I am exhausted in every way, and you will still find no words of retribution here. The recent attacks on Muslim Americans have proven that violence and revenge accomplish nothing but more suffering. And rushing off to war? Do any of us truly believe our brand of violence is so advanced that it ensures only the guilty parties are killed?
Instead of discussing retribution, why don’t we consider how we got to this point? Can we see ourselves as others see us? Can we at least try? I’m disappointed and dismayed about what has happened, but I cannot sponsor the short-sightedness of an immediate campaign for more violence and destruction. If what matters most to you is a brief period of “got you back!” then clearly you should not be reading this ‘blog. I care far more about how this affects us as human beings than I do about what sort of tactics and politics make for good retaliation.
How am I personally helping out? I’m disseminating information here, I’m donating blood and money, and I’m doing a hell of a lot of learning about the Middle East, U.S. foreign policy, and history. In my opinion, you should be doing all of these things yourself. Then again, you can always log off and pretend it’s not happening to you. It is.
- Regarding the quatrain making the rounds via email: Nostradamus did not write about the “two brothers torn apart by Chaos” — it was written by a Canadian high school senior as an example for a term paper, a critical analysis of Nostradamus. [ thanks fury.com and snopes.com ]
- Regarding another email forward: Gordon Sinclair wrote “The Americans” in response to the Vietnam War in 1973. He died in 1984. Needless to say, he did not write these inspiring words about the attacks on Tuesday. [ thanks jason ]
- Regarding yet another email forward: There may be a national candlelight vigil on Friday the 14th at 19:00 (I’m guessing that’s Eastern Time). The email message instructs you to step out your door and light a candle or turn on a flashlight, or stop your car and turn on your car’s headlights. For your own safety, if you are driving on the expressway or living on a houseboat, please do not participate. [ thanks lucy ]
- And yet another hoax: Clear Channel lists songs its stations should not air in the aftermath of the attack.
- SF Gate has had excellent coverage since Tuesday; I encourage not only Bay Area residents but others to look here as well as Research Buzz and Google’s list of news and resources. There’s also Daypop, which searches 2700+ news sites and weblogs for current events. I also like LexisNexis’ “Attack on America in Context” section.
- Several people have mentioned this essay about how to bring Osama bin Laden, if he is behind all this, to justice instead of just bombing the shit out of his recent hangouts.
- And while we’re on the topic, the world is not at war and we need to calm the fuck down.
- Terrorist attacks happen all over the world. Educate yourself.
- Wondering what you can do to help? Add graphics to your website and link them to the American Red Cross. Amazon.com is raising quite a chunk of change for the relief effort. The Boy Scouts of America provide tips on how to display the American flag.
- So let me get this straight, pun intended: A man who has nothing better to do than alert parents to effeminate children’s show characters announces that we should all blame gays, lesbians, and liberals for the terrorist attacks on Tuesday. Uh-huh.
- This person’s shock and horror sounds like my own. There is no longer any doubt in my mind that U.S. foreign policy is fucked up.
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