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Re: impressionistic ramble
On 9/13/01 12:30 AM, quoth the effervescent hoopyfrood at juno_com at
hoopyfrood at juno_com:
>Are we more or less isolated and ignorant than folks in
>other countries. Possibly LESS, really. If we saw 1,000s of civilians
>die suddenly, we would not celebrate.
And with this, you finally dislodge the rock I couldn't see around.
There's one thing we're forgetting, or just not mentioning, that I'd
forgotten or not mentioned.
The countries in question, the ones screaming for the death of The Great
Satan, are not countries with a wonderful reputation far as freedom of
the press goes. They're not Internet-wired like we are. They're isolated
and insular, and the mass of people there know only what their government
tells them. If they're told we're evil, raised to think we're evil, then
of course they're happy when we suffer. We know far more about them, I'd
be willing to bet, than they do about us. And that's not saying much.
As far as Afghanistan, we're talking about the Taliban, for G-d's sake.
The ones who destroyed priceless ancient statues just a few months ago.
We're not dealing with people we'd really understand.
NPR report a few months ago about a father in Iraq or Afghanistan who was
raising his kids to be terrorists. If his son was to be a suicide bomber,
he said he wouldn't try to dissuade him, and that it would be an honour
for the family. These are people who can live among us for years, really
see us, and still fly a plane straight into an office tower at morning
rush hour. That's a dedication I don't think we can really grasp. I think
it's horrific, but I accept that I can't begin to comprehend it.
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