Town Hall Meeting

Have you heard of Bikini Island? Apparently it’s this small set of islands in the Pacific where the inhabitants lived for centuries, and in 1946 the US decided they wanted it to test nuclear bombs. Some of the Bikinians decided to stay. Peter Gabriel wrote a song about it, super heavy when you know this story. Listen to it here:

Here is some more info:

“An American came to Bikini. He said he was the most powerful man in the world. He said he wanted to drop a bomb on Bikini. He said America wanted to use Bikini and that we would have to leave.”

–Kilon Bauno, Chief of the Bikinians

http://highschoolbioethics.georgetown.edu/units/cases/unit3_3.html
http://www.aracnet.com/~pdxavets/cushing2.htm

It’s unbelievable this type of history just gets swept under the rug. When I read about things like this I think of how ridiculous it is to say things like “lets get America back to doing good.” As a good friend of mine said, “when I read or hear someone say ‘lets get the US back on track,’ I turn off immediately because it’s pure nationalist propaganda that’s very carefully packaged and consumed primarily by the (disappearing) middle class.”

To add insult to injury, that two piece bathing suit we all know about was named after this island and the detonations were used as a marketing gimmick on the reasoning that the suit would cause a burst of excitement. I can’t make this stuff up, believe me.