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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Daniel Jassim writes:
> Let me just say that we, as Americans, should not be so sheepish to jump on
> the war bandwagon. War against whom? How in Heaven's name will killing other
> civilians ever make things better in the world? That is not justice, that is
> revenge and no one has the right to condemn the citizenry for the sins of
> it's government or leadership. The attack yesterday is proof of that, we
> shouldn't make the same mistake and become "indiscriminate" murderers.
>
> Yesterday morning I went to get my hair cut and the hairstylist was
> commenting on the attack. I only said that I hope the people responsible
> will be brought to justice. She said "They're all Iranian." Hopefully such
> ignorant comments are few and far between. If we resort to such thinking we
> are no better than those who carried out this attack, Arab or otherwise. It
> is yet to be determined who carried out this attack (usually a group will
> step forward and claim responsibility).
>
> We should avoid stirring up hatred against Arabs. I recall the hours after
> the Oklahoma City bombing and the immediate call to arms against certain
> Arab nations, not considering that it may have been one of our own citizens.
> At this point, we still don't know who is behind this. And if it turns out
> the ethnicity of the attackers is Arab, it does not justify blanket hatred
> of Arabs. We'd be no better than the Nazi's with regard to the Jews of Europe.
>
> Regarding the scenes of Palestinians cheering after the attack, I have
> learned that the footage shown (or several portions of the footage) was
> possibly before the attack, and was the Palestinian reaction to Israeli
> troops withdrawing from that town. Around the Arab world, the feeling is
> mostly one of shock and outrage. If the Palestinian footage is indeed in
> celebration of the attack, then such behavior is very disappointing. But I
> want to remind everyone that the Palestinians are a people who have suffered
> under brutal military occupation for nearly 50 years. Their cheers are
> perhaps no different than our own when the bombs rained on Baghdad, even
> though innocent civilians were being killed in both cases.
>
> What happened yesterday was a murderous and destructive act of hatred
> against our nation. But it should also be considered a wake up call to our
> government for it's unarguable role in fostering aggression and hatred
> around the world, and within our own borders as with Oklahoma City. The
> innocent shouldn't be condemned and suffer and die for the sins of the
> leadership. We should seriously examine why someone, or some group, would
> feel compelled to carry out such a horrible act. There are several lessons
> to be learned here, the main one is that killing innocent men, women and
> children is wrong. Most important, let our comments rest on peace and
> justice, not war and revenge.
Well said, although I can't agree with the timing of bringing up
the last two paragraphs--it's still far too emotional a time to
start dragging the political roots of terrorism into it. But I
agree 100% with the first part of this *and* its timing--here in
NJ I've been hearing about a LOT of heckling, spitting, and general
hostility directed at Arabs in general and even American Muslims
in particular. Let's find and punish the guilty and show that
even in our deepest pain and anger, we're better and stronger people
than the terrorists. Hate is the weapon of the weak.
Let's deal with this shock, horror, and anger first, and then
look rationally at the roots of it all. And, of course, remember
that evil never justifies evil in response. Whoever quoted Gandhi
was right on the mark. I hope that the world will show the wisdom
of Gandhi today.
all best
LFB
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Message has 2 Replies:
 | | Re: War
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| (...) I understand, Lindsay :) I speak from the heart and I am outraged by all of this! But, in my heart and mind, I cannot help but think the blame is two-fold and things don't just happen out of the blue, though I deplore such hatred and (...) (23 years ago, 12-Sep-01, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
| | | Re: War ... Please read the following...
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| In no way am I right or may have the right to write this, but when you watch people in pain and know there isn't much you can do, all you can say is... (the following is a request, nothing else, it's not to offend or blame anyone at all)... After (...) (23 years ago, 12-Sep-01, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | War
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| Let me just say that we, as Americans, should not be so sheepish to jump on the war bandwagon. War against whom? How in Heaven's name will killing other civilians ever make things better in the world? That is not justice, that is revenge and no one (...) (23 years ago, 12-Sep-01, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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