[thechat] What can WE do?

Martin martin at members.evolt.org
Thu Sep 20 17:26:06 CDT 2001


Bill Haenel wrote on 20/9/01 5:40 pm

>There will always be an 'us' and a 'them'. Pick your side, but know that
>you'll be on one or the other. 

I disagree. There is only 'them' when we fail to see a common humanity
in other people. And I certainly disagree into turning members of 'us'
into 'them' (The Taliban were 'us'. The Afghan people were most
definitely 'us'). And it sickens my stomach when people call for
*exactly* the kind of attack on other people which we saw last
week.

Calling for indiscrimate bombing which doesn't care whether
or not it kills the innocent (and remember that US and UK
jurisprudence defines this as 'until proven guilty to the
standard of beyond reasonable doubt') makes you a supporter
of murderous terrorism, whether you live in Baghdad, Peshawar
or Shitsville, Idaho.

If there is bombing in Afghanistan, and it kills innocents, then
anyone celebrating is as deserving of being called murderous
scum as those who celebrated last week's atrocities.

Human life is equally precious in Kabul as it is in Manhattan.
Selective grief is despicable.

>I personally wonder if this is even possible. Should I just accept that
>humans will kill each other and die for each other forever and ever? 

Solzhenitzin had a good insight into that: "Let the lie come into the
world, but let it not come through me."

Cheers
Martin

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