[OPE-L:5972] Re: Re: Re: "moral chasm"

From: Paul Zarembka (zarembka@ACSU.BUFFALO.EDU)
Date: Fri Sep 21 2001 - 08:31:13 EDT


Patrick, 

I think we understand each other except I'm unsure about the point below. 
Is Hiroshima, Nagasaki, firebombing of Tokyo, bombing of Dresden, carpet
bombing of Cambodia, bombing of Hanoi and Belgrade, bombing of Iraq,
bombing of a pharmaceutical factory in Kartoum somehow 'less than' "pure
terror" by being 'only' "mindless violence?  Do you expect or not expect
"pure terror" to fall upon Afghanistan (at least).  The way you formulate
your response suggests to me that what others have faced or will face is
somehow 'less' than what we face, from your point of view.

Paul

************************************************************************
Paul Zarembka, editor, RESEARCH IN POLITICAL ECONOMY at
********************* http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/PZarembka


"Patrick L. Mason" <pmason@garnet.acns.fsu.edu> said, on 09/18/01:


>Paul:

>Yes, killing hundreds of thousands of people to keep down the price of oil
> is mindless violence. I would never argue that the US government is not 
>capable of mindless murder, assassinations, etc. Allende in Chile, Lumumba
> in Africa, a whole bunch of other people in the US during Operation 
>COINTELPRO, the invasion of Grenada, the bombing of Panama, etc. makes
>this  point.

>The distinction between terrorism and a legitimate liberation struggle 
>comes down to the distinction between self-defense and malicious murder.

>Now, you are correct that I do not "understand" the purpose of the WTC 
>attack. But, I am not along in this. President Qadafi, who was the subject
> of a US assassination attempt (in clear violation of American law) has
>also  condemned attack on the WTC. The goal of the perpetrators was simply
>to  excite pure terror among the American population. Well, they
>accomplished  that.

>peace, plm







>At 02:31 PM 9/17/01 -0400, you wrote:
>>"Patrick L. Mason" <pmason@garnet.acns.fsu.edu> said, on 09/17/01:
>>
>>...
>>
>> >For me, there is unbridgeable moral chasm between mindless murder and
>> >legitimate self-defense/liberation struggles.
>>
>> >peace,
>> >patrick l. mason
>>
>>I agree.
>>
>>May I move the question one step?  When the United States government kills
>>750,000 children of Iraq during and since the Gulf War (directly, and
>>through diseases and starvation), is this "mindless"?
>>
>>I ask because the way you put your statement almost seems that the only
>>problem is being able to understand.  So, if the U.S. government is not
>>"mindlessly" murdering, it is less morally repulsive.
>>
>>If I don't express myself well enough, I'm sorry.  This is not easy times.
>>
>>Paul Z.



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