It's the hyperbole that bothers me.

Current Events » in reply to The distinctions are clear enough ..

It's the hyperbole that bothers me.

Mary Anne — 10/12/2004 3:47:54 AM (archived)

I believe that words matter. The extraordinary display of hatred sets off all kinds of alarm bells for me.

Somehow it becomes OK to act just like people whose behavior is supposed to be the antithesis of the civilized world, to "do whatever they do, only do it first and do it better", because we identify ourselves as "good". As if the label defines the behavior and not vice versa.

What's next? Americans beheading Iraqi prisoners on tape? How do we do that "better"? If we are "good" then we can do anything we want.

And eye for an eye produces a world full of blind men.

The whole thread (39 posts)

If you want to be a good guy, you have to be better than the badguys. - Bowser - 10/12/2004 2:01:11 AM
- Maybe there is a good reason - FrankC - 10/12/2004 3:50:34 PM
  - But that dog won't hunt for Bowser - ebnelson - 10/12/2004 8:09:37 PM
- Your friends the Palestinians and Cubans might be able to help you learn the difference. - ebnelson - 10/12/2004 2:06:52 PM
- You are aware that this entire "controversy" is largely anecdotal? - Tom Brosz - 10/12/2004 4:12:44 AM
  - They're "disappeared", Tom. "Disappeared". For a reason. - Bowser - 10/12/2004 4:56:24 AM
    - I can see a number of valid reasons that you wouldn't want to acknowledge the capture of a terrorist. - Tom Brosz - 10/12/2004 5:27:26 AM
      - Frankly, I would not acknowledge having ANY terrorist prisoners. I would just interrogate them and then kill them, disposing of the bodies secretly. It is what they deserve. (n/t) - David F Mayer - 10/12/2004 7:43:43 PM
        
        Assuming of course that you captured the right ones..... - Tony - 10/12/2004 8:53:38 PM
        
        We are talking about those captured while FIGHTING USA forces. Not mere "suspects". (n/t) - David F Mayer - 10/13/2004 1:32:56 PM
      - Captured, Tom, then "DISAPPEARED". Like Hitler. Like Stalin. - Bowser - 10/12/2004 5:31:48 AM
        
        You're losing me. - Tom Brosz - 10/12/2004 6:13:05 AM
- Wrong: To WIN a war against terrorists, you must be just as mean as your opponents. You must do whatever they do, only do it first and do it better. The only rule is "there are no rules". (n/t) - David F Mayer - 10/12/2004 2:42:58 AM
  - re: A clue: terrorist don't wear red armbands. I want us to remain as a country long after al Quede is fading memory. What you propose will make us cease to exist long before they do. (n/t) - Chris Vancil - 10/12/2004 8:40:24 AM
  - How is that different from Saddam, Hitler, Stalin, Osama bin Laden, Idi Amin, etc? - Bowser - 10/12/2004 3:05:11 AM
    - Simple: We do to the terrorists what they do to their victims. Not just to random people, but to the terrorists themselves. I hope that you understand now. - David F Mayer - 10/12/2004 3:08:38 AM
      - And how many of the 14,000 Iraqi civilians dead as the result of the American invasion are innocent? - Bowser - 10/12/2004 3:12:14 AM
        
        That number is still bullshit, Bowser. And I'm tired of having to point it out again and again. (n/t) - Tom Brosz - 10/12/2004 4:04:43 AM
        
        Well, the military is no source. - â€œWe donâ€™t do body countsâ€ - General Tommy Franks. - Bowser - 10/12/2004 4:55:19 AM
        
        One of your sources says 3,500 and another says 14,000, and you don't see a problem with your numbers? - Tom Brosz - 10/12/2004 5:23:52 AM
        
        Read the GDed thing, Tom! 3,500 since APRIL, 2004. - Bowser - 10/12/2004 5:28:03 AM
        
        Ah. You're right. - Tom Brosz - 10/12/2004 6:08:43 AM
        
        Most of them. How many of the 1,000,000 plus that Saddam killed were innocent. - David F Mayer - 10/12/2004 3:49:46 AM
        
        You just make things up, don't you. (n/t) - Bowser - 10/12/2004 6:01:27 AM
        
        No. You just IGNORE the facts, don't you? - David F Mayer - 10/14/2004 5:11:54 AM
- We Are - Mark Eby - 10/12/2004 2:09:42 AM
  - Moral imbeciles do not understand the difference between killing terrorists and killing innocents. - David F Mayer - 10/12/2004 2:44:44 AM
    - You really don't understand that you contradict yourself in the two posts you have made to this thread, do you? (n/t) - Mary Anne - 10/12/2004 2:53:09 AM
      - Clarification. You must be as mean to the terrorists as they are to the innocent. I did NOT mean to attack innocents. Got it? (n/t) - David F Mayer - 10/12/2004 3:02:42 AM
        
        Got it. No justice, no rule of law, no mercy. Just two sets of cutthroats going after each other. - Mary Anne - 10/12/2004 3:18:12 AM
        
        The distinctions are clear enough .. - Daniel - 10/12/2004 3:32:07 AM
        
        It's the hyperbole that bothers me. - Mary Anne - 10/12/2004 3:47:54 AM
        
        re: "What's next? Americans beheading Iraqi prisoners on tape? How do we do that "better"? If we are "good" then we can do anything we want."It's the hyperbole that bothers me. - Scott Evil - 10/12/2004 1:29:07 PM
        
        Well, there are a few cases of child rape at Abu Graib... - Mary Anne - 10/13/2004 12:46:49 AM
        
        I know how you feel, however - - Daniel - 10/12/2004 4:17:13 AM
        
        "Wantonly Brutal" - Lindy - 10/12/2004 4:21:28 PM
        
        only if what you say IS accurate, which I doubt - Daniel - 10/12/2004 5:32:22 PM
        
        "It can't happen here." - Mary Anne - 10/12/2004 11:15:05 AM
        
        re: "It can't happen here." - SDAI-Tech1 - 10/12/2004 4:16:31 PM

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