It is an old stratagem for the persecutor to say that he is being persecuted. Popular wisdom has seen right through this all along. In the words of the old Spanish saying: "They throw the stone and then bandage themselves."St. Josemaria Escriva
Maybe St. Escriva has been moonlighting at The National Post, where popular wisdom can still be found:
Nor are we much moved by Hamas's claims that most of the dead are women and children. Again, Israel's enemies know what tugs at the heartstrings of Westerners and are not above adding young corpses to the piles so as to shock and appall European and North American viewers.Still, even if we accept Hamas's death tolls and concede that many innocent civilians have died in Israel's air raids, the fault for these deaths lies clearly with Hamas.
International law recognizes a country's right to defend its borders and population, with violence if necessary. It also places the legal blame for civilian deaths on combatants who attack a sovereign nation, then scurry back to bases hidden among the regular population.
Were Israel to desist now, before Hamas has been dealt a crippling blow and before the Israeli government has once again proved its mettle, Palestinian militants would soon be firing rockets at Israeli schools, homes, shops, offices and public buildings again. Nothing would have been gained and the lives lost on both sides would have been in vain.
As unpleasant as it may be for Israel to persist, it must forge on if Operation Cast Lead is to have any long-term benefits.
Exactly.
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18 comments:
Wow I've read some pretty stupid shit in my time this ranks up there.
Wow, if Anonymous wants to see some stupid shit then s/he just needs to look in the mirror.
Hmm, Occam's razor indicates that if there are young corpses lying around in Gaza, it was the bombs that killed them, or else where did they come from?
Thanks to the open nature of Israel news reporting, we know for a fact that Israel planned to persecute the bombing while claiming to be persecuted. But claiming that young bodies are piling up in Gaza as a trick of those bombed, that really is twisted...
Anon @ 3:35,
Given that early childhood mortality "among Palestinian refugees using maternal and child services" in Gaza was, in this study done in 2000, 36 per 1000 live births, I think Occam would chastise you for sloppy thinking. Those who would consent to the truly twisted idea of using their own children as suicide bombers would consider such a ruse small potatoes.
"...many innocent civilians have died in Israel's air raids..."
I always cringe when I read a statement like this. Who empowers Hamas except "innocent civilians..."? It is the responsibility of civilians to either accept or reject Hamas. It's like saying the American people aren't responsible for the election of Barack Obama. 'boo-hiss'
It wasn't me but it was American someones. That makes them deserve him just as the Gaza 'innocent civilians' deserve Hamas.
it is regrettable, but the citizens of Gaza did vote overwhelmingly FOR a Hamas government, democracy in action eh? Choosing Hamas, and standing idly by while their government fires missiles into Israel removes any innocence they may have had. Period.
As for the Israeli response being "disproportionate", well I hardly think that is the case. I believe that they are showing far more restraint than they should, not clearing this whole vipers nest out completely will only result in more rocket attacks in the future.
Linda, when a city is being bombarded for day after day after day, Occam razor indeed indicates that young corpses lying about were killed by the bombs, rather than the convoluted explanation that the city was so poverty stricken that many died before the bombs, and others deviously saved the bodies up for the bombs, violation there own beliefs on the disposal of bodies, and somehow keeping them fresher than Lenin, and then while being bombed, continuously, they had the wherewithal to extract these old, fresh bodies from such miraculous storage, transport them to a bombed area and scatter them about, to make it simply look like the bombs killed them.
Only after one has completely dehumanized an enemy can one believe such tripe.
Anon @ 1:11 a.m.,
Let me return, for the purposes of clarification, to the statement that is the bone of contention here:
Israel's enemies know what tugs at the heartstrings of Westerners and are not above adding young corpses to the piles so as to shock and appall European and North American viewers.
This statement is either true or false. I contend that it is true. The depths of depravity Hamas is capable of, alluded to here as a hypothetical illustration, is highly plausible based on reliable evidence: documented past behavior of Israel's self-declared enemies. (Example. Example. Example. Note: the hospital picture by Khalil Hamra has since been removed from the Washington Post photo album) There is no need for anyone to dehumanize this enemy - they have dehumanized themselves by their own actions. Although I was being slightly facetious in my previous comment, suggesting a possible source for young corpses, I did so in support of my contention that Hamas was indeed capable of such a despicable action if it proved useful. It's obvious, however, that they needn't stoop to such extremes - they just have to wait for a sufficiently deranged parent to provide some real corpses:
The bodies of a senior Hamas leader's small children were today ghoulishly paraded through the streets of Gaza as the group pledged to avenge their deaths.
