Posted by parhad (158.252.223.138) on October 09, 2001 at 08:13:51:
I think I know what Christ meant by that. He didn't mean love the fellow among your "enemies" who is of the lowest sort, who would gouge out your child's eye and rape your daughter. He meant love those among them who understand that they are really no different from you, that they ARE you.
That's a daring enough challenge...try telling a Honkie right now that there are people even among the extremists who are good at heart...just mad as hell, and maybe justifiably so...though such acts can never be condoned. But if you deny your enemies any humanity at all, YOU create a monstrous force which will shed not a tear at the worst they can think to do to you. And they WILL do the worst because you will not recognize their right to be even a little displeased with you, way before they become so murderously desperate... when they point out that you wouldn't like to be treated that way and you laugh them to scorn by saying you are very very different from them, that you're "special"...more Human...more worthy...More Better.
In Islam, Judaism and Christianity, as in every other religion or ethnic or "racial" group, there are kindred spirits, people whose exterior differences are just window dressing, but who in their hearts understand and feel a common humanity and love of goodness...who despise the hypocrite among themselves as well as across borders and all other lines of demarcation between people.
I find it not hard at all to "love" a Jew or Muslim or Christian or anyone else, who believes in our common humanity, our common rights to Justice and fair play...who finds the life of my child as valuable almost as that of his own...who understands that there can't only be justice and well-being for my child if there isn't any for his own... that the rotting, stinking corpses of "enemy children" will infect the air and water mine will have to live in, as cruelty and injustice foul the very earth we "survivors" will occupy.
That's what Christ meant. He never intended you to kiss the hand that abuses you...but overlook the superficial differences you may feel divide you and keep you from seeing your "enemy" as yourself.
Islamic extremists are no different from Meir Kahane's JDL...who are no different from the Christian KKK. These people are enemies to "decency", justice", "tolerance", "forgiveness", "wisdom"...and not to any creed or ethnic variation or religious innovation. They are enemies of LIFE, because variety is the essence of Life.
We all have to begin to see what is common and shared, drop this "us against them" mentality which is once again running rampant in the world. How likely is it that the nation which required no justification to kill innocent children, even if they WERE Muslim, needs any justification to bomb Afghanistan? It is indeed revenge the US wants...and dead civillians on THEIR side will go a long way towards achieving that. There is no "proof" of Bin Ladens involvement, there doesn't need to be...these guys couldn't tell when the Soviet Union was going to collapse, they couldn't get a warrant from a US judge...how the hell did they get "proof"? They could prove I was behind the bombings if they set their minds to it.
It sounds perfectly plausible that they don't want to share the "evidence" with us because it would compromise blah blah. Sounds like they're watching out for us, keeping things secret so they can find more proof AFTER the next disaster. But when you begin to feel "safe" and "comfortable" when the Law is trampled on...you set up the forces which can someday turn against you...and those legal protections you were so glad to see done away with when in hot pursuit of an "enemy"...could be used against you...much to your shock.
And we darkies will live in constant dread from now on that some nut from our village or country will be among the next terrorists and the anonymity we once craved and that "streamlining" of the Law we thought would take us, as well as the Germanic Anglo Nordic Gaulic types, under its protection...will turn out to be the gun that gets us too, along with the one the "new Law" was really aiming at...we'll remain Collateral people, Collateral "whites", and then Collateral victims the rest of our lives until we bleach the very Heritage out of our children.
We have the worst sort of Racists among our own people. You all know how Assyrians really feel towards Jews and the feelings of hatred towards Islam are almost fanatical. It's a Class thing. In the MidEast Christians weren't treated very well, through no fault of their own of course, we are the COMPLETE victims...and our people were forced to live at the bottom where the most ignorant Muslims also lived. We had no chance to mingle with the upper Muslim classes, the scholars, wits, poets, refined and educated ones. Naturally we resented their dominance, the fact they "stole" our country where we now had to live as second class citizens. This is ignorance and jealousy speaking, two cardinal virtues, almost, with us...those of us who still admit to being Assyrian.
We've carried this hatred over into our daily lives here in this country and light up like Roman candles at the thought that America will finally wake up and share our feelings of hatred. But America will pass us by, and soon too...it usually does. That's why our "cool" dudes always seem to be behind the curve. We're so damn timid that we only buy stocks well after they've peaked and just before they're set to crash because we feel its finally "safe" to do so...in fact I've been told that "Market Forces" wait for Assyrians to start buying as a signal that its dangerously past the time to sell off.
The same with style and "cool". By the time Heyatour gets his ass pierced, ass-piercing is yesterday's thing. And when have we ever been ahead of the curve in anything except...well never mind.