Well, those weren’t Tamils. Or if they were, they weren’t the right ones.
These sorts of things are always infused with so much berserk hatred that there is no chance at all of appealing to rationality. That the LTTE is a terrorist organization - in fact, its status as such is the reason they’re losing the war - isn’t an issue one way or the other in the minds of the protesters. They’re Tamil, the enemy in Sinhalese. If we had a big, organized Sinhalese minority they’re counterprotest.
There’s no point trying to argue logic here. Remember when Yugoslavia was blowing people up? Every week there were letters to the editor in all the Toronto papers from Serbs, Croats and Bosnians blaming the other two sides for being terrorist baby-killing agents of Satan. Nobody with a long last name lacking in vowels ever wrote in with a reasoned, logical argument. Same shit, different decade.
It’s nothing new or unique to Sri Lankans. I knew a guy in high school whose parents gave money to the IRA. His position on the Irish conflict was one of absolutely Olympic levels of denial, hatred, and irrationality.
As far as I’m concerned, having lived through this crap in Ottawa a coulple of weeks ago, the firehoses should have come out before this. Yes, you have a right to protest, and have your voice heard. That’s why there are nice open spaces in front of Parliament Hill, and Queen’s Park. Once you start blocking trafic, and causing law abiding normal citizens to walk for three hours to get home or pop $40.00 for a cab, however, your’re breaking the law, and should be dealt with as any criminal would. They trashed the washrooms of a small food court two blocks away from Parliament, and cost lord knows how much money in Police overtime to the City of Ottawa.
Speak your mind, yes. Get in my way, no. I didn’t go downtown to your protest and carry my own “GO HOME” sign, and shout “Why are you blocking traffic?”. Why? I would have been assulted, that’s why. Good attitude there, people.
Even though I could sense a red herring there, your argument has a valid point. However, I suspect that, if they had protested in the way you had suggested, it never would have made it to the headlines or to this forum. In other words, no one would have noticed. History as I know it, has nothing more to offer other than Buddha and Gandhi on this side of the table. On the other hand, victory and success through violence could get you etched in history (what else does a war mean?).
So, these folks decide to disrupt the normal life of other people to gain attention. I am not saying that it is right (it of course IS wrong), but I want to emphasize the point that we have EVOLVED to a point that, unless something affects our life, majority of us are not going to do anything about it.
As I comprehend it, most of us would not have cared about what happens in Srilanka, as long as we can continue our life un-interrupted. THAT is where the real problem lies - turning a blind eye towards someone who is in distress. :smack:
Based on a high degree of civility displayed in the first phase of this thread, I am not going to close it in the manner that we routinely treat zombies.
Anyone wishing to continue this discussion, however, should be aware that the event in question is months old and that some of the participants may no longer be active on the SDMB.