Of course not!" was the general response.
"So why do you think all Americans support Bush? Don't you even watch your own television news?"
As Jabba the Hutt (to whom I am increasing prone to compare myself these days) once chided, "Weak-minded fools."
Korean left-wingers and liberals – get a clue and do your homework. Markle's ass has been in prison all this time now, and here the Korean newspaper articles to prove it (since any non-Korean news source is obviously under that control of the evil American Empire™ and George Bush himself.
"But the American media is biased and pro-American!" they say.
Sure – to some extent, and in different ways than the same is true in Korea. But if I had to put my bet down on some counter-to-popular-sentiment journalism getting out there and published in one nation's media – who would you put your money on?
The point is that such people were placing me and the whole United States in the same category they had unconsciously created for themselves and in which they had actually imprisoned themselves – within a limiting box of extreme nationalist fervor and categorical thinking.
This is why dissenting views are not tolerated – especially among both extremes of Korean rightist nationalists and radical leftists – because actually, they are interpreting my assumed opinions and stances on things based on their own singular and narrow view on things.
Hence, the inability to reconcile someone who isn't an unapologetic booster for American Empire™ being critical of idiotic, anti-American NGO protestors (again, not "idiotic" because they are anti-American, but simply because their reasons for being so are so obviously political and self-interested) yet also being able to be critical of the actions of the United States, my own government.
Anyway, all I demand of people touting any particular political point of view is to get the basic facts of the main pillars of your argument (Markle is sitting pretty on a tropical island sipping daiquiries and laughing at the memory of the Korean prostitute he murdered, or that SOFA is even the main part of the problem – the Korean military has exactly the same arrangements for its personnel in East Timor, Kyrgyzstan, and Iraq, and a Korean soldier who accidentally shot and killed a fellow Iraqi soldier was tried by the Korean military) straight.
You don't have to agree with me – otherwise we wouldn't be arguing, now would we? – but you shouldn't be ranting and raving on the basis of things that are easily demonstrated as non-facts.
And to all those people who scoffed at me like I was crazy – and who probably don't read this blog, but whatever – Richard Markle has had his ass in prison since 1993.
Period. Like I said.
Goshdangit – why do the people on left, in whatever country I go to – tend to be as narrow-minded and dogmatic as the people on the right?
They certainly make for embarrassing bedfellows.
