yesterday 37 britons died, apparently victims of the “war o(n/f) terrorism.”
this is reprehensible. no one should die for simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time…
for simply living their day-to-day lives in the manner they would had there been no war…
37 iraqis dying is often but a footnote to one american dead, and a handfull injured. 37 dead afghanis is not even enough to make the front pages of major western newspapers; or else an unfortunately menacing wedding party.
i mean, these bombings were a horrible atrocity. but honestly, equivalently just another day in the life of, had they been perpetrated against “the enemies of the west”
i will fly no flag today, no union jack at half mast, no flag of any kind.
for i mourn all of humanity, not those of any particular nation. we are all the victims, we are all the perpetrators, in these type of actions.
i mourn for all of us, and if we don’t appreciate the reality of our situation, i will soon mourn for none of us. for too soon, it will be too late for mourning to make a difference.
if we, as a species, do not learn from the failed violence we are all guilty of supporting to some degree or another, before long, it will be too late, and will no longer matter.
i may not be mad, but these thoughts have me on the verge of bannination, thanks to the ever-white-ful overlords.
and for the record, i’ve been mourning humanity since i was 14 years old, and started paying attention. that’d be a little more than a dozen years past now… not that it’s ever taken into account round these parts.
I’ll fly the Union Jack today, because it’s something I can do. I remember how people the world over supported us in whatever meaningless emotional way they could in 2001; I was surprised at how moved I was by these futile but lovely gestures, and I feel obligated to return the sentiment.
This doesn’t mean I’m unmindful of the horrors being perpetrated in my name elsewhere in the world, in the name of the god I worship, in the name of ideals I don’t even recognize when they’re enforced by the barrel of a gun. It doesn’t mean I’m unaware of the sick, the starving and the ignorant.
It doesn’t mean I don’t do what I can, where I can.
The world is in a hopeless state, hate-filled, ignorant and violent. Mourning is appropriate, but it’s not the only response allowed us. We’re obligated to push back, through advocacy, charity, and meaningless gestures of defiance.
I understand your despair, but please don’t think that my small gesture of solidarity means I’m indifferent to all else.
As a point of information, it’s not your sentiments that got you warned, it was the fact that you teed-off on folks in MPSIMS. Had you done it in the Pit, nobody would have said “boo”.
bob_loblaw, I felt the same way in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. Yeah, 6000 people dying really sucked, but predominantly I felt that it was just another pointless violent episode, one more item on an already very, very long list. And I feel the same way about the London bombings, and the war in Iraq, and every other war for that matter, and genocides, and serial killers, and … yeah. I, for one, am simply sick and tired of death.
bob_loblaw. IANAMod. But it appears to me to be a simple case of ignoring forum descriptions. Venting goes in the Pit. Period. Light fluffy stuff as well as hugs and consolation belongs in MPSIMS.
People in the other thread mentioned are displaying concern and consolation for the British in a way you apparently feel is inappropriate, or something. Fine. Why didn’t you open a Pit thread on this? For that matter why is this thread in MPSIMS?
IANAMod, but here’s how I see it: You are allowed to be as outraged as you want about the world, but there are guidlines that tell you where to put your outrage here at the SDMB. They clearly tell you to take it to the Pit.
MPSIMS: Yeah, I feel really bad that London was bombed, but I also feel sad for the 40 Iraqis that are killed on an almost daily basis and they don’t get a worldwide condolence card.
As I said in the thread where I warned you, bob_loblaw, it isn’t that you hold these ideas, it’s that you were being a jerk. You don’t insult other posters in MPSIMS, period.
Finally, this thread is better suited for the Pit. I’ll move it over there.
