Wednesday, September 10, 2003

LGF. If you want to go right into the heart of Israeli anger, Little Green Footballs is the place to do it.  Here's a very representative quote: bigel 9/10/2003 03:29PM PST I have no shame in saying that the death of a Palestinian child is not evil. The Palis, from birth to death, are sick, psychotic, genocidal Nazis bent on killing every last Jew, proudly proclaiming their hate and celebrating it. They RAISE their kids to be genocidal killers. They are probably the sickest society ever created in human history, after the Nazis, and these Islamonazi animals are doing everything they can to climb into first place. It is a battle to the death. Us or them. It has to be them. This descent into moral depravity was their choice. And I will not lose one minute of sleep if Gaza or Damascus or Mecca or Aswan are hit with nuclear weapons, and if I see films of dead and suffering Arabs, my thought will be "You got what you f**king deserved." If that bothers your morally handicapped leftist mind, frankly I don't give a sh*t. I've been thinking about the conflict extensively for the last day or two, and I've decided that I just don't have enough evidence to decide one way or the other.  I've been critical of Israel in the past, but let's face it -- it's armchair, arms-length criticism.  I really don't have any idea about the reality on the ground.  Read the web and you'll find two polar opposites.  Does the truth lie in the middle?  On one extreme or the other?  I have no idea.  An optimist belief in human nature compels me to believe that there is good on all sides, that the average man is good and wishes for peace.  Under this scenario I can find some of the Palestinian responses to be human in nature; a man who's child is killed will never forgive.  Likewise, we can apply the same logic to an Israeli father -- if a daughter dies, he will never forgive, never forget.  And the Jewish people have a long history of sacrifice and pain. As I look across the Arab world, I see a great deal of sacrifice and pain there, too.  I see failed leaders, forgotten children, wars in the desert, the tears of mothers disappearing into the sand, following blood that has already disappeared.  All the weaknesses of man are on display, for us to learn from.  I read what Bigel wrote and I say this: Find a path back to your humanity.  Do the Jews alive today truly want the death of millions to be their responsibility?  They do not.  You have lost your way.  Nothing I say or write can matter to someone who cannot acknowledge the essential humanity and innocence of a child.  Your monstrous words, written in anger, will lend strength to arguments that will retract American assistance to Israel.  And that will have an effect.  To those "Islamists" marching with guns and bandannas in funerals of terrorists: You will never succeed.  There will never be peace for you, only slow pain and death.  And truly, the pain you cause your families and people will be multiplied and given back to you, in the afterlife.  The saddest part of our world are those who can see no other path. See?  I just want it all to work out.  And I don't think it ever will.  Time has to heal this, and time is the enemy. 11:11:27 PM     | comment [] | trackback []

The Perspective of Dead People. Ole Eichorn writes: I can't even believe this, France Heat Wave Death Toll at 15,000.  Wow.  "The heat wave brought suffocating temperatures of up to 104 Fahrenheit in the first two weeks of August in a country where air conditioning is rare.  The high death toll has triggered an angry debate in France over shortcomings of the health system.  The French lifestyle has also come under scrutiny, since some of the elderly victims died alone in their homes while families were away on lengthy August vacations." I don't mean to make light of this, at all, but it sure puts the 337 American military deaths in Iraq in perspective. Also for comparison, SARS killed about 800 people worldwide.  (And on that front, get ready for round two...) And finally, about 2,800 people died in the World Trade Center attacks. And, lest we forget, something over 8,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed so far in Iraq (decidely not including military).  But who's counting!  Right, Ole? How many Afghans?  Probably quite a few.  At least 800 Israelis.  And probably upwards of 2,000 Palestinians.  It's important that we maintain proper perspective on dead people. 9:44:26 PM     | comment [] | trackback []