Armchair Bravery

To the editors:

Ross G. Douthat ’02 is a good guy whose columns I have enjoyed on many occasions. Nevertheless, I find it amusing that Douthat, who has probably never been exposed to danger a single time in his life, sees fit to fault the Bush administration for its “zero casualty” logic in his column “Appeasing the Chinese” (Opinion, April 16). Apparently, George W. Bush is a coward for having the patience and humility to bring our boys back home safely with relatively little damage to Sino-American relations. Ross, on the other hand, is more than willing to expend other people’s lives to show those uppity Chinese who’s their daddy. If only the reigns of power were held by someone as brave as this Crimson columnist, then those Chinese wouldn’t be so cocky!

Stepehn R. Piraino ’02

April 17, 2001