From: Arlo J. Bensinger (ajb102@psu.edu)
Date: Wed Aug 18 2004 - 15:16:13 BST
Platt,
On Wed, 18 Aug 2004 08:53:56 +0000, "Platt Holden" wrote:
> Arlo inadvertently expresses the cry of a victim of the twin towers massacre
> leaping to her death"
>
> > Aaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!
>
> It's heartwarming to see Arlo defend terrorist acts.
>
??? You see the problem, right? Where in my post did I defend terrorist acts?
You see how the dialogue is being manipulated??
I renounced radical lunacy in all its guises- from radical Islam to radical
patriotism. But of course, say anything other than "let's go kill those
terrorists" and the radical "patriots" denounce you as supporting terrorist
acts.
This knee-jerk patriotism, and renunciation of dissent and pacifism, is just
what makes the propaganda machine in this country so strong, and (as Mark
pointed out) would make Goebbels so proud.
> Invading totalitarian countries and freeing their citizens is moral. But
> moral standards alone will not suffice to initiate force. When a
> totalitarian country, such as Iraq, violates a truce and is a threat to
> peace, then an invasion is justified.
I'm confused. Do we invade when "we" are threatened (or perceive ourselves to
be), or do we invade when a regime oppresses its citizens?
When do we invade Saudi Arabia?
When do we invade China?
When do we invade North Korea?
Why was Iraq more a candidate for invasion than these three?
Here's a toughie...
Why is it when the CIA sends covert ops into a sovereign nation to train
guerrilla fighters to topple a legitimately elected democratic leader, or to
train them to commit terrorist acts against their neighbor, you do not renounce
this as "terrorism" on our part?
And...
Why is it wrong to ask for the truth of our involvement in this area to be
admitted to and denounced? We have a large part to play in this, and "kicking
ass and taking names" is not going to do anything but fuel more fire.
But of course, it is simply easier to kill them off... they are "germs" after
all.
We are never going to elimate radical fundamentalism, or radical patriotism, or
radical white-supremacy... there will always be idiots in this world who are
lured by the eternal "other" as the source to all woes. A "war on terror" will
do nothing for this. Nothing. But, standing up and being honest and taking our
share of blame and beginning to rectify the gross injustices we have committed
there, I believe would be a grand first step in keeping the majority of the
population in favor of peaceful co-existance with us.
Had Hitler been met with force when
> he violated the Treaty of Versailles, the horrors of WWII might have been
> averted.
>
> Not this time.
You can compare Iraq to Nazi Germany all you want. But it leaves wide open the
question why other, more "dangerous" regimes go unchallenged, and in the case
of China attain "most favored nation" status.
You can be fanatical all you want, but don't be hypocritical.
Arlo
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