“Great power imposes the obligation of exercising restraint…”
– Leo Szilard, one of the creators of the Atomic Bomb
On 4/10/02 1:57 PM, “Mike Masnick”
> Blowing up towers full of civilians getting ready for their
> day of work is wrong. Raping someone is wrong. Walking into a festive
> holiday dinner and blowing up civilians is wrong.
Firebombing the entire city of Dresden in the dark of night because you’re not sure where the ball bearing factory is located is wrong. Dropping the second, larger atomic bomb on Nagasaki, killing or injuring more than 300,000 people while the Japanese were already suing for peace was wrong. Dropping the first one without any warning whatsoever is also wrong.
I defy you to explain to me how a family that has been torn apart by murder committed under a formal declaration of war is better off than a family that has been torn apart by murder committed as an act of terrorism.
Even in World War II the Geneva Convention was eventually cast aside as both the Allies and Axis bombed and strafed civilians. Attempts to frame wars with “rules of engagement” falsely elevate war to a noble act and mask its obvious savagery.
War is hell. Terrorism is war. They are both murder.
Apparently, according to the Bush government, Terrorism and War are just fine until they occur on American soil and end American lives. After September 11, only a non-American can hold that opinion, of course, for reasons well-covered on this list.
Blow up more buildings, I say. Blow up the Empire State Building, blow up the CN tower, blow up the Petronas twin towers, blow up the Vatican, and blow up Big Ben. Blow up everything until we get it through our thick bloody heads that we are all in this together, that violence begets violence, and that murder by any means and within any context is still murder.
Maybe once every one of us on the planet are all touched by the savage, brutal death of a loved one we’ll realize the vicious cycle that is spawned by intolerance. Either that or we’ll all be dead and I suspect that the planet will be better off for it.
-Ian.