University of Virginia Library

Croaky and Column

CROAKY-Can I interest you in the
Young Republicans?

COLUMN-So interest me.

CROAKY-Well, we have beer
parties and..

COLUMN-Beer Parties? How about
candidates?

CROAKY-Yeah, them too. We got
Ray Garland for Senate.

COLUMN-Who's Ray Garland?

CROAKY-Ahhh, I think he's from
Roanoke somewhere.

COLUMN-What's he stand for?

CROAKY-He's a... Republican.
We got pamphlets about him

COLUMN-You don't know what he
stands for? Where does he stand on
the war?

CROAKY-He's a Republican. He
supports the War.

COLUMN-Why?

CROAKY-(getting mad) Listen,
you ever read the Geneva
Convention? Huh? Ever?

COLUMN-(awed silence)

CROAKY-Hal Well if you ever read
it maybe you'd find out that they
set up a free and independent and
sovereign state of South Vietnam,
which has since been invaded by
North Vietnam and....

The tragedy here is not that
Croaky is utterly incorrect, which is
to be expected, but rather than 98%
of the well intentioned anti-war
'students' of the conflict would be
unable to quote from Articles 6 and
7 of the Final Declaration of the
Conference of 1954 to refute his
bluster. Croaky's technique is in the
highest U.Va. tradition.