What are we doing?
September 15th, 2001
It's raining nonsense. I've been watching and listening to it for three days, and I've shut up for piety's sake. I'm fed up with this. So, not because I wish to make a point towards anybody, but just because I have to get it off my own chest, some things.
- My condolences to the People of the United States of America and all those who lost loved ones in the attacks.
- Ostrichism sucks. Laura Bush is nuts. She's calling on American parents not to let their children watch reruns of the images of the attacks on the WTC. That's exactly the kind of ostrichism that has made these attacks possible in te first place. What we have to do is show our children these images, but give them guidance by telling them what they mean and how the world works. Thereby not to impress upon them negative emotions such as hatred of nondemocracy, but positive ones, by explaining what advantages democracy, freedom of religion and freedom of speech have. Another ostrich like that (WITH all the respect I have for the father of Tom Puss): Marten Toonder, interviewed on national radio, who proclaims to have stopped watching the news because "he doesn't like grim men", and says that, after World War Two, he didn't much use the war as a subject in his work because "what happened was inhuman and needs to be forgotten as soon as possible". Stick your head in the sand, and be surprised when that Scud drops on top of it: belligerence and hatred absolutely are human character traits, and one must recognize this if one hopes to ever do anything about and/or against them.
- Intolerance sucks. Joris Luijendijk, excellent reporter, who once honored me by being part of the same editorial team as myself for a week, made a report from Sabra and Shatila, about the lawsuit against Ariel Sharon, currently playing out in Belgium. In this report, he interviewed Palestinians, who stated that "if democracy and humanitarianism mean anything in Belgium, Sharon would be condemned to death". No, morons! Y'all don't get it at all! If democracy and humanitarianism mean anything to you, then you HAVE no death penalty and so condemn Sharon to life imprisonment! As above: THIS is what we must keep telling our children.
- Unfairness sucks. Both the CIA and FBI are currently heavily criticized for failing to prevent Tuesday's attacks. But as I said before, it's a miracle something like this didn't happen before and doesn't happen more often or happen in much worse ways. And that's partly because of the CIA and the FBI. Do not denounce them, but thank them. Deeply, on your knees. Don't say, as I heard that English parlementarian say on ITN, that "terrorists who commit acts like these will not hesitate to use chemical, biological or nuclear weaponry if it is at their disposal", but realise that they've already had those weapons for some time now, and that, amongst others and other things, you have the security services to thank for not having had them rain down on your head yet.
- Demagogy sucks. Talibandit Mohammad Omar states that "an attack on Osama Bin Laden is an attack on islam in its entirety". No, fuckface! An attack on Osama Bin Laden is an attack on Osama Bin Laden! Islam only apparently dictates that murder and terrorism are legitimate means in your medieval Afghanistan. Saying that "what we have here is aggression against islam" before a single bomb has fallen, that's intentional belligerent misleading. It's a good thing islam is such a tolerant religion, and that so many islamites are aware of this. Moreover: you don't succesfully counter belligerence and warmongering by reaching for weaponry, but by confronting people with PEACE. People no longer want dictatorship if they've known freedom of speech.
- So. Things that WERE beautiful: the Coldstream Guards in London, playing The Star Spangled Banner during the Changing of the Guards for the first time in history, and the three minute silence in the Netherlands, big gesture of a small nation (all the more if you realize that the only other moment during which we, yearly, are as silent as that, has so much to do with those same Americans too). Shivers down my spine. The bitch who, in Metro Magazine (next to the comics), declared that we should definitely not fight alongside the Americans IF it came to war over this, should fuck off. Yes, of course nothing should be done rashly, and hard evidence is a must. But we will fight alongside the Americans. We owe this to them because of the past, and we owe it to ourselves because we believe in the same democratic and humanitarian values.
|