What on earth were they thinking?
I've just seen the stupidest, most insulting question on OK Cupid, a site which matches users for potential relationships and friendship by the means of, well, questions, to work out their compatibility. Until now, I'd found most of the questions more or less reasonable, but this one really took the biscuit:
"Does the United States deserve to be targetted by terrorists?"
It was admittedly preceded by something to the effect of "in view of its current" something or other, but I was too pissed off to take it in. Regardless of what I may think of the Bush administration, no country deserves to be targetted by terrorists, full stop.
"Does the United States deserve to be targetted by terrorists?"
It was admittedly preceded by something to the effect of "in view of its current" something or other, but I was too pissed off to take it in. Regardless of what I may think of the Bush administration, no country deserves to be targetted by terrorists, full stop.
posted by Anthony at
23:03
7 Comments:
That's offensive.
The better question is, should the U.N Security Council pass resolutions against the United States condemning its illegal actions and threaten force if it fails to comply?
By
Andy, at 15/4/05 00:49
You'll understand I waited a bit before attempting to answer that one!
My main concern is that the people of the United States should not be punished for the actions of a president who, frankly, should know better than to lead his country into an illegal war.
Ideally, I'd want Bush and his administration tried for war crimes or something similar - the reasons they gave for invading Iraq remain as questionable as ever, but this does not justify passing judgement on the entire country. After all, it's not as if America was unanimous in electing Bush for either of his terms ...
By
Anthony, at 16/4/05 23:45
"My main concern is that the people of the United States should not be punished for the actions of a president who, frankly, should know better than to lead his country into an illegal war."
Well said, Tony. Unfortunately, the United States is in total political disarray, thanks largely to a population that is ignorant not only of its own national history (until about a century ago, one of non-intervention), but of the causes of the current Middle East problems and the reasons and motivations behind the terrorist attacks of 9/11 that provided the growth hormones of the Bush Administration.
Americans reacted to the events of 9/11 with a thirst for revenge. Any victim would do. If Osama bin Laden couldn't be found, find some other "ragheads" to bash. The fact that Iraq had nothing whatsoever to do with the events of 9/11 was immaterial. After all, most Americans have no concept of anyone or anything outside of their own borders, and not very much of what's within them. The opportunity to unleash long-suppressed urges of violence was too great to ignore and George W. Bush and his neoconservative nihilists were the ideal facilitators for that violence.
I agree with you that no nation's innocent citizens, even those of a nation as errant as ours, deserve to be the victims of a terrorist attack. God and everyone forgive me for saying this, but I sometimes wonder if the only way we will ever come to fathom the needless destruction and suffering we've caused so many others around the world over the past three-quarters of a century would be for us to get a taste of our own medicine. Again, let me be clear: I hope and pray that this never comes to pass and that Americans come to their senses soon, but I often wonder if short of that experience we will ever stop acting like the global schoolyard bully.
Anyway, thanks for letting me ramble.
Great blog you have!
By
liberranter, at 17/4/05 00:52
Andy:
The suggestion that the UN use force againt the US is one of the funnier lines I've heard lately. Just what military force do you have in mind for the job? France?
By
John the Mad, at 17/4/05 01:08
Saucer of milk!
By
Sniffy, at 17/4/05 01:31
John: I wasn't *really* suggesting use of force against America. Um, I live here!
Liberranter: well put. The problem -- well, one of many -- is that in our country you cannot have a mature, objective discussion about how America has contributed in some very negative ways to the current global situation. If you try, they sic Ann Coulter on you to scream, "Why do you hate America?" Having a national moment of, "Gee, we really should never have given all that money and technical support to Saddam in the 1980's" would be a healthy start. We're probably a century away from that.
By
Andy, at 17/4/05 12:22
There's a similar attitude in Britain about the Iraqi supergun affair of the early 90s - although there was an enormous scandal when it came to light, Tony Blair's kept very quiet about it.
I wouldn't say it's been brushed under the carpet (everyone knows it happens), but it'll be a while before the country comes to terms with its own contribution to Saddam's regime.
By
Anthony, at 17/4/05 21:44
Post a Comment
<< Home