The Agonist points to an article designed to be an intergalactic plea for intervention. It’s filled with the usual talk about how evil war-mongers are are destroying the planet, etc, etc. It’s almost enough to be a parody if it didn’t look like the author was actually serious about this. However, one bit of it practically hit me over the head with its sheer stupidity that I had to point it out:
Instead of trying to understand the millions of adults marching in the streets against them, they gleefully deploy tear-gas, water cannons and new-fangled ‘non-lethal’ weapons. Instead of hearing the terrorist message of non-intervention and anti-imperialism they bomb and dominate complete strangers.
The terrorist message of non-intervention and anti-imperialism?! This has to be the most massively stupid thing ever said. I have a feeling that that author of this is already living on another planet. The last time I checked, back here in Earth the only reason al-Qaeda wants the United States out of the Middle East is so they can bring back the Ottoman Empire and bring the rest of the world under the rule of some kind of new caliphate.
This is a clear case of projection: certain segments of the fringe left assume that if someone’s against the United States they must be good people. They’re transferring their views about the way things should be to another group who shares no such ideology. That in itself is an act of cultural imperialism, although I’m more inclined to call it blind ignorance.
Al-Qaeda doesn’t give a shit about worker’s rights, environmental protection, or globalization. He wants to destroy Western civilization and institute a worldwide system of shari’a. Anyone remember any marches in the streets of Kabul to protest the Taliban? There were, but those were bound prisoners being sent to their deaths. Terrorism is the very antithesis of non-intervention and anti-imperialism. It is an ideology that teaches that the best way to instantiate political change is through killing as many innocents as possible. Anyone who would try to lump Ghandian non-violence with such actions is acting like an alien to common sense.
Excellent point. You might have also pointed out that Osama Bin Laden has claimed that the liberation of East Timor, which had suffered 200,000 deaths in a genocide, was justification for the Bali bombing. The Left has stood behind the East Timorese, but now that part of the Left that speaks publicly has conveniently forgotten them. The War on Terrorism is real, and most of the Left isn’t taking it seriously yet.
I think you really missed some of the satire and irony in the guys post. I also thought it was pretty funny in a stupid kind of way. The Radical Left irks me. They irk me massively—and I wish they WERE on another planet.
I think you guys are confusing “the millions of adults marching in the streets against them” as the terrorists when more likely he is referring to the many that support them believing that thier cuase is that of “non-intervention and anti-imperialism”. Considering this is overblown satire I might have added ‘or starving them trying to starve thier leaders’ pointing at our useless embargos.
Regardless, the overriding point I believe he was trying to make is that the criminals running these terrorist organisations would be virtually powerless if it were not for the millions of dissaffected and suffering in the various turmultuous regions of the world they might exist. Instead of attempting to reverse that, we “gleefully deploy tear-gas, water cannons and new-fangled ‘non-lethal’ weapons” or so to speak. Now to the extent of which that is the case, I have to completely disagree. We’re doing neither. However we’re giving the money to Israel to do the latter, who at one point had a golden opportunity to do the former but neglected to do so. Brilliant. Truely brilliant.
Anyway, read some of his other articles and those of the people he links too, they’re pretty hysterical.
I had thought it was satire, but all satires have an element of truth to them – and anyone who would equate al-Qaeda with some kind of brave international progressivism has got to have some screws loose.