WAR: American Hostage Paul Johnson Beheaded; Video of Act Reported -- GRAPHIC CONTENT, page 11
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reply posted on 19-6-2004 @ 04:25 AM by ChefQuix
These images are disturbing, no doubt. If anything, though, I wish that more people in our world would see the violence that results from infliciting our lifestyle on the rest of the world. Why did this man's life have to end? Why has it come to this, a most brutal act that shows just what we're capable of inflicting on each other because of a culture clash of civilizations?

There has been a lot of spoken grief towards the family of this victim. I appreciate the sentiment that our culture can produce, because we've had this opportunity to really try and value each others lives. That's something that the West has I believe really taken a hold of - we don't really want to have anything to do with violence. Look at that! A culture that tries to appreciate the sanctity of life. For us, the images that we see before us are horrific. Is it only because we don't ever see violent death, or is it because we've really come to appreciate the fact of life?

What kind of forces would drive a person to brutally kill someone in this way? What is the root of this war between the east and west? Religion, pure and simple. They perceive us to have this fundamentalist Christian heritage because it is the only religion being portrayed in the Media. We perceive them to have this fundamentalist Islamic heritiage because it is the only religiion being portrayed in the Media. This works well if you're a fundamentalist, because you have something to hate and therefore something to hold on to. The problem comes with the moderates, who aren't really sure what to think about religion anymore. I'm one of the latter, one who has grown up with computers and then the Internet and seen all the potential that this vastly more complex, interconnected network can provide humankind. If only there was some way that we could talk to our enemy, maybe some really tight translation software and, of course, an equal number of 'opponents' in which to partake in discussion.

I see a lot of angry comments towards Islam. I'm not Islamic, but then neither am I a Christian. I just don't think that we can judge a relgion by the actions of it's radicals. Every culture does produces radicals - it's a part of a changing society because it's mainly the outliers that bring in new memes for everyone else to digest. If that meme resonates with enough people then it produces an overall change in the pattern of people. What we're doing here though is rejecting a very influential meme before we even get a chance to process it. It's a defense mechanism - you build static structures because there's a chance that a new idea will destroy your world as opposed to saving it. The thing is, if you want to improve your life then you have to process as many memes as possible. It adds to your individual complexity. It gives you faith in yourself.

I've always believed that understanding as many people as I can will make me a better person. What worries me is that unless we can somehow communicate our beliefs to a higher degree of quality then we'll all just end up killing each other. It seems so tragic for a species with such potential.

I see the way this world is going. We're polarizing ourselves in order to make our individual world understandable. Why else would we kill other people? Are we as innocent as we would like to think? Have we not spilled blood in a horrffic fashion to the people of the east? Did every smart bomb reach it's target, or were innocent people who had their own lives like this helicopter repairman brutally murdered in the name of War?

Before we condemn our enemies, perhaps we should condemn ourselves. We have approached a foreign culture with a cluster bomb in one hand and a can of coke in the other. Surely there are more positive aspects of our culture that we can approach foreign people with? What about tolerance, equality and fair justice? What about the idea of representational rule? Surely this idea which has so greatly benefitied our lives could be instrumental in benefiting other lives as well? We don't seem to be going about it the right way, and all of our best efforts seem to be exploding in our face.

Unless, of course, you're happy hating people for the sake of hating someone. It seems to me that this class of people is something that we as a surviving species can do without. What did Kennedy say? "We live in one world, we gotta breath in the same air, we gotta live together, we're gonna die together."* Just because a culture or a person is foreign and strange to your perception doesn't mean that their right to life is any weaker than your right to life. We're all human beings, and we're just trying to figure out a way to live together on this fragile blue planet.


*Taken from the following video, compiled in February / 2002. S-11 Redux is a sound-bite blitzkrieg that challenges the messages we have been fed from our mainstream media and the government it serves. Be warned - this video moves quickly and will require at least two viewings to digest its full impact. I wholeheartedly recommend viewing the messages from the last third again. (via
The Guirella News Network - top right corner to download):
gnn.tv...

It really is... up to us.

[edit on 19-6-2004 by ChefQuix]



reply posted on 19-6-2004 @ 06:19 AM by Gazrok
To throw my few cents in, I would like to mention a couple of things.

1) Saudi Arabia, inside of 24 hours of this man's killing, found the leader of the Al Qaeda group that beheaded him, and killed him. It's on CNN, go look.

2) To flat out discriminate against their whole country, and against everyone there JUST because a few people are screwing it up for everyone else is wrong. That would be like saying that just because a few people here in the US are anti-American that we should go to war on ourselves. That's just a proposterous notion, and a very narrow-minded one too, if I may say so myself.

To summarize, the Saudis got the leader of the group that killed this man. Also, treat everyone with respect, regardless of who they are, until they show you that they are unworthy of that respect. And DON'T condemn an entire way of life or religion just because a few people that follow it are radicals.

P.S. I'm glad they found the guy that ordered him killed. Never thought it would happen this fast. To all Saudis, here's a shoutout to you from a greatful American!! Peace Brothers!!



Of course they found him... They pretty much know where their own high profile terrorists are, as many in the government support them. They pretty much have to in order to stay in power, or the royal family would have been ousted the moment the US left....

Ok, let me start out by stating a few facts.

1) I once lived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for over two years.
2) I lived in the Lockheed compound, as almost EVERY Lockheed employee there does.
3) I've travelled extensively in the Middle East and abroad.

I will agree that the majority of ALL muslim people are a calm reserved bunch. Unfortunately, their leaders and newsmakers, are not. Saudi is, and has always been, a haven and breeder of terrorism. Not in the cities so much (except for the financial backers), but in the outskirts. They do NOT think like the west, and indeed, their motivations are almost alien to our way of thinking. I wouldn't suggest nuking, but an occupation of Saudi is pretty much inevitable, within a few years. Unfortunately, I think it will likely end up throwing kindling on WWIII (the spark was already lit)....

My deepest sympathies go out to his friends and family (many of which I likely personally knew well....)



[edit on 19-6-2004 by Gazrok]


reply posted on 19-6-2004 @ 09:55 AM by AceOfBase
Originally posted by simtekBTW, until the ENTIRE Muslim world stands up and condems the brutality that is in their religion, I shall stand by my statement.


Are you going to stand up and condemn the killing of women and children at the hands of US soldiers today?
U.S. military plane fired missiles Saturday into a residential neighborhood in Fallujah, killing at least 20 and leveling houses in the restive Sunni Muslim city, residents and hospital officials said.
--snip--
At least three women and five children were among the dead.
www.msnbc.msn.com...


So many of you are complaining that persons in the middle east show outrage over the killing of Iraqis but don't express the same outrage over the killing of Americans.

What you don't seem to be aware of, is the same thing is happening with Americans showing outrage over deaths of Americans but not over the deaths of Iraqis.

That's just the nature of humans, we are affected emotionally by the death of one of our own much more so than by the deaths of others.
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