Nizar Rayan, his four wives and 10 of his children were all killed by in an Israeli air strike on his home after he ignored warnings they should go into hiding.
In grisly scenes, mourners held up the bloodied bodies of the children to the cameras in a clear attempt to blacken Israel's name and highlight its brutality.
Graphic images showed the young children's uncovered faces as the victims were carried by thousands of angry Hamas supporters during the funeral procession.
The fact that the IDF goes to amazing extremes to avoid civilian casualties in rooting out terrorists cravely hiding among civilians is a testament to their humanity and courage in the face of growing and rampant anti-Semetism and an unbelievably biased media.
Linda,
The links you have provided do not provide any evidence whatsoever of your preposterous contention that the young corpses in Gaza were not killed by the bombs.
The enemy is capable of what any human is capable of, no more, no less. They do not have unhuman hearts or minds, or abilities.
Occam indicates that when you bomb a city, residents will die, unless they have inhuman abilities to survive such onslaught. Occam indicates that the bodies of the dead were killed by the bombs, unless the residents have inhuman abilities to predict future attacks, plan for them by saving bodies, inhuman abilities to store such bodies, produce them, and transport them, all unseen, to the bomb sites to cover up for the fact that the bombs don't actually kill them.
You admit that the enemy is dehumanized in your mind "There is no need for anyone to dehumanize this enemy - they have dehumanized themselves by their own actions".
It is sad because in the worse way the enemy has defeated you, and has turned you into the very thing you abhor.
But don't be surprised when others, who see only humans fighting on this earth, do not share your illogical and inhuman sentiments regarding the enemy, the enemy's abilities and nature.
Anon @ 5:23,
Are you always so deliberately obtuse?
No one is saying that there are no children in Gaza killed by Israeli bombs. One of the main points of the editorial was that we should use prudence in assessing the truth of reports &/or pictures from Gaza as there are numerous documented cases of propaganda by Hamas and its allies, including those in the western media. There was no reference to any specific pictures in this case, only a claim by Hamas that most of the dead were women and children. The NP editors encouraged caution in accepting that claim at face value, as Hamas is well-schooled in the art of propaganda. (I posit that Occam's principle would not fare very well under the barrage of skillful propaganda...)
I wasn't aware you were a mind-reader, but if you are, you're a poor one. I have not dehumanized anyone in my mind: when I state that they have dehumanized themselves, I mean only that which each of us is capable of when committing evil acts - we become less than the persons we were created to be, and if the evil is not repented of and is allowed to take over, we eventually become truly monstrous - in other words, truly evil. People who bring up their children to hate other humans and teach them to become suicide bombers are committing evil acts. I would not presume to judge their hearts (unlike you, who have obviously judged mine) - that's God task alone - but their acts can and should be judged for what they are - evil. As I've taught my children since they were young, one must always distinguish between a person and an act - you know, love the sinner, and hate the sin. So... BOO! Sorry to disappoint you, but "here there be no monsters."
Linda, you obviously love semantic arguments, and are very practiced, indicating that you often have need to rebut your own words. But this is not a point of semantics.
You cannot unsay what you said, or say you meant something else, and then say really you were being factitious, and then say that you are above such beliefs, and then say anything else to unsay what you said.
Dehumanization is a process in one's mind about another person, people do not dehumanize themselves. If they are dehumanized at all, it is in your mind, not theirs.
I have a question for you, you say that it is an evil act to hate other persons, is it okay to teach your children to hate people who commit evil acts? If you do not believe that people in Gaza pitched previously dead corpses onto the rubble, why would you even suggest it, or bring it up? You are transparent, if good at semantics...
No, I cannot "unsay" what I have said, but I can certainly be less than clear in my statements - this is a blog, not a dissertation. And I seldom need to "rebut" my words - I won't say never, as that would make me superhuman or something, non? - although when I've been sloppy in expressing myself I might need to clarify my statements. Language being the imprecise thing that it is, communication is fraught with perils, yet I trudge on nonetheless, accepting the stumbles as part of the journey, worth it for what I may learn upon the way. As for things like irony, the sardonic, and the facetious, had I been speaking to you, you would have heard it in my voice, but that's one of the limitations of the medium that I often forget or just plain ignore. Of course, you can either believe me or not.
You are right (a-ha - she perhaps surprises her interlocutor?) - people cannot literally "dehumanize" themselves according to the accepted definition of the word, so it was a poor choice of wording on my part. However, I stand by the rest of that paragraph.
No, I do not believe it is okay to teach one's children to hate other people - regardless of their acts - and I have never done so. (Didn't I already say that?)
I believe that Hamas is capable of the act described in the NP editorial - more than capable - for all the reasons previously stated, and I stand by this post as "fair comment" for that reason. It was stated hypothetically as something Hamas was "not above" doing, and I deem that accurate.
You have obviously made up your mind as to what kind of person I am, and I will assume that my company and all that straining at gnats you've been engaging in might prove overly vexatious to your spirit. So I will now do you the favour of purposely taking you literally, and in true Great Pumpkin style disappear back into the ether you envision me as inhabiting. Cheers!
Linda, do you believe that Hamas is capable of deviously saving bodies and strewing them around bomb sites in that they have the authority, manpower, logistics, energy, storage, transport, and stealth technology available in the Gaza strip, all without being detected, or in that they are humans, and humans are capable of such?
Is it evil to hate? Well, that's a religious question, and yes, since you gave an answer (pro-porting to speak for God) that hate is an action that it is evil, and since it is evil and an action this provides excuse for you to say that they have dehumanized themselves, this allows a window into your mind.
Why don't you just say, right out, that the dead bodies in Gaza were killed by Israel bombing Gaza, that you are sorry that you implied anything else, that you didn't know why you brought this up instead of the many other valid points you could have made, instead of your longer and longer semantic protestations trying to clarify your sloppy language, and admit that it was not sloppy to bring up Occam in this discussion, as it allowed you to clarify for everybody that you did not mean to say that the dead in Gaza were fakes.
My goodness, Anon, you just don't listen, do you?! As your host, I think I've been more than patient with you, my guest, in attempting to explain my reasoning, despite your attempts to twist my words, divine my thoughts and motivations, and impugn my character. As I indicated in the last paragraph of my previous comment, I am more than willing to let things stand as they are, because frankly, your opinion of me, my character, and my reasoning and rhetorical abilities is of much less import to me than the rest of my life outside of this particular combox. So, I'm choosing to end this particular conversation now, as Occam tells me that nothing less than capitulation to your way of thinking would satisfy you. Sorry, but that ain't gonna happen. However, if I may make a gentle suggestion - you might want to explore your obviously compulsive need to be proven right - you could find that dealing with that issue leads to an improvement in your health and wellbeing. Godspeed.
For the sake of anyone else who may have been following this conversation, here's a good source for information on feelings and actions, and discerning the morality thereof.
Linda, my goodness, I have not twisted your words, or tried to divine your thoughts and motivations, or impugn your character, these are your tactics, which you have been practicing on me. All I have done is commented respectfully on what you posted, without stating or implying anything about your person, while you respond with ad hominem nonsense about me.
Why won't you just say that the dead in Gaza were killed by Israel, and are not fakes?
But no, instead, you continue to use obscurantist rhetoric, attempt to provoke a descent into name calling when you cannot find any reason or rhyme to continue your inarguable point, assert authority over me that you might have were I sitting in your living room, and other such tricks anyone can learn if they study propaganda at university.
It would be so easy, Linda, to admit the Gazans are humans who are dying during this war. It would suggest nothing about the morality of the war itself, just a return of your logic to reason and sanity...
Anon,
I have a busy day ahead, but I will respond later by going back to your first comment on this post.
Linda, my first comment was "Hmm, Occam's razor indicates that if there are young corpses lying around in Gaza, it was the bombs that killed them, or else where did they come from?"
Why won't you admit that the dead bodies in Gaza are not fakes?
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