Thursday, July 07, 2005
Home truths
I woke up to the terrorist attacks in London. 700 injured, 37 dead so far and counting. My fellow Marxists over there are terrified, as I would be too. I don't usually indulge in disaster porn, but here's a picture of some of the victims I'd like to share:
Female workers of colour, caught in the blast. So let's have no 'misdirected blow against imperialism' sentiments. Those fuckers are killing the people they claim to defend. They're elitist, anti-human, willing to sacrifice anyone to their anti-democratic goals.
The terrorists sowed fear, fertile ground for right-wing anti-immigrant sentiment. I can only imagine what U.K. Muslims will face in the weeks to come. The terrorists have done more damage to the Left than a host of government PR agents ever could have.
They just gave Blair carte blanche to equate opponents of the neoliberal G8 agenda with bomb-throwing maniacs. On the radio this morning, Blair already said the attack was particularly difficult when G8 leaders were trying to eradicate poverty. He's wasted no time in pulling out the daggers.
Through the looking glass
OK. Now let's look at another story from last week. The U.S. dropped a bomb on an Afghani village, killing 17 women & children. There's no photo. Tony Blair didn't stop a G8 summit. It got a few inches of press in the local papers, buried in the 'international news in brief' section.
Let's call a spade a spade. When it happens in Afghanistan, no one cares. When it happens in London, the world stops. All tragedies are equally horrific. But some tragedies are more equal than others.
This is what the U.S. military said about the Afghan bombing:
I don't see much of a difference.
I hope this turns out like Spain. I hope the U.K. people realize the war on terror is creating more terrorists. That this kind of thing is what will happen if they leave their governments free to pursue imperial ambitions unimpeded. I hope they mobilize en masse for peace and justice, kicking out those politicians who create terror through their wars.
A final aside. To anyone who thinks this position 'excuses the terrorists'; where were you when the U.S. bombed those civilians? What did you say about the sieges of Al-Qaim and Fallujah? What have you done about the millions of non-Westerners killed by U.S. campaigns across the globe? If you haven't protested those, you have nothing to say here. In fact, you're responsible for this. It's your ignorance & belligerence that gives the terrorists their lifeblood, and allows them to take ours.
Female workers of colour, caught in the blast. So let's have no 'misdirected blow against imperialism' sentiments. Those fuckers are killing the people they claim to defend. They're elitist, anti-human, willing to sacrifice anyone to their anti-democratic goals.
The terrorists sowed fear, fertile ground for right-wing anti-immigrant sentiment. I can only imagine what U.K. Muslims will face in the weeks to come. The terrorists have done more damage to the Left than a host of government PR agents ever could have.
They just gave Blair carte blanche to equate opponents of the neoliberal G8 agenda with bomb-throwing maniacs. On the radio this morning, Blair already said the attack was particularly difficult when G8 leaders were trying to eradicate poverty. He's wasted no time in pulling out the daggers.
Through the looking glass
OK. Now let's look at another story from last week. The U.S. dropped a bomb on an Afghani village, killing 17 women & children. There's no photo. Tony Blair didn't stop a G8 summit. It got a few inches of press in the local papers, buried in the 'international news in brief' section.
Let's call a spade a spade. When it happens in Afghanistan, no one cares. When it happens in London, the world stops. All tragedies are equally horrific. But some tragedies are more equal than others.
This is what the U.S. military said about the Afghan bombing:
U.S. forces "regret the loss of innocent lives and follow stringent rules of engagement specifically to ensure that noncombatants are safeguarded. However, when enemy forces move their families into the locations where they conduct terrorist operations, they put these innocent civilians at risk."According to the terrorists, the enemy forces are the U.K. government and world financial institutions, funding the war effort against a civilization the terrorists claim as theirs. The banks & government planted themselves amidst millions of families in central London. The terrorists target their enemies through civilians. The army targets its enemies without regard for civilians, and expresses regret afterwards.
I don't see much of a difference.
I hope this turns out like Spain. I hope the U.K. people realize the war on terror is creating more terrorists. That this kind of thing is what will happen if they leave their governments free to pursue imperial ambitions unimpeded. I hope they mobilize en masse for peace and justice, kicking out those politicians who create terror through their wars.
A final aside. To anyone who thinks this position 'excuses the terrorists'; where were you when the U.S. bombed those civilians? What did you say about the sieges of Al-Qaim and Fallujah? What have you done about the millions of non-Westerners killed by U.S. campaigns across the globe? If you haven't protested those, you have nothing to say here. In fact, you're responsible for this. It's your ignorance & belligerence that gives the terrorists their lifeblood, and allows them to take ours.
Oceania was at war with Eurasia: therefore Oceania had always been at war with Eurasia. The enemy of the moment always represented absolute evil, and it followed that any past or future agreement with him was impossible.
George Orwell, 1984
