Fw: news

[Edward Birch]

Subject: Re: news


> On Thu, 13 Sep 2001, Edward Birch wrote:
>
> > Luke Rickert <rickert at engr.orst.edu> wrote.......
> >
> > > rather then watching the ridiculous "news" yesterday<snip>...
> >
> > Excuse me!  Would you like to explain that remark for the families of
the
> > hundreds of New York City firemen and policemen who are missing and
feared
> > dead.

Well, Luke Rickert did explain, off list, his remark concerning the recent
New York City and Washington D.C. terrorists attacks.  Rickert seems
unwilling to face the public........

Rickert wrote..........

> Yes I would be happy to explain my comment, I put the word news in quotes
> since the media continually repeated the few same conjectured details
> despite the fact that there had been no real news developments since the
> event. Calling something news would imply some sort of substantial
> development or new event, this was definitely not the case.  This was not
> a comment on the event, loss of life or really anything not having to do
> with cars.
>
> Additionally I would like to say that fireman and policemen (or women for
> that matter) are simply people, they are volunteers for inherently
> dangerous professions. Due to their potential for sacrifice, they are
> widely respected. This does not mean that their deaths are any more tragic
> than the death of anyone else. If anything it should be considered,
> although extremely unlikely, part of the job description.  People die,
> that is how it is, this is a matter better suited to religious or
> philosophical discussion, not something that is appropriate material for a
> list generally devoted to cars and other rather inconsequential topics.
> For this reason it is inappropriate to post a list wide criticism of my
> comment, a comment that was taken out of context and assigned a great deal
> more meaning than can reasonably be justified.  I realize that I cannot
> tell you how to feel, but it might benefit you to consider that not
> everyone in the country shares your views or what I presume is a rather
> strong fascination with the events of this week.  If you are overcome by
> emotion then perhaps you should think before firing off inappropriate
> comments in the future.  You will notice that this message is addressed
> only to you; there is no need for the rest of the list to be flooded with
> yours, mine or anyone else's comments on these so terribly irrelevant
> things.
>
> It also might help you to consider the point of view from the other side.
> Violence is horrible means for dealing with most problems, this attack is
> an exelent example of this point, it just pisses off the other side and
> make the cycle continue.  There are very few justifications for violence
> and revenge is one of the worst. If a deed is so incomprehensibly
> terrible, why is it right to go and do the very same thing back to someone
> else? That is the logic of the playground, not that of supposedly
> intelligent and advanced people. Revenge leads to an endless cycle from
> which it becomes ever more difficult to extricate ones self. That said
> take a moment and consider this little scenario.
>
> You and your people have been living in your country for thousands of
> years, then all of a sudden a bunch of foreigners, claiming a
> historic/religious justifications steal your land, kill your people and
> imprison, persecute and segregate those remaining. They do all of this
> because someone else mistreated them in a very similar manner with
> remarkably similar justifications. And to top it all off, they were only
> able to do these things and to maintain their control over your homeland
> and people because of the help of a very arrogant and powerful friend.
> Don't you think there might be a little bit of animosity against this
> friend?  And given some very skillful and admittedly fanatical planning,
> you might take any means possible to avenge their interference? While I
> don't think what they did is right, it is by no means surprising. The US
> has behaved terribly in many parts of the world; particularly in its
> dealings with Arab and Islamic peoples (who are not the same thing by any
> means) We play favorites and have no respect or understanding of their
> cultures. This makes it very easy to get people to hate a powerful and
> visible country such as ours. There are fanatics in all cultures and
> countries, this one has plenty of examples, one of which was recently
> executed, but these people and groups are not representative of the true
> character of the country, or are they?  only time will tell. The popular
> idea that all Arabs and Muslims (this would include Indonesia where most
> of the population lives) are terrorists, is nothing but racism following
> in the fine tradition of the Crusades in the 13th century fed by
> ignorance. There would be much less terrorism against this country if we
> weren't so bloody stupid in our dealing with the rest of the world.
> Terrorist organizers would get nowhere if we didn't do such a good job of
> making enemies.
>
> I know you are not going to like this and may very well not read it, but
> you asked for it and now are getting it. OK your comment was probably
> meant to be rhetorical, but you are getting an answer anyway. In the
> future please think and then hit send. There is no excuse for being
> thoughtless.
>
>
> Luke Rickert
> www.engr.orst.edu/~rickert
>
> Remember: There is nothing more dangerous than stupid people with power.