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Sadly, McVeigh is a typical American in many respe
alzinjibar
04/17/01 at 12:07:06
Sadly, McVeigh is a typical American in many respects Published April 10, 2001 Charley Reese Some people have professed to be shocked that Timothy McVeigh referred to the deaths of the children in the day-care center in the federal building at Oklahoma City as "collateral damage." Why in heaven's name does that shock anyone? Timothy McVeigh did not invent that phrase. He was a soldier, and the American government always refers to civilian casualties as "collateral damage." It is much more than an Orwellian euphemism to describe the deaths of innocent human beings. It is meant to close the topic, to stop the conversation, to dismiss the lost lives as not worthy of any further discussion. They are, after all, merely "collateral damage." And one does not assume moral responsibility for "collateral damage." I have visited with McVeigh's mother and seen pictures of McVeigh as a boy and as a young soldier. He is, whether we wish to admit it or not, a typical American in many respects. He has absorbed the lessons of modern America. What are those lessons? First and foremost, that violence is an acceptable way to settle a dispute. Look how many times the American government has resorted to violence -- in Lebanon, in Libya, in Panama, in Grenada, in Somalia, in Iraq, in Sudan, in Afghanistan, in Yugoslavia. And in Waco, Texas, and Ruby Ridge, Idaho. In every single instance, the deaths of innocent people were dismissed as "collateral damage." Yet in all those instances, Americans did not profess to be shocked, nor did they refer in hushed, horrified tones to the callousness of the government. In most cases, they cheered the violence. They, too, dismissed the dead children, the dead mothers, the dead fathers as "collateral damage." The U.S. government has killed a million times more civilians than Tim McVeigh, its decorated soldier. And soon it will kill him. People who are selectively horrified, depending on who the victim is, are, in fact, amoral people. The children in the federal building were no different than the children in Iraq, Yugoslavia or in the West Bank and Gaza. Nothing stings a Palestinian more than to see the American press give prominent attention to the death of a Jewish child while routinely ignoring the deaths of Palestinian children. They are all equal in their preciousness and innocence. It is racist to attach more importance to the death of one than to the death of the other. Many Americans, while they may not wish to admit it, see themselves when they look at McVeigh. Oh, they don't have the nerve to act out their malice as he did, but they are always eager to advocate violence; they, too, have cockamamie opinions based on propaganda; they, too, think that not all lives are equal and that some can be sacrificed for political reasons. Some are already saying what "we should do to the Chinese" if they won't release the crew on the Navy spy plane that landed on Hainan Island. Well, there is an ugly fact that Americans had better remember before their blow-hard pseudo patriotism goes beyond rhetoric. Those American crew members are in China, under the control of the Chinese government, and whether they will be released is entirely up to the Chinese government. Unless you wish to consider their lives as "collateral damage," I would suggest that diplomacy rather than bluster and threats is the better course of action. The pilot, by the way, should not have delivered an American intelligence aircraft to the Chinese. He should have -- Navy folks tell me -- used his 60 miles to head toward the nearest American or friendly ship and ditched the plane. The crew did, however, dump some of the machines and destroy the codes before landing, the Navy says. At any rate, we are creating our own Frankenstein monsters, and McVeigh isn't the only one by a long shot. A society that sends a message to its children that violence is the way to settle disputes, that might makes right and that not all lives are equal in value should not play the hypocrite when its sons and daughters learn their lessons well. For once, I'd like to see the entertainment industry, which also teaches that violence is the way to solve problems, condemned for being the perverse purveyor of pornography that it is. For once, I'd like to see the American government actually play the peacemaker instead of the bully. For once, I'd like to see Americans grieve for the deaths of all children whatever their race, ethnicity or religion. For once, I'd like to see people realize that military action or other government force is the last resort, not the first option, and only then in defense of innocent life. McVeigh in one sense is also a victim. The deaths he caused were useless, and his own death will be useless. No one will have served any useful or worthwhile purpose; certainly not him but just as surely not the government, either. Just pain and grief. We seem to produce both as mindlessly as Hollywood produces trash. Reach Charley Reese at 407-420-5315 or creese@orlandosentinel.com Copyright © 2001, Orlando Sentinel

Re: Sadly, McVeigh is a typical American in many respe
Anonymous
04/17/01 at 23:24:22
Salaam i don't know who you are since i don't see you post often but i people like you who post on this board who make americans out to be the worst thing on earth people like you who take every opportunity on this board to put americans down now i can understand if you want to put non-muslims in a negative light but don't limit it to just americans their are many other races you could not that im saying name them but you don't need to constanly put americans down becasue not all americans are horrible and when you offend americans you also offend american muslims as well

Re: Sadly, McVeigh is a typical American in many respe
jannah
04/17/01 at 23:31:04
walaikum salam, anonymous i don't believe brother alzinjibar wrote the article. it was written by an american journalist out of orlando, florida. but granted your point is correct, there are good and bad people the world over, muslims and non-muslims included.

Re: Sadly, McVeigh is a typical American in many respe
alzinjibar
04/18/01 at 10:57:14
Bismillah Rahman Rahim, wa salatu wa salam ala'a Rasul Karim, As salam alaykum, Dear Anonimous, i agree with your point that it's bad to generalise and make blanket statement, but the article wasn't mine but wrote by C Reese from Orlando Sentinel, at http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/columnists/orl-reese.columnist I chose to post if for 2 point mainly for the essence of it expressed by an american journalist  who is upholding the ethic of journalism at oppose to the majority from the north american continent who aren't.  I encourage you the read it again and decipher the "between the lines " substance.  I guess you were maybe in a rush when you read it and thought that i'm the one who wrote it, therefore i understand the way you must have felt and sympathise with you. My American Sheykh ( may Allah bless his family, his life and effort and shower His Peace in his household) puts it, we have to make up to 70 excuses for our brothers and I prefer to go up to 71 for our sisters , because they are our noble sisters who go through a lot for their din and many times their struggle is deeper and much more difficult then for us guys.  I apologise if I offended your feelings it wasn't my intention. My intention was just to show what some journalists see as oppose to others. " Some look at a garden and only see trees and leaves , others just patches of colors, few will see a symphony of shades, scents and aroma, forms and silhouette. Only a handfull will see the gardenor's soul behind the swinging petals. " Le Poete Noir

Re: Sadly, McVeigh is a typical American in many respe
eleanor
04/18/01 at 14:18:22
slm It's a bit off-topic but it sprang to mind when I read that article. I can't speak for Americans or even all Irish  people but I think the general concensus (at least among the people I know and the media in Ireland) is that they *do* have sympathy with the children and civilians in countries like Iraq. But they put all the blame on Saddam Hussain (or whatever leader). It's like "That Saddam Hussein is evil. He's killing his own poor innocent countrypeople by not submitting" . And if you say "Yeah but if America got rid of the sanctions then so many wouldn't die.." the answer is "nobody is responsible except Saddam Hussain, if he doesn't want sanctions then he should conform to international demands. Basically they push the blame away onto whomever it's easiest. wasalaam eleanor

Re: Sadly, McVeigh is a typical American in many respe
Crow
04/21/01 at 20:09:38
as-salaamu alaikum My comments in this post are not aimed at 'anonymous' or the American population really, but moreso towards the American government. But, the ignorant attitude of "why does everyone hate us Americans?" among the general public needs to be addressed. The case of the American expressing comments such as these is as absurd as the snake complaining why the child it has bitten hates snakes! When i went to the US Embassy in London one thing that stood out clearly was the Police on duty around the building were armed - and this is the exception in the UK, and not the rule. Police in the UK do not walk the streets or answer 999 calls carrying firearms, and neither do police around the other embassies have to protect themselves with bullet-proof vests or carry firearms. Why they have to do so specially for the US embassy is quite clear if you consider (with an open mind) the role of the US in world affairs this last century (and even before that). The reason why they need armed guards is not as vain Americans would like to think, that the whole world is jealous of the success of America and its dominance in world affairs. The reason is not as shallow as that - but is far graver. It is because the huge oppression that America is responsible for directly and indirectly in the world has caused nation upon nation of people to hate America. Attack on such a building is not likely to come from people labelled "Islamic terrorists" but it could actually be an individual or individuals from any number of countries or organisations. For example, below is a list of countries that America has bombed since WWII. China 1945-46 Korea 1950-53 China 1950-53 Guatemala 1954 Indonesia 1958 Cuba 1959-60 Guatemala 1960 Congo 1964 Peru 1965 Laos 1964-73 Vietnam 1961-73 Cambodia 1969-70 Guatemala 1967-69 Grenada 1983 Libya 1986 El Salvador 1980s Nicaragua 1980s Panama 1989 Iraq 1991- present Sudan 1998 Afghanistan 1998 Yugoslavia 1999 Gee i wonder why so many people hate America so much? Remember America? The nation that was created on the genocide of hundreds of millions of its native Indian population? The same America that built itself on the backs of 400 million black slaves? The only nation to unleash a nuclear attack on a population? Even on occasions where almost all the nations of the world are united to work towards achieving a common good, the American administation has snubbed the rest of the world in favour of pursuing its own agenda regardless of who that may affect. Re: The Kyoto treaty.
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