Monday, November 16, 2009
It didn't sound right in the first place (see previous: Amnesty International and the American Red Cross Sponsor My Name Is Rachel Corrie Reading). It sounded like perhaps a local student chapter had gone off the reservation and was likely to be reigned in as soon as the home office found out. Turns out it wasn't even that.
Here's the lesson that everyone should have learned by now. The type of people who huckster plays like My Name is Rachel Corrie will do anything -- lie, manipulate, connive -- to make themselves look mainstream and get well-meaning but naive people to support them, or make it look like they do when they've done no such thing (witness the many lies of the divestment movement). Note that a representative of the Red Cross has posted a comment denying any intentional involvement in sponsoring the event. Here is the comment with formatting as in the original email that I was forwarded from another source. The revealing part is bolded:
Thank you for your inquiry about this issue. The improper use of the American Red Cross name was brought to my attention early last week and we have been working to correct the issue. The Red Cross Club at Stanford University was asked to sponsorship an event on human rights. When the Club said no, the organizers ask if they could list the Red Cross as an organization that supports human rights in order to give the Red Cross Club some visibility on campus. You can see there was some "miscommunication." We have already asked the producer to remove our name from all materials. We received this email confirmation:
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: "Michael Vang" mvang@stanford.edu
Sent: Monday, November 9, 2009 11:28:10 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific
Subject: Re: My Name is Rachel Corrie: Bio deadline tonight!
Greetings,
For all promotional material henceforward, American Red Cross will not be included in the cosponsorship list. We have contacted the person who is creating our programs to remove your name before it goes to press and I have contacted the Drama Department's media contact who has access to the events.stanford.edu site to remove your name from the co-sponsorship list. Your name has been removed from the facebook event and the eflyer as well. I hope this is satsifactory and I'm sorry that we weren't able to make a cosponsorship work.
Best,
Michael Vang
Producer, My Name is Rachel Corrie
The department website has already remove our name from their listing. See: http://www.stanford.edu/dept/drama/0910_events/rachel-corrie.html We are working all get all the other departments and clubs promoting the reading to update their listings as well.
Best Regards,
Cynthia
Cynthia Shaw | Director of Communication, Marketing & Government Relations
American Red Cross Silicon Valley Chapter
Like that bold part? Anything to get to be able to say they had a legitimate organization sponsoring their event. Pure manipulation.
Note this from the drama department that claims the Red Cross at first was a sponsor but "pulled out":
The American Red Cross is not. They were and then pulled out. The printed posters had been printed so they still appear. Amnesty international at Stanford is the sponsor.
Patrice O'Dwyer
Stanford University
Department Administrator of Drama
Division of Dance
My money (and emailer Kerry agrees -- or rather, I agree with her) is on Red Cross's version of this being closer to the mark.
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: American Red Cross Did Not Sponsor Rachel Corrie Play.
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At Stanford. I'm not surprised by some of the names on the sponsorship list of the performance, but the Red Cross and Amnesty International jumped out (and you thought it was only Amnesty UK). The announcement on the Stanford site... Read More
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, p.30
"STAMPP" and "ISM" (islamofascist solidarity movement) LIED about and to the American Red Cross just as the "ism" LIED to Rachel Corrie.
"ISM" LIED
and Rachel Corrie DIED.
Unbelievable! What sleaze! To ask if the Red Cross should be listed as an organization that supports human rights...to give it more visibility on campus.
First of all,it's not as if everyone and his dog hadn't known what the Red Cross is about. The organization has been around for how long? And visibility? Since when did the Red Cross need visibility anywhere? It's a name everyone recognizes. And if they needed volunteers on campus, they could take care of that themselves; their name already has universal recognition.
So who at the Stanford Red Cross office was foolish enough to say yes to these people? Well, it was probably a naive,inexperienced student volunteer who wasn't thinking on his/her feet.
Oh, and I like the part about how they were "sorry that we weren't able to make a cosponsorship work." What cosponsorship? When?
Geez, what slimeballs. They're political con artists.
Also, I remember hearing that the American Red Cross had alone stood up for the Magen David (Israeli equivalent of the Red Cross) when the international organization wanted to exclude the MD
And yet....
Please note:
http://www.stanford.edu/group/studentarts/cgi-bin/home/index.php?option=com_jcalpro&Itemid=111&extmode=view&extid=4441&recurdate=1258617600
Clickably: Stanford Student Arts
Quote: "Co-Sponsored by: American Red Cross, Amnesty International, Coalition for Justice in the Middle East, ..."
This as of November 17, 9:41 AM Pacific time.
Still up there.
Thanks, At the Back of the Hill.
I let the ARC know.
Unbelievable....