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mneme
I think it was a rant by one of Bin Laden's men. He talked about taking back the land that belonged to them and I think he mentioned Turkey and Spain.
posted by
johnmacnab
on August 23, 2006 at 4:11 PM
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I don't know whether the world has changed that much
or whether we just hear more about the bad things that happen. No way I would let my children wander either. They are grown up now, but you still worry. All you can do is teach them your values, and hope that they stick with them.
posted by
mneme
on August 22, 2006 at 1:24 PM
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Fear is our enemy
The tool they use is fear and it is working in some respects. We are now so over cautios that we are jeapordizing the very freedom we enjoy. Because of the fear of what may happen we deny ourselves the experiences and memories we so easily enjoyed as children. It's not just the terrorists. When I was 10 I would spend days running around with my friends exploring the woods and cliffs around my home. Now I won't let my 10 year old out of my sight. Has the word really changed that much or has the media given the dangers more attention then tey deserve?
posted by
DepTLC
on August 22, 2006 at 12:56 PM
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Hi johnmcnab
I though too. This is one of the things that are so hard to understand; they might have had bright futures but chose to do this instead. What have you been reading that connects this with the Crusades? It is a long time to hold a grudge; even the hundred years war was over eventually.
posted by
mneme
on August 21, 2006 at 3:16 AM
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mneme
I take marieclaire and muser's point of view about being inculcated and having nothing to lose, but the British, home grown terrorists had it all going for them. I read something recently which made me think that the fanatics wanted to reclaim the territories they lost during the Crusades - that is what I would call keeping a grudge going way too long.
posted by
johnmacnab
on August 20, 2006 at 9:54 AM
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mneme...and marieclaire...the why as far as I can see is that these people
have been taught to be terrorists...they have been taught on their mother's knee to hate...in kindergarten they are taught to hate...they have been inculcated...generation after generation... so that now they don't even have to think about hating the infidel; it is as natural as breathing...this kind of hatred is cultivated...ingrained...AND nothing is going to change because some sign a Peace treaty...this kind of hatred is constantly feeding on itself... and we in the west had better wake up and smell the coffee! They are not like us, they do not share our values toward human life and dignity,they are not interested in living peacefully beside us...one small example: in our countries, we have welcomed them..we have allowed them to worship freely in their own way. We have accommodated them by building prayer rooms in airports, schools, and other public places. We have allowed them to build mosques in our countries...places of worship that we respect
In Muslim countries, there is NO reciprosity! A Muslim who converts to Christianity or any other religion is subject to death. There are no churches built in those countries, westerners do not move about freely...they want nothing of our culture, they despise it...they are programmed to destroy it. They are not like us.
posted by
muser
on August 20, 2006 at 4:08 AM
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Lensman, you slipped in there while I was answering Taps:) You are absolutely right, and we can't live in fear - not that I am, I was just thinking things through after reading other posts.
posted by
mneme
on August 19, 2006 at 10:21 PM
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Taps, it's the same for me as regards the physical discomforts of air travel, but if I didn't get on a plane I would never see my family in England. As you might have seen from my posts, my children are both in Europe too and I need to go, so I will. That's why I guess I would rather be home than stranded in the colonies.
posted by
mneme
on August 19, 2006 at 10:13 PM
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Mneme
In the end, they won't succeed. What they want is total control, complete domination, and that just isn't possible in this world. History has proven that. Try compressing a small spring between your thumb and forefinger. You can hold it for a while, but eventually you will let go and the spring will rebound...
posted by
Lensman
on August 19, 2006 at 9:58 PM
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mneme, I have really cut down on travel for many reasons, the big one being that the older I get, the more sensitive I become to motion sickness of any sort. Also, I have come to abhor all the agravation of waiting in lines at airports, luggage searching, held up flights, people fearful; it all makes me tired. I am thankful for memories and living in the days when everything seemed a bit simpler. Now its hard to believe that there was a time when we could just take a taxi to the airport, buy a last minute ticket, run with a suitcase out across the tarmac and climb the stairs of the plane with its prop already spinning and ready to fly. That was exciting.
posted by
TAPS.
on August 19, 2006 at 7:37 AM
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hi straightforward
I take your point; I think what I'm getting at demonisation in general, on either side. Neither can identify with the other, and I didn't want to get too political; it just saddens me. Too many innocent people are getting hurt.
posted by
mneme
on August 19, 2006 at 7:19 AM
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It's really good to reach back to our histories, but don't you think this
fright of the demon "terrorist" is a bit too hyped up and the stereotypes are created which will not get us to the root of the problem?
posted by
Straightforward
on August 18, 2006 at 6:53 PM
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Marie-Claire
I'm not suggesting innate evil, but these are not rational acts, that's all. I just wish it would all stop so that everyone can live their lives in peace, wherever they are.
posted by
mneme
on August 18, 2006 at 3:25 PM
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there are reasons why those people blow themselves up taking others
with them. Not a lot is known about the background of those suicide bombers, but from what little i have read. They have lost everything themselves, they are very angry young men and women who, chances are, have lost their parents or siblings at a very young age, they are traumatised, survivors themselves. They are totally lost, and abandoned by a society where dog eats dog, and they learn to survive in a war torn hostile world, and some cunning adults come along and direct their anger towards a so called "just cause" which these young people readily embrace, it gives them a focus for their rage and the injustice done to them. These young impressionable minds are then groomed to kill. I think they do these atrocious things out of despair and anger, I refuse to believe that any one in their right minds would do such a thing, without some extenuating circumstances in their lives. Very few people are evil to start with, I cling on to the belief that human nature is good...that does not mean I condone what they do, on the contrary.
posted by
marieclaire66
on August 18, 2006 at 2:38 PM
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