A touchy subject

I was not sure I was going to touch upon this topic and even if I did, I had no idea what I was going to say. That all changed today when a colleague of mine did the unthinkable and EMAILED a series of propaganda pictures around to people in the office using our office email system. To say this was stupid and a possible CEM (Career Ending Move) is putting it mildly. To say I was shocked by the pictures would be incorrect. To see this person take sides in this matter, and to the side that was taken in this manner, was surprising, disturbing and a bit shocking. I have seen explicit pictures of death before so I was neither grossed out nor particularly shocked at the extent of human misery. You can say I am one of those that don't necessarily go hunting for the graphic depictions of life, but I do not shy away from it either. In any case, these pictures, laid out in a way to show the Israelis in an evil light and the Lebanese (especially the children killed) in an innocent light, made me angry. I needed to let some time pass before I could post something that was of pure thought and not truly borne of raw emotion. So, at 4:59AM, I sit here after watching three straight episodes of Angel and am now ready to write this post. One more thing, I will NOT post any of the graphic pictures as I will do nothing to further the propaganda from either side.

So, let me be upfront first (in case you missed it before) by saying I am a Roman Catholic that married a Jewish woman. Immediately that would paint me as having a bias for the Israeli side of things. You would be well within your right to think so, IF you never met me and got to know me. If you know me, you know I walk to my own rhythm, I follow my own path and I think for my own self. I do not give a flying fig what other people's opinions are before I form my own and I will do battle to prove my side cheerfully conceding to a better argument, if one can be made; it rarely is. So, jumping right into it, what side am I on?

Call it a cop out if you would like, but I am on the side of truth and justice. Let me explain my position and you will get an understanding of where I am coming from. Where Israel is concerned, like any other nation on Earth, I believe in their right to exist; a view not shared by a bunch of extremists and terrorists including those involved in the current conflict with them. How can one hope to foster an understanding between two groups if one of them is coming to the table with aspirations that you simply cease to exist and will do whatever they can to help make that reality come true? I know I would not be saddling up to the table, but Israel does in the hopes of coming to a peaceful agreement. Have they performed their own share of shit? Of course Israel has.

Israel has conflicting views within the country itself, much less with its neighbours. And, to be perfectly honest, I have a problem with a lot of the self-righteous, self-serving Jewish groups in the developed nations because they tend to be hypocrites when it comes to dealing with issues. My biggest issue with them is that not all Jews are of the same value. Check out the plight of the Russian and Ethiopian Jews if you are unfamiliar with this problem. As far as I am concerned, the B'Nai Brith is the worse offender of them all. Now all that said, let us concentrate on the current issue at hand.

If you were warring with some of the neighbours in your neighbourhood, and you essentially said to stay the hell away from your designated area, but they keep coming in and messing up the garden, you would take steps to keep them out. OK, now those neighbours, come in and take your dog, the cat and your gnomes, kicking over everything else in their path. Would you sit idly by and wait for the safe return of those items or would you go knocking down some doors, kicking the shit out of them and retrieving your items? And no, I am not making light of the situation or trying to be overly simplistic in this. I am trying to point out that the situation is similar to the scenario I have just illustrated but on a grander scale (country-wide, with international influence) and with greater consequences (human lives and property are being lost). What exactly did anyone think the response would and should be?

You have one soldier being taken hostage, suicide bombers threatening the citizens of your land and grenades being lobbed over the fence into your yard. As you try to get your person back, you lose another two people, have rockets being fired into your yard and a slack set of parents (the Lebanonese government) doing nothing to control its children (the Hezbollah regime). So, the International community expected diplomats and the UN and the rest of that lot to fix the problem, right? Hmm, this thought is because they have done so well in Darfur, Sudan, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Serbia, Rwanda, Congo, and all of the other hotspots around the world. The UN cannot protect it's own offices in Lebanon, how the hell can they protect anyone else? Israel told everyone not Hezbollah to get the hell out. Knowing what their armed forces are capable of, why the hell would anyone stay in the area designated as targets?!?!

One school of thought is that Hezbollah promised them safety simply to be used as pawns, as collateral when the inevitable happens. Such a ploy is evidenced by the email that is currently circulating exploiting the images of the killed innocents. It has Israeli children writing on shells and bombs (no reference showing this is a current picture and these weapons are what was used when the innocents were killed) and a whole series of images of the dead children from that unfortunate air strike.

As I am writing this, the CityTV newscast is replaying on TV and a Lebanese representative is explaining about the unfortunate innocents that were killed in this conflict and how the Israelis are wrong, blah, blah, blah. Sorry for the irreverence but in order to speak about the Lebanese innocents, you have to mention the Haifa innocents that Hezbollah killed FIRST. What about the innocents bombed at roadside cafes? What about the innocents killed by the cowards who would bomb a school bus, or a tourist transport, or a wedding party (killing all members of the bride's family)?

The one-sided reporting is maddening and it drives people to choose sides. I am not going to be on the side of cowards and people who kill in the name of their God with disrespect to others rights to live. Christians to this day are scolded for the atrocities of their past (read Charlemagne and the Inquisition, etc). I am also not going to be on the side of a group that does not take steps to lessen the spread of evil or that kills in a blanket manner rather than attempt to root out the evil.

I absolutely abhor the loss of innocent lives. In no way can I or will I condone the killing of innocent people and fluff it off as collateral damage. I also cannot condone these innocents being used as shields or diversions from the truth as they are made or convinced to remain in the line of fire. My parents taught my siblings and I a simple lesson when we were young; it applies as a framework to this issue. The lesson was: Do not go out and start any fights, but make sure you end them and don't come home and tell us that you lost. No one in my family ever lost a fight in their childhood.

Forget the history and the bullshit excuses about the past and who did what before. The simple fact is, someone in the Palestinian regime thought it was a good idea to hold an Israeli soldier hostage; they were wrong. Israeli asked nicely that the soldier be returned; it did not happen. When Israeli, rightfully, retaliated, did the dumbasses cough up the soldier? No, instead they call on their dumbass bully friends to kidnap more soldiers and, oh yeah, launch a few rockets into the Israeli's yard too. Israeli again asked nicely to have the soldiers returned; it did not happen. When Israeli, again rightfully, retaliated, they get vilified by the ball-less wonder, Kofi Anon, when the very forces he is supposed to command are as strong as a ninety-year old's member first thing in the morning before the blue pill is swallowed. And then today, I hear that the UN has DELAYED the meeting to come up with a plan by two days. Uhm, excuse me? What the F**k do you have to do that is so important that this issue can be put on the back burner for two days?!>?!!

Look, I do not agree with the loss of life on either side, and normally I would be the first in line to agree that Israeli needs to back up. In this matter though, even though I cannot agree with all of it, I understand. Let's just hope that someone can put an end to this quickly before it gets even more out of hand (in case you are not up on the area, there are lots of nukes about). We really do not need another World War. Ever.

Peace. I hope. Soon.