GM and the Gun Sculpture
by David Codrea
codrea4@earthlink.net
An internationalist anti-gun sculpture was
recently presented at the GM Court at the Canadian War Museum, and will soon be
headed for American soil.
What follow are some of my correspondences with
GM officials. I hope after reading this, you will decide to also contact GM with
your concerns, and let them know that while they are free to engage in social
activism, we are free to be customers of people who are not abetting UN efforts
to destroy our rights. GM Corporate snail mail, the GM Canada website link, and
the GM PR Director edress are included in the following thread to facilitate
this.
General Motors Corporation
300 Renaissance Center
P.O. Box 300
Detroit, Michigan 48265-3000
Phone: (313) 556-5000
To:
Mr. John F. Smith, Jr.,
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Mr. G. Richard Wagoner Jr.,
President and CEO
Dear General Motors Management,
According to the webpage: http://www.civilization.ca/cwm/ihuman/cwmhumeng.html,
an artistic assault on the principles of self determination and defense,
"The Art of Peacemaking - The Gun Sculpture," is being presented until
June 24, 2001 in General Motors Court at the Canadian War Museum. I understand
this offense against liberty is next headed for UN headquarters in New York for
the July 9 - 20 world disarmament cabal.
This seems really inconsistent with your
sponsorship of the Chevy Trucks Shooting Sports America series on ESPN cable
network, which has done much good at positively presenting recreational firearms
use to a viewing public that is otherwise bombarded with anti-gun media bias.
For that, you should be commended.
Do you have any control over what happens in a
site that bears your name? Do you provide continued funding? If you do, will you
continue to allow your name to be associated with the globalist agenda to
undermine American sovereignty and disarm the American people? http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/ERC/arms/freedom_war.html
I realize that "global buying power"
is one of the phrases you use to attract investors, but I hope that GM is not
underwriting the destruction of American freedoms to achieve global profits. I
am forwarding this query to allies in the fight to defend the total Bill of
Rights, and will also pass along your reply and/or lack of response.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this
matter.
David Codrea
GM claimed they were "unfamiliar
with" this sculpture in an email that another gun rights activist forwarded
to me, so I wrote their "Customer Relationships Manager" the
following:
Dear Ms. Mendoza,
As per your correspondence with Mr. Rankin, you
are "unfamiliar with any movement regarding General Motors, the United
Nations, and an anti-gun sculpture."
Allow me to assist. The link you requested is
provided below. http://www.civilization.ca/cwm/ihuman/cwmhumeng.html
I informed GM, via the "contact us"
form on your website.
Our questions are simple- does GM endorse the
UN's global civilian disarmament efforts, or does GM support the United States
Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and particularly, the right of the people to
keep and bear arms? And what is GM prepared to do about this sculpture currently
on display in the "GM Court"?
Your prompt attention to this matter will be
appreciated.
Thank you,
David Codrea
This is the first response I received:
Dear Mr. Codrea,
Thank you for your recent e-mail. We appreciate
you sending us the link we requested. We should clarify this matter for you.
General Motors Court is the physical address of the Canadian War Museum. This is
the only relationship between the Gun Sculpture and General Motors.
Thank you again for contacting us.
Sincerely,
Wendy Mendoza
Customer Relationship Manager
GM Internet Response Center
Ms. Mendoza, of course, did not paint a
complete picture of the GM relationship:
Dear Ms. Mendoza,
Thank you for your reply.
Your answer is not complete for a couple of
reasons that you may not be aware of.
First, "General Motors" is a fiercely
protected brand name. It is used only with corporate sanction. You had better
believe that if a nazi group presented their political views at General Motors
Court, your company would be quick to issue a statement of denunciation. But
this is actually a minor point.
Allow me to call your attention to the
following, the Oct. 9, 1997 dedication of the GM Court, which, contrary to the
information you have provided, shows that the relationship between General
Motors and Canadian/UN efforts, of which civilian disarmament is a part, is
ongoing. http://www.dnd.ca/eng/archive/speeches/gm_s_e.htm
GM has been described as a "key
fundraiser" for the War Museum by the Canadian Minister of National Defence.
I think you will agree that, in this light, it is more than just an address.
So my question stands, and remains unanswered:
Does GM approve of having its name associated with UN civilian disarmament
efforts? If not, can we expect a corporate statement of disagreement with the
museum's display?
Thank you,
David Codrea
Ms. Mendoza then offered the Pontius Pilate
defense, i.e., "Go see Herod":
Dear Mr. Codrea,
Thank you for your recent e-mail. We apologize
for your dissatisfaction with our previous response.
We must emphasize that you wrote your comments
to the United States division of General Motors. It would be in your best
interest to contact GM of Canada at http://www.gmcanada.com
for the information you are seeking.
Also, General Motors does not have a corporate
statement on this matter. GM supports artistic expressions and opinion. The Gun
Sculpture is the artists [sic] views and opinion. We cannot comment on the
sculpture, the Canadian War Museum, or General Motors involvement.
Thank you again for contacting GM.
Sincerely,
Wendy Mendoza
Customer Relationship Manager
GM Internet Response Center
To which I responded:
Dear Ms. Mendoza,
In re "We cannot comment on the sculpture,
the Canadian War Museum, or General Motors involvement."
You already have. Loud and clear.
Sincerely,
David Codrea
So I sent my concerns to GM Canada, and
received the following:
Original Message:
From: <stew.low@gm.com>
To: <codrea4@earthlink.net>
Sent: Thursday, June 28, 2001 9:57 AM
Your letter to the GM Chairman has been
forwarded to me for response.
My name is Stew Low and I am the Director of
Public Relations for GM of Canada and I am the one responsible for the
relationship GM of Canada has with the Canadian War Museum.
In Canada, we have a document called the
Charter of Rights and Freedoms that guarantees our Canadians free speech and
expression, the right of free association and a number of others that we all
recognize as being the foundation that makes Canada the best country in the
world.
While I can appreciate your point of view, I do
not agree that is our place to censure what a museum will or will not show. In
doing so is contrary to what makes this country great.
Yours truly,
D. S. Low
Oh, Stew, Stew, Stew...
To: Stew Low, GM Canada stew.low@gm.com
Dear Stew,
I've seen your tepid Charter. One might say it
has a big "but", in that it "guarantees the rights and freedoms
set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be
demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society."
Gee, that opens the door to all kinds of
revisionist interpretations based on might makes right and the political climate
of the time. Guess it all depends on the meaning of the phrase "reasonable
limits" and how many people you can sell that definition to, eh?
In the United States, WE have a document called
the Bill of Rights, which is off-limits to government infringement, and which,
when necessary, protects the individual against the tyranny of the majority.
Included in these is the inalienable right of the people to keep and bear arms.
History has shown that disarmed populations are
vulnerable populations, and this has been demonstrated by the tens of millions
of genocide victims in the last century, the vast majority being victims of
their OWN governments.
An exhibit advocating global disarmament, one
intended to influence passage of enforceable treaty provisions and guarantee a
monopoly of power to UN member state regimes over their subjects, is occurring
under the name "GM". Your claim that it is not your place to
"censure" a museum exhibit rings hollow - you people would be tripping
all over yourselves to disaffiliate the GM name from this were it a politically
incorrect exhibit, for instance, something advocating racial, sexual or
religious intolerance, that is, as long as the race was not white, the sexuality
was not hetero, and the religion was not Christianity.*
But thanks for your candor. I'll pass your
message on as the official position of General Motors Corporation and its
affiliates.
Sincerely,
David Codrea
codrea4@earthlink.net
Guns- good AND good FOR you!
Find out why at:
http://www.guntruths.com/
http://www.citizensofamerica.org/
http://www.keepandbeararms.com/
* Lest this observation cause concern,
understand that it's intent is merely to illustrate the double-standard applied
by liberals espousing freedom of expression. I wrote the original draft from
which the GunTruths.com "Inclusion Statement" was developed, a
statement which has also been endorsed by KeepAndBearArms.com:
"[We are] Not Your Enemy. [We] supports
the right of all peaceable people to keep and bear arms. Your age, race, sex,
religion, political party, sexual orientation, or national origin are of no
concern to us. Anyone who requires you to disarm is not your friend, and not
our friend. Only when all peaceable citizens can freely exercise their
inalienable right to self defense, and their right to keep and bear arms, will
we attain the ultimate safeguard for our mutual protection, as individuals, as
members of a community, and as citizens of the Republic."
Stew gets the last word:
As i [sic] said I appreciate your point of
view, but don't happen to agree with it. That is what makes society so
interesting.
Also from David Codrea
