Randy wrote: "There we were in the belly of the beast trying to deal with
the beast's worst moment (My Lai) but forced to acknowledge that the beast
was Cerberus-like, with many heads. Astonishing moment."
United Fruit Company and My Lai, what an unlikely alliance. Ernesto
Cardenal (again) also has an amusing reference to Sam Zemurray, a
Turkish-American fruit importer, who became the major shareholder of United
Fruit:
The condition was that the Company build the Railroad,
but the Company wasn't building it,
because in Honduras mules were cheaper than the Railroad
and "a Gongressman was chipper than a mule,"
as Zemurray used to say. (*Zero Hour* New Directions, 1980)
There is also an expression in Mexico-"making an American"-meaning "to make
money."
After all, the business of America is business.
Maggie
mjaffe@mail.sdsu.edu