The following is an archived copy of a message sent to a Discussion List run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
Views expressed in this archived message are those of the author, not of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
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[ Presenting plain-text part of multi-format email ] In a message dated 05/31/2002 8:18:02 PM Central Daylight Time, babiltrading@hotmail.com writes: This email is primarily for the 'babiltrading' so the rest of you are certainly free to ignore my peaceful drivel. > I don't need to mention the wars which > have led to millions of deaths (yes millions, remember?), or the genocide > and the countless cases of human rights abuses, executions, expulsions and > 'total town-destructions' (I don't even think there's a word in the > dictionary to describe it) because you already know about it. Do you > seriously think that something like this is occurring "inside the borders" > of "every other country"? I don't know whether to laugh or to cry if you > really believe that, honestly. > > If your asking me if I believe the email that I myself wrote, well, yes I do. Actually what I wrote is: ""I have no doubt that things occur within the borders of Iraq, as well as EVERY other country that are offensive to most of us."" Since I did not write a laundry list like the one above, you perhaps have taken my words, added words of your own, and constructed a thought which was conducive to your own goals and perhaps did not reflect the original intent of the individual who wrote them. Of course bringing up Hitler is a way of clouding the discussion, introducing non-relevant issues, and something that is often "resorted' to. For the sake of Clarity, what I said was that violence to prevent (or end) violence is wrongheaded thinking. It involves the prioritization of the value of one persons life in favor of anothers'. The value of one person OVER another. I believe that this is arrogant and leads to more violence. I believe that perhaps if we were to try to end violence with nonviolence, then just perhaps over time we could. Since in both scenarios people will die, in my mind it makes more sense to stay true to oneself and not perpetuate the violence by ones own hands, but perpetuate the ideal of nonaggression, nonviolence. Over time, perhaps those that do violence will come to learn from the lack of aggression of the other while popular support wanes due to the poignancy of the peaceful who are dying at the hands of the violent. Perhaps people who hold the guns will become so disgusted with the actions that they do to the of noncombatants who simply die, that they will point their guns down and stop the violence. Or perhaps we will all together slip into barbarism. Nevertheless, if I have a choice, which I do, I will not partake of violence and if it someday costs my life then at least it will be an example for others to follow. I have tried this many times in my life and in all cases ultimately the violence ended I walked away and those who observed applauded my peaceful stance, in all cases. And of course as I mopped the blood from my face I could look myself in the mirror and recognize the man that I am and not the animal that I would otherwise have become. As to the atrocities that occur in other, many, most, countries, yes of course horrible things occur everywhere. In my own lovely democracy, do you think my government hasn't marginalized millions based on social race and socioeconomic status? Do you think they did not murder millions within the borders of this land, both black and red and yellow and brown and the poor white? Do you not know of the executions of men women and even teens through our judicial system? Do you not know of the medical and biological experiments conducted unbeknownst to those who were experimented on? Do you not know of entire towns destroyed in favor of "economic development" for the few over the lives of the many? Have you not heard of neo-liberal economic models which marginalize and even kill millions throughout Asia, Latin-America, and Africa in favor of the few? Do you not know of a 400 billion dollar annual military budget that destroys millions of humans all over the world in favor of the few. Have you forgotten Vietnam, Korea, Somalia, Congo, South Africa, Dresden, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Haiti, Cuba, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Palestine, and of course the list goes on and on and on. Do you seriously believe that Saddam can match the USA for its destructive power and millions upon millions of murders!!?? Have you forgotten all you ever learned?? If you choose to cry over what I believe or do not believe, well, that is your choice. I choose to cry for the 30000 children who will die today of hunger and hunger related illnesses. I choose to cry today for the countless who will step on hidden land mines and be maimed or die. I choose to cry today for the countless who will die from DU and the unknown effects of the many choices made relating to the irresponsible use of these sorts of materials in power plants etc. I cry for the foreign economies, and therefore the humans, who will be strangled into poverty and even death, by the West, so that my neighbors can drive 3 ton SUV's getting 10 mpg and spewing pollution into the air we all breath. The destruction of species, the destruction of ecosystems, the senseless quest for personal wealth at any cost, etc. etc. etc. And so it goes... Peacefully yours. Roger Stroope Peace is a Human Right Austin College _______________________________________________ Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk