Comments on: much less fireworks, but it worked… http://www.seancoon.org/2006/08/much_less_fireworks_but_it_worked.html so many dots, so little time... Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:22:35 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.1 By: Navaho Gunleg http://www.seancoon.org/2006/08/much_less_fireworks_but_it_worked.html#comment-2262 Navaho Gunleg Fri, 04 Aug 2006 07:19:40 +0000 http://www.seancoon.org/2006/08/much_less_fireworks_but_it_worked.html#comment-2262 I sincerely believe that <em>anybody</em> is capable of suicide-bombing. I don't believe that it happens because people <em>don't</em> value life. Exactly the opposite even, they definitely do or did value life. See, if they wouldn't, why would they even <em>think</em> about sacrificing their own? I mean, their actions only have effect in <em>this world</em> and will only affect the living. They will never <em>live</em> to see the result. Wouldn't anyone, if trampled on long and hard enough, strap C4 to his chest and try to blow up the people responsible? At some point, life could be not worth living at all. If your wife, children, heck, you whole family was brutally maimed and murdered and used as governmental propaganda, labeling the whole village you live in as a terrorist breeding place? Wouldn't you retaliate? Wouldn't you just not care what other people thought of the action, would even think `They made me out a terrorist anyway, why not just make it so.'. If you didn't retaliate, did you <em>really love your family</em> enough? Did you really value life? If the fear of being labeled a terrorist prevents you from giving people the proper 'pay-back', i.e. fall in the passive mode, don't you simply abide to the tyrant that constantly wrongly accuses people to repress them? Doesn't such a person have an even <em>lesser</em> value of life? And I'm not sure about the terrorists of late being 'far more deadly' than the IRA. It's just that the IRA wasn't trampled on and kicked long enough or they surely <em>would</em> be. Don't forget that the protestant / catholic issue is relatively 'minor' compared to the major clash of cultures that we call so quickly like to call the 'war on terror'. The first is due to a difference in interpretation of the bible; the latter is a major culture clash. If there are people blowing up themselves for what they believe is some 'greater good', it's nothing more than an indication that the world's messed up and things have gone terribly wrong in the past. Who's supplying these guys anyway? Solving the problem is like trying to get rid of nakedness or advertisements on TV; it's the threat of a capitalist system in which people make life-disrespecting choices for a quick buck, which causes weaponry to end up where it shouldn't simply because the people in power are criminal. It seems close to impossible. They're pretty successful in shifting away the blame, but the ones with no respect for life at all are the <em>governments</em> and <em>corporations</em> that have made all this chaos possible, and <em>not</em> the people they played. I sincerely believe that anybody is capable of suicide-bombing.

I don’t believe that it happens because people don’t value life. Exactly the opposite even, they definitely do or did value life. See, if they wouldn’t, why would they even think about sacrificing their own? I mean, their actions only have effect in this world and will only affect the living. They will never live to see the result.

Wouldn’t anyone, if trampled on long and hard enough, strap C4 to his chest and try to blow up the people responsible? At some point, life could be not worth living at all.

If your wife, children, heck, you whole family was brutally maimed and murdered and used as governmental propaganda, labeling the whole village you live in as a terrorist breeding place? Wouldn’t you retaliate? Wouldn’t you just not care what other people thought of the action, would even think `They made me out a terrorist anyway, why not just make it so.’.

If you didn’t retaliate, did you really love your family enough? Did you really value life?

If the fear of being labeled a terrorist prevents you from giving people the proper ‘pay-back’, i.e. fall in the passive mode, don’t you simply abide to the tyrant that constantly wrongly accuses people to repress them?

Doesn’t such a person have an even lesser value of life?

And I’m not sure about the terrorists of late being ‘far more deadly’ than the IRA. It’s just that the IRA wasn’t trampled on and kicked long enough or they surely would be. Don’t forget that the protestant / catholic issue is relatively ‘minor’ compared to the major clash of cultures that we call so quickly like to call the ‘war on terror’. The first is due to a difference in interpretation of the bible; the latter is a major culture clash.

If there are people blowing up themselves for what they believe is some ‘greater good’, it’s nothing more than an indication that the world’s messed up and things have gone terribly wrong in the past.

Who’s supplying these guys anyway?

Solving the problem is like trying to get rid of nakedness or advertisements on TV; it’s the threat of a capitalist system in which people make life-disrespecting choices for a quick buck, which causes weaponry to end up where it shouldn’t simply because the people in power are criminal. It seems close to impossible.

They’re pretty successful in shifting away the blame, but the ones with no respect for life at all are the governments and corporations that have made all this chaos possible, and not the people they played.

]]> By: Sean Coon http://www.seancoon.org/2006/08/much_less_fireworks_but_it_worked.html#comment-2254 Sean Coon Fri, 04 Aug 2006 00:51:58 +0000 http://www.seancoon.org/2006/08/much_less_fireworks_but_it_worked.html#comment-2254 that's a good point, but i wouldn't go as far as saying that they don't care about anyone's lives, including their loved ones. suicide bombing is one of their tactics -- a prominent one -- but they wouldn't be doing it if they weren't fighting for something they believe in. a percentage of those beliefs are surely some strain of islamic fundamentalism, but i'd bet that defending family (or the memory of lost family) ranks up there as well. israel might not be able to reduce the terrorism based on the first part, but their response to situations like this past week greatly impact the second part of that equation. that’s a good point, but i wouldn’t go as far as saying that they don’t care about anyone’s lives, including their loved ones. suicide bombing is one of their tactics — a prominent one — but they wouldn’t be doing it if they weren’t fighting for something they believe in. a percentage of those beliefs are surely some strain of islamic fundamentalism, but i’d bet that defending family (or the memory of lost family) ranks up there as well.

israel might not be able to reduce the terrorism based on the first part, but their response to situations like this past week greatly impact the second part of that equation.

]]> By: Edward Stewart http://www.seancoon.org/2006/08/much_less_fireworks_but_it_worked.html#comment-2248 Edward Stewart Thu, 03 Aug 2006 19:46:55 +0000 http://www.seancoon.org/2006/08/much_less_fireworks_but_it_worked.html#comment-2248 Here's a key difference between the IRA and the Islamic terrorists that Israel faces. IRA didn't use suicide bombers. They actually did value life (even if it was only the life of Catholic Irish). But Islamic Terrorists whether they're with Hezbollah, Al Qaeda, Islamic Jihad, Hamas, or any others do not care about their own lives, the lives of their loved ones, no one. Which makes them far more committed and far more deadly than anything the IRA could hand out. Don't get me wrong, I'm Protestant so I hate the IRA just as much as anyone. But speaking from a tactical standpoint, when a combatant doesn't care about his own death or the death of those around him he's a very difficult thing to fight. Here’s a key difference between the IRA and the Islamic terrorists that Israel faces. IRA didn’t use suicide bombers. They actually did value life (even if it was only the life of Catholic Irish). But Islamic Terrorists whether they’re with Hezbollah, Al Qaeda, Islamic Jihad, Hamas, or any others do not care about their own lives, the lives of their loved ones, no one.

Which makes them far more committed and far more deadly than anything the IRA could hand out.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m Protestant so I hate the IRA just as much as anyone. But speaking from a tactical standpoint, when a combatant doesn’t care about his own death or the death of those around him he’s a very difficult thing to fight.

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