[thechat] Justice, was Chomsky, was Michael Moore's message

[spinhead]

I don't have time to write the twelve page monologue in my head, but,
really - is anyone under the impression that terrorism can be stopped?
Whether you accept the historicity of the account or not (I do) you may have
heard of two guys named Cain and Abel, brothers? One was jealous of the
other, and his solution was murder. Maybe not terrorism, but terrorism's
just a form of murder - just like war.

Try thinking about it from this perspective - we CAN'T stop terrorism unless
we kill every person on earth who even has the potential for murder. So, if
we can't stop it, what can we do INSTEAD?

I am apolitical, so my contribution hasn't changed any national attitudes or
anything like that, but I have the utmost respect for life, and I've raised
my four kids to have the same. That's four less potential terrorists
(assuming I've done my job well.) Well, five, maybe - my wife was a SF gang
member and a pretty violent type before we met. She had started to change
her life style before we married, and has since made the paradigm shift to
being a peacemaker instead of a troublemaker. (In twenty-two years, she
hasn't done me in yet ;)

I absolutely completely concur that criminals need punishment; it's a
fundament of civilized society. I just can't conceive of a war accomplishing
that without infinitely bad side effects.

[overtones of extreme ignorance] Why can't the world's most powerful,
militarily and scientifically advanced nations (Japan and China were heavily
affected by the WTC incident) manage to find the perpetrators and extract
them for trial and punishment? Is a ground war against Afghanistan REALLY
the only way NATO and the US can get physical access to these folks? It just
doesn't seem reasonable [note ignorance disclaimer] If anyone's got any
military insights into why a covert operation to bring the perps to the US
(or wherever) for justice isn't possible, I would find it very educational.

Thanks.

spinhead


----- Original Message -----
From: "Erika Meyer" <emeyer at lclark.edu>
To: <thechat at lists.evolt.org>
Sent: Monday, September 17, 2001 2:54 PM
Subject: RE: [thechat] Justice, was Chomsky, was Michael Moore's message


> >  > There are many other less visceral, less flashy, more creative, more
> >>  effective, and certainly more peaceful responses to last week's
> >>  tragedy.
>
> Scott wrote:
>
> >I've been waiting for you to identify some. Will you please?
>
> Of course, many pundits with different types of expertise have done
> this.  Unfortunately, I've seen none of it on the corporate media
> outlets.
>
> So it's up to little ol' me?
>
> There was a period of time last week, when the whole world spoke out
> in our support.  Sure, there were dissenters, and there always will
> be.
>
> We could have used that momentum to build a world effort to stop
terrorism.
>
> But in order to do that, the pot could not call the kettle black.
>
> How can a terrorists defeat terrorism?  Why did we give millions to
> the Taliban?  Why are we selling weapons to the Israelis?  Why did we
> trade arms for hostages?
>
> In order to defeat terrorism, we would have to look at it roots, what
> drives intelligent, educated people (these guys were neither insane
> nor stupid) to complete such a hideous task.  And with an
> understanding of that, we could move ahead and eliminate whatever it
> is that feeds its.
>
> If we did that, we would have to admit to complexity, maybe even some
> of our own culpability.  And we would have to address that.
> Apparently, that cannot happen.  It couldn't happen before, and if it
> happened now, it might give their acts legitimacy.  So we are
> cornered.  We're right where they want us.
>
> Certain pundits have suggested that the best way to defeat terrorism
> in places like Afghanistan would be to help rebuild that broken-down
> country, so that the support for terrorists is weakened.
>
> I think many many paths could be explored.  But this would take time,
> strategy, a refocusing.  Instead of being a world cop, the US could
> be a model of global consciousness, of ethical behavior.  We could
> quit being so damn greedy.
>
> But the fact is that the US is not willing to be honest with itself.
>
> The fact is, the US did not become a superpower by behaving ethically.
>
> We are a horribly indoctrinated nation, where corporate interests
> define both domestic and foreign policy.  Human life and dignity are
> secondary to the pursuit of wealth.
>
> The history of the Middle East is a mess, largely due to Western
> imperialism in the area.  The Brits were the first to use chemical
> weapons in Iraq, around WWI.
>
> And so it goes.
>
> What goes around comes around.
>
> To respond to violence with violence increases the chance that the
> Middle East populace will increasingly view the US as an aggressor,
> causing more converts to the underground anti-US groups.
>
> War is easy.
>
> Paradigm shift is difficult.
>
> Erika
> --