Date: Wed, 19 Sep 2001 10:19:02 -0700 From: Mimi Nguyen <slander13-AT-mindspring.com> Subject: Re: TIM WISE ARTICLE Where was this published? Mimi At 09:15 AM 9/19/01 -0700, you wrote: > >Enemies, Both Foreign and Domestic: The Limits of Revenge and Rhetoric > >By Tim Wise > > > >September 15, 2001 > > > > > >Well, it looks as if the good people of the rural U.S. should be breathing > >a sigh of relief right about now. After all, with the President and most > >Americans itching to bomb any place where terrorists might be hiding, one > >can only imagine the kind of wrath that would have been brought down upon > >the heads of folks in Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming or Mississippi had last > >week's hijackersbeen white boys with crew-cuts, like Tim McVeigh. > > > >All this talk I keep hearing of "Kill the Arabs," "carpet bomb em back > >into the stone age," or "get the ragheads" would have to have been replaced > >with "Kill the Crackers," "bomb em back to the Dust Bowl," and "get the > >trailer trash." > > > >But the fact is, we all know that such a scenario would never have > >transpired, and not because white boys arent capable of inflicting mass > >death. They certainly are. McVeigh proved that, if for some folks Hitler, > >Stalin, Andrew Jackson, Lyndon Johnson and Dick Nixon werent sufficient to > >make the case. But rather, because the folks who are so quick to > >collectivize the responsibility and the payback when the perps are > >dark-skinned or "foreign," are just as quick not to do so when white boys > >are the ones committing mass murder or engaging in terroristic activities. > >In the wake of Oklahoma City, none of the people who are now calling for > >war against Afghanistan even suggested targeting white supremacist groups > >and militias for destruction, let alone bombing the cornfields of "middle > >America" in the hopes of taking out a few anti-government types. > > > >Bottom line: enemies who look different, speak a different language, or > >practice a different religion are lots easier to view as the "other." As > >somehow cutoff from the common humanity of which we consider ourselves a > >part. And so we speak now of killing Arabs indiscriminately, of not > >differentiating between the guilty and the innocent (ironically, the > >precise mentality of whomever carried out last weeks attacks), and winning > >a war, which we claim has been officially engaged. But we would have said > >none of these things had the perpetrators been internal extremists. We said > >none of these things about those who fit the descriptions of Tim McVeigh, > >or Terry Nichols. We would never have heard columnists calling for > >profiling of white men, the way that reactionary crank and wanna-be pin-up > >girl of the right, Ann Coulter, called for the same against Arabs and > >Muslims this week. > > > >Actually, that wasnt all she said: she also opined that it should be the > >role of the United States to invade "their" countries, kill "their" > >leaders, and "convert them to Christianity." If these were the words of an > >Imam, calling for the forced conversion of Southern Baptists to Islam, we > >would call them the fanatical ramblings of a jihad-happy madman. But when > >the fashion-conscious and attractive (though clearly Snickers-deprived) > >Coulter says it, she finds mass support for her nuttiness, gets her call > >for a new round of Crusades published on the website of the National > >Review, and will remain a regular commentator for such paragons of > >journalistic virtue as Fox News. > > > >So too Jerry Falwell, who for some unknown reason people still take > >seriously despite his penchant for committing random acts of serial > >stupidity. His latest? Laying the blame for the attacks on New York and DC > >at the feet of the ACLU (for "throwing God out of the schools"), "the > >abortionists" ("because God will not be mocked"), as well as "pagans," > >"feminists," and "the gays and lesbians." After offering this truly > >maniacal glob of pedantic crap, Falwells partner in fundamentalist lunacy, > >Pat Robertson, chimed in to blame "pornography on the internet," abortion, > >and the removal of the ten commandments from courthouses. God, according to > >these twin towers of intellectual mendacity and biblically bankrupt > >spirituality, is "lifting his protection from us," as our comeuppance for > >secular humanism. > > > >It makes me think back to what Barry Goldwater said about Falwell in 1981, > >when the rotund little preacher asked all "good Americans" to rise up in > >opposition to the nomination of Sandra Day OConnor to the Supreme Court > >(since, after all, the Court was no place for a lady). "All good > >Americans, Goldwater intoned, should rise up and give Jerry Falwell a > >kick in the ass." Precisely, and now two decades overdue. > > > >Funny how all the discussion of religious fanaticism among certain > >followers of Islam has led us to overlook the fanaticism of certain > >Christians who are now calling for blood. One has to imagine that if Jesus > >was here today they would call him a "pussy" for all that "turn the other > >cheek" stuff. And while I cant answer the question thatmanyfollowers of > >Christ ask when they wear their "What Would Jesus Do?" armbands, I feel > >pretty confident that I know what he wouldnt do. He wouldnt be saying > >things like: "lets shove a couple dozen cruise missiles up their ass," or > >going out and spraypainting "Fuck Islam" on mosques, or screaming about the > >"sand niggers" while guzzling beer at some sports bar. And for that matter, > >he wouldnt be standing around chanting "U.S.A, U.S.A." at a memorial > >service, in an attempt to turn it into a jingoistic pep rally. > > > >The events of the past week have brought out the best in people and the > >worst: on the one hand, the rescue workers, diligently seeking for any > >signs of life amidst perhaps a million tons of rubble; yet, on the other, > >the cacophony of voices calling for revenge. Oh sure, they insist it isnt > >about that, but rather, "justice." They insist they want more than merely > >the continued spilling of blood, and that striking back has more purpose > >than merely proving how tough we are. But ask them what that purpose is, > >and how they think massive military retaliation can actually make us more > >safe, to say nothing of the safety of others the world over, and their > >faces go blank, or become contorted with anger, as they shout: "well, we > >have to do something. We cant just sit here and let them get away with > >it!" > > > >But "doing something" is not a valid pretext for unleashing war. And > >justice requires that we carefully consider the difference between > >responsible parties and innocent ones. Just as one would not think it > >"just" to level an entire neighborhood in search of one serial killer who > >might be living in the area, so too is it unjust to speak of turning much > >of the Arab world into a parking lot, in search of the few persons actually > >behind the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. > > > >Not only would such a disproportionate response be morally suspect, it > >would be irresponsible from a security perspective as well. It would leave > >us all less safe, as millions more in the Arab world came to see the U.S. > >as a bully, unconcerned about innocent lives, Muslim holy sites, or world > >peace. And ten years hence, or maybe less, they would understandably > >retaliate in kind. What is most ironic about all of this, is that such a > >scenario--the West and Islam locked in mortal combat--is exactly what the > >Osama bin Ladens of the world have always wanted. It is a trap. A trap > >rejected by the vast majority of Arabs, and of Muslims wherever they may > >be, but one in which they too will be caught up if we take the bait. > > > >Its really quite simple: we couldnt kill all of "them" even if doing so > >was ethically acceptable, which of course it isnt. And those who dont > >die, who would look around and see their nations leveled, their houses > >gone, their family members incinerated, would at that point most certainly > >feel that they had nothing to lose by getting even. And there is no more > >dangerous member of any society than the one who thinks he has nothing to > >lose. Desperation doesnt make for very sound judgment, whether the > >desperation of the immiserated in the so-called third world, or that of the > >most powerful, and yet often least original people on the planet. > > > >And so what does that leave us with? The fact is, I dont know. And neither > >do you. And why we cant just say that, admit our frailties and > >uncertainties and ignorance, is beyond me. That we demand quick and easy > >answers is indicative of our cultural attachment to instant gratification: > >got a headache, take an aspirin; overweight, get liposuction; upset about > >something, take Prozac. Dont think, dont analyze, just do it. It is Nike > >slogan as national mantra. And it is the prelude to international > >slaughter. > > > >No wonder so much of the world looks at America with contempt and at > >Americans as spoiled children. First, we train terrorists the world over, > >including bin Laden, because we had to "get the commies" at all costs, even > >if it meant supporting dictators, fundamentalists, and murderers. Then we > >support corrupt and brutal regimes that trample the rights of their > >citizens. Then we fund and support an illegal occupation of Palestinian > >land, and contribute to the deaths of a million or more in Iraq from > >bombing and sanctions. Then, we exhibit our arrogance by withdrawing from > >international treaties and forums when the going gets tough or issues get > >raised that we dont want to discuss. > > > >This is not to say that any of these things, no matter how irresponsible or > >even criminal warrant an act the likes of what we saw September 11th. But > >there is something to be said for understanding why no one likes you. If > >all the other kids in the sandbox think youre a thug and a bully, then > >after a while youd best stop trying to beat them all into submission, or > >thinking that they are the problem, and instead, begin to turn some of that > >analysis inward. Thats what you would do, anyway, if you wanted to > >actually get to the bottom of the conflict on the playground. If, on the > >other hand, your main concern were showing what a badass you were, then > >maybe this wouldnt matter much to you at all. And in that case, you would > >set out to show those other kids who was boss, who was king of the hill. > >You would continue to provoke them, to attack them, and then act shocked > >when they hit back. > > > >That kind of behavior is unbecoming enough when children engage in it. When > >adults with explosives do it, the immature becomes deadly. This is no game. > >There is no "winner" despite the blustery rhetoric of our > >frat-boy-in-chief. And unless we begin to fundamentally alter the way we as > >a nation operate around the world, we are in for many years of violence, > >and counterviolence, and empty platitudes, and flag waving, and body bags. > >And if that happens, it wont merely be the fault of those who attack us > >from outside, but also the fault of those who were the enemies of justice, > >equality, and peace on the inside of the American empire. There will be > >more than enough blame to go around. > > > > >_________________________________________________________________ >Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp > > > > > --- from list postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu --- --- from list postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
